Practical buy-side and sell-side support from first conversation to close.
Deal Advisors, Inc. provides objective M&A advice to business owners, investors, and corporate buyers. We focus on the lower and middle market, where experience, process, and relationships often matter just as much as price and terms.
The firm’s role is to help you understand what is possible, what is realistic, and how different structures affect risk and outcomes. Whether you are pursuing an acquisition or considering a sale, the goal is the same: a clear, disciplined path through a complex and often emotional process.
Services at a glance
Deal Advisors, Inc. supports clients on both the buy-side and the sell-side of a transaction. Each engagement is tailored to deal size, industry dynamics, and the specific objectives of the client.
Some clients require a full, end-to-end advisory mandate, while others need targeted help at a particular stage of the process: from early-stage planning and valuation through to negotiation of detailed legal documents. The service mix is flexible by design.
Buy-Side M&A Advisory
Buy-side mandates are designed for corporate buyers, family offices, and investors who want a structured approach to acquisitions. Rather than passively waiting for deals to appear, we help you define a clear strategy and build a proprietary pipeline.
The emphasis is on quality over volume: fewer, better-aligned conversations with owners and management teams who are a genuine fit with your investment criteria and culture.
- Acquisition strategy & thesis refinement
- Target identification & screening
- Confidential outreach and dialogue
- Valuation, structuring & negotiation
- Due diligence coordination
Sell-Side M&A Advisory
Sell-side engagements are built around clarity, preparation, and controlled outreach. The goal is to present the business in a clear, honest light while highlighting the value drivers that matter most to likely buyers.
A well-run process not only helps improve value and terms, it also reduces distraction for management and preserves confidentiality with employees, customers, and partners.
- Readiness assessment & positioning
- Marketing materials (teaser, CIM, data pack)
- Buyer universe development
- Process management & negotiations
- Closing & transition support
Buy-Side Advisory
Buy-side M&A work starts with clarity. Before approaching any target, we help define or refine the acquisition thesis: which sectors, which business models, what size range, and what kind of integration path makes sense for you.
From there, the focus shifts to building and qualifying a target universe, conducting respectful, confidential outreach, and guiding promising opportunities through valuation, structuring, and due diligence. The process is iterative, and feedback from the market continuously informs how the search is refined.
How we help acquirers
Many acquirers have a clear sense that they want to grow through M&A, but less clarity on where to start or how to organize the search. We translate high-level growth objectives into a practical acquisition program that you can act on consistently.
Along the way, we help you prioritize targets, decide when to advance, when to pause, and when to walk away. The intent is to free your internal team to focus on evaluating the most promising opportunities rather than chasing every inbound or unqualified lead.
- Strategy & criteria: Clarify industries, size range, geographies, and deal structures.
- Market mapping: Build a targeted universe of businesses that fit your thesis.
- Proprietary outreach: Direct, confidential contact with qualified owners and decision-makers.
- Screening & triage: Filter opportunities so you spend time only on viable deals.
- Valuation & structure: Support on price, terms, and incentive alignment.
- Due diligence: Coordinate financial, commercial, and legal workstreams.
- Negotiation & closing: Assist in moving from LOI to a signed purchase agreement.
Example buy-side mandate
A regional industrial services company seeks add-on acquisitions to expand geography and capabilities:
The mandate might begin with a detailed review of existing operations and customer mix, followed by a mapping of logical adjacent markets. Targets are then identified, prioritized, and approached systematically, with regular updates and feedback loops to refine the search.
- Define target profile: revenue, EBITDA, end-markets, and service mix.
- Build an actionable list of owner-operated businesses in priority regions.
- Approach owners confidentially under the acquirer’s brand or anonymously, as appropriate.
- Develop indications of interest (IOIs) and assist with LOI negotiation.
- Support confirmatory diligence and closing with the chosen counterparty.
Sell-Side Advisory
For most owners, selling a business is a rare event. The decision blends financial objectives with personal considerations, succession planning, and the future of employees and customers.
A thoughtful sell-side process aims to balance these factors while bringing qualified buyers to the table in a confidential and structured way. The aim is not only to close a deal, but to close the right deal on terms you understand and accept.
How we help sellers
Preparation is central to sell-side work. We spend meaningful time early on understanding the business, identifying likely questions and concerns from buyers, and shaping a narrative that accurately reflects both strengths and areas where additional context is helpful.
Throughout the process, we help manage communication, coordinate information flow, and maintain competitive tension where appropriate. This allows owners and management teams to stay focused on running the business while the transaction moves forward.
- Readiness & positioning: Understand value drivers, risks, and likely buyer questions.
- Story & materials: Draft teaser, confidential information memorandum (CIM), and financial summary.
- Buyer outreach: Identify and approach strategic and financial buyers under a controlled process.
- Competitive tension: Manage multiple interested parties and indications of interest.
- Deal terms: Support negotiations on price, structure, working capital, and key legal points.
- Transition planning: Help anticipate post-close roles, earn-outs, and integration considerations.
Example sell-side process
A typical process begins with an initial assessment and a mutual decision on whether the business is ready for market. If so, we prepare materials, identify the buyer universe, and launch a confidential outreach effort to decision-makers.
As buyers engage, we facilitate Q&A, organize management meetings, and collect feedback. Multiple indications of interest are evaluated against your priorities, and the preferred counterparty is selected with both economics and structure in mind.
- Initial assessment of business, objectives, and potential buyer types.
- Preparation of marketing materials and data room structure.
- Outreach to a curated list of buyers under NDA.
- Management meetings, Q&A coordination, and process updates.
- Selection of preferred buyer and negotiation of LOI.
- Support through confirmatory diligence and final documentation.
Process & working style
A disciplined process reduces execution risk and creates clarity for everyone involved in a transaction. While every mandate is different, most engagements follow a sequence that is transparent from the outset.
Communication is frequent and direct. You should always know where things stand, what is coming next, and what decisions are required. The process is designed to keep momentum while allowing space for thoughtful evaluation and negotiation.
Discovery & mandate definition
Clarify objectives, constraints, timing, and roles. Align on what a “good outcome” looks like in terms of valuation, structure, and qualitative factors.
Preparation & positioning
Assemble the information, narrative, and screening criteria needed to make conversations productive. Preparation at this stage often accelerates later diligence.
Target / buyer outreach
Conduct confidential, targeted outreach to the right decision-makers, not mass email blasts. Messaging is tailored to the situation and counterparty type.
Evaluation & negotiation
Compare proposals, evaluate structure and risks, and negotiate terms aligned with your priorities. We help you weigh tradeoffs between headline value and deal quality.
Diligence & closing
Coordinate advisors, keep workstreams organized, and help resolve issues so both sides can close with clarity. The focus is on momentum without sacrificing thoroughness.
How we work with clients
The relationship with each client is collaborative. We bring structure, process, and external perspective; you bring deep knowledge of your business or investment strategy. Together, we work through options, tradeoffs, and decision points.
We typically work closely with your legal, tax, and accounting advisors, so that commercial and financial decisions remain aligned with broader planning considerations. The result is a more coordinated and predictable transaction experience.
Typical clients & transactions
Most engagements involve private companies and investors in the lower and middle market, where ownership is often concentrated and decisions blend financial and non-financial objectives.
While the firm can work across a range of sectors, the approach is particularly well-suited to businesses where relationships, reputation, and operational continuity are central to value.
Who we serve
Clients typically include founder-led companies, family-owned businesses, and corporate buyers seeking expansion through acquisition. We also work with investors and family offices building focused investment platforms.
Engagements can range from one-time mandates (e.g., a full exit) to multi-year buy-side programs. In each case, the structure is adapted to the resources and decision-making style of the client.
- Founders and family business owners exploring a sale or partial liquidity event.
- Corporate buyers seeking bolt-on acquisitions to expand geography or capabilities.
- Financial sponsors and family offices building platform and add-on strategies.
- Management teams participating in buyouts or recapitalizations.
Transaction characteristics
Transaction sizes may vary, but the common theme is focus: businesses large enough to require a professional process, but still closely connected to their founders or management teams.
Many engagements involve private company acquisitions and divestitures, majority recapitalizations, or add-on acquisitions. Structures are shaped around the needs of both buyer and seller, including rollover equity, earn-outs, and other mechanisms.
- Private company acquisitions and divestitures.
- Majority recapitalizations and full exits.
- Add-on acquisitions and roll-up strategies.
- Industry-focused or geography-focused programs.
Common questions
Transactions raise a wide range of questions: timing, valuation, confidentiality, and how to balance competing priorities. The points below address some of the questions that come up most often.
Every situation is different. These answers are intentionally general and for informational purposes only. Specific advice would depend on the details of your circumstances and would be provided under a separate engagement.
When should we involve an advisor?
Ideally, before you begin outreach or respond to a formal process. Early planning allows more flexibility on structure, positioning, and timing, and often improves both outcomes and certainty of close.
Involving an advisor early also helps you anticipate resource demands on your team, avoid common pitfalls, and decide which opportunities are worth serious pursuit and which are better declined.
How are fees typically structured?
Most mandates include a combination of a retainer (to cover upfront work and capacity) and a success-based fee tied to the transaction value and structure. Fee arrangements are agreed in advance and documented in an engagement letter.
For some clients, especially those with multi-year buy-side programs, alternative fee structures can be considered. The aim is to align incentives while reflecting the work required for the mandate.
Do you specialize in particular industries?
The firm’s focus can be tailored based on your preferences. Many M&A processes are concentrated in specific sectors or business models, while others are more opportunistic across industries.
What remains consistent is the emphasis on private companies, thoughtful counterparties, and transactions where relationships and reputation matter alongside financial metrics.
What information do you need to get started?
For buy-side work: your investment criteria, any existing pipeline, and clarity on budgets and constraints. For sell-side work: historical financials, key contracts, organization overview, and your objectives for a potential transaction.
An initial conversation is usually the best way to understand where you are in your thinking and whether a mandate makes sense now or at a later stage.
Contact & next steps
If you are considering an acquisition, a potential sale, or simply want to understand what a future transaction might look like, a short initial conversation can be helpful.
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Alternative ways to connect
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Many clients prefer to begin with a short email outlining their goals, initial questions, and timing so that a follow-up conversation can be scheduled efficiently.
- Email: [email protected]
- Location: Houston, Texas