WHAT WE DO
Clear answers on the numbers that drive value.
We identify financial risks and opportunities early, then help you reflect them in price, structure, and terms.
Buy-side Diligence
Understand the true earnings power of the business before you commit.
- Quality of earnings and run-rate adjustments
- Net working capital analysis and peg
- Net debt and debt-like items
- Quality of revenue and disaggregated revenue analytics
Sell-side Diligence
Go to market prepared and protect value through closing.
- Present historical performance clearly and credibly
- Anticipate the issues buyers will focus on
- Prepare management for buyer diligence, carve-outs, and transition service agreements
- Shorten timelines and reduce retrades by substantiating adjusted EBITDA up front
STREAMLINED PROCESS
Getting EBITDA right is now the starting point.
Historically, most of a diligence budget went into building a reliable baseline EBITDA. Our process is designed to get us to that baseline faster, so we spend the time that frees up finding the risks, trends, and value drivers that a standard quality of earnings never reaches.
BASELINE QofE
WHERE MOST FIRMS STOP
WHERE MERU GOES
LEVEL 1
Get the number right
The quality of earnings deliverable sponsors expect, delivered faster.
- Adjusted and pro forma revenue and EBITDA
- Net working capital and peg
- Net debt and debt-like items
- Proof of cash
LEVEL 2
Uncover deeper transaction risks
Issues that are not visible in top-level analysis.
- Customer, payor, and vendor concentration
- Unusual fluctuations and anomalies
- Margin erosion hidden in the mix
- Timing and cutoff patterns
LEVEL 3
Identify the value drivers
What is really behind the growth, down to the transaction level.
- Price versus volume
- New and lost customers
- Ordering patterns and cohort trends
- Correlations across the data
LEVEL 4
Inform strategy and value creation
Operational, financial, and strategic factors to carry into the hold period.
- Growth opportunities by segment
- Pricing and operational levers
- Inputs to the investment thesis
- Priorities for the first 100 days
BASELINE QofE
HIDDEN RISKS
VALUE DRIVERS
STRATEGIC INSIGHT
Where the time goes
Illustrative share of engagement hoursWe have led several hundred engagements over decades of M&A experience, across healthcare, business services, manufacturing and industrials, and financial services.
Deep Healthcare Expertise
Every member of our team has spent a meaningful part of their career on healthcare deals. We know the nuances of each subsector, so we ask the questions generalists miss.
Learn More
Business Services
Managed IT services, consulting, facilities management
Home & Commercial Services
Pest control, roofing, fire protection, landscaping
Industrials & Manufacturing
Packaging, building products, industrial products
Consumer, Food & Beverage
Food and beverage, vending, convenience retail
Financial & insurance services
Third-party administrators, benefits and insurance services
Logistics, Technology & Media
Transportation and logistics, business media, tech advisory
Small, cohesive teams keep experienced professionals close to the work.
FOCUS
We scope to your decision
We skip analyses that do not move the investment decision and go deep where it counts.
TAILORED
No rigid template
Different clients and deals need different work. We fit the scope to both.
REAL TIME
Findings as they develop
You hear about key issues when we find them, not in the final report.
PARTNERING FOR SUCCESS
What middle market sponsors tell us, and how we fix it
See the pain points we hear most and how our model answers each:
WHAT WE HEAR |
HOW WE PARTNER |
|---|---|
| “Diligence takes too long and costs too much for a deal this size.”
“No communication. We never know where things stand.” |
Communication and Fee Transparency We hold to our initial fee estimate. You get deal issues, status, and fees at least weekly. |
| “So much admin and CYA red tape.”
|
Speed Wasted time kills deals. We stay responsive and focus on what matters to the investment decision. |
| “We get the B team, and it keeps changing.”
“The team doesn’t understand or consider OUR needs and goals.” |
Consistent Deal Teams We hire for talent density, so only top performers staff your deals. The same team applies your priorities on every deal. |
| “An aggressive, inflexible approach damages our relationship with the Seller.” | Getting to Close You worked hard to get here. Our process keeps the deal moving forward with minimal disruption to management. |
YOUR DEAL TEAM
Leaders who have seen hundreds of deals.
CPAs with Big Four and global consulting backgrounds. Every professional at VP and above has worked on hundreds of transactions.
Andrew Eckstein
Financial Due Diligence
Andrew is a Partner in MERU’s Financial Due Diligence practice, with more than two decades of experience leading Quality of Earnings engagements, primarily within the healthcare sector. Overseeing more than 50 transactions annually, he brings broad deal experience to both buyers and sellers, with a consistent focus on driving transactions to a successful close.
Brian Bergfeld
Financial Due Diligence
Brian is a Partner in MERU’s Financial Due Diligence practice, bringing nearly 20 years of experience across a range of industries, with a particular focus in healthcare and business services. He specializes in building robust, scalable diligence frameworks for verticals with unique transaction risks, which he has proven across more than 800 transactions.