With the competitive landscape in PE today and the clip at which deals are moving to close, we expect varying degrees of clarity/alignment on the investment thesis when we partner with investors to execute an Organizational Diligence process. Recently, we’ve encountered more unknowns than we would have expected – even six months ago. We’re leaning into the facilitative aspects of our role as a strategic advisor to accelerate deal teams’ progress building out the strategy as we give insight to organizational and leadership capabilities. Our unique value adds come through:
- Challenging and extending thinking. We support our clients in bridging the gap from ideation of the game plan to the realities of execution. Ampersand was recently sought out to get under the hood of a significant acquisition for a top tier PE client. We were selected as the partner of choice for this deal because our agile, high-touch approach matched what was needed to get the full story from a business with a complex, founder-influenced culture. The team quickly built trust with the founder-CEO. Our findings provided unique insight for investors on how to influence this organization and management team – what could be addressed immediately and where they should consider the benefits of what exists before rushing into decisions, however atypical to their standard approach.
- Enabling conversations that align leaders around investor objectives and plant the seeds for action. A client came to us while amid a transformational acquisition to a portfolio platform. They were confident the founder-CEO of the acquired business could add value, but they were unsure of where to put him on the new org chart. While he was not the one to lead the enterprise, Ampersand uncovered where he best fit, helped prime the leader for a productive conversation with investors about his future through direct feedback, and guided the managing partner in how to maximize and accelerate the founder’s acceptance and alignment of a new charter.
- Understanding the implications of critical decisions. Recently asked to evaluate a target intended to serve as the foundation for a platform business, our client beat out competitors and secured LOI with the promise of a quick close. That speed meant less face-time with management team members outside the company’s CEO, yielding gaps in knowledge of both existing talent and around the integration of recent acquisitions designed to ready the business for a quick sale. Candid conversations around this businesses’ preparedness for PE ownership resulted in a decision to keep the CEO warm for a potential future transaction but not to do the deal now. Ampersand supported our client further through feedback that reinforced to the CEO what needs to happen to be ready for a successful transaction in six to 12 months.
Ampersand is thrilled to be recognized by our clients and peers for the role we play – we are proud to be named to Forbes magazine’s America’s Best Management Consulting Firms in 2021 for excellence in shaping leadership and management strategy. Managing Partner, Matt Richburg, shared his delight, “Having just celebrated our first decade as a firm, it is a great honor to be recognized as a market leader and a gratifying reflection of the successes that our client partnerships have enabled.” We are inspired to continue to support our clients’ growth as strategic partners in the ever-shifting private-equity landscape.
