M&A buyside support (General)
Buy-side M&A is rarely short of ambition.
The challenge is turning that ambition into a controlled acquisition process that produces a good business at a sensible price, with a realistic integration path.
Dealmaking
In the last few years, dealmaking has moved through sharp shifts in financing conditions, valuations, and risk appetite.
Announced global deal values fell materially from the 2021 peak, then began to recover as markets adjusted to a “new normal” around cost of capital and underwriting expectations.
That volatility is exactly why buyers need disciplined target screening, evidence-led diligence, and an execution plan that is built before momentum and narrative take over.
Figure A is shown in the gallery below (Global M&A deal value 2021–2024e).
Sources (web addresses):
https://www.imaa-institute.org/publications/imaa-mergers-and-acquisitions-review-2023/
Commercial reality
The commercial reality is that a large proportion of deals do not deliver the outcomes the acquirer expected.
KPMG’s research on public-to-public transactions (over US$100m, 2012–2022) found 57.2% of acquirers ultimately destroyed shareholder value, with performance falling on average in the two years following close.
That is not a reason to avoid M&A.
It is a reason to treat buy-side work as a value-protection discipline, not a corporate “event”.
The best acquirers win because they are precise about what they are buying, why it matters, and how value will actually be realised after signing.
Figure B is shown in the gallery below(Public-to-public M&A outcomes, KPMG).
Source (web address):
https://kpmg.com/us/en/articles/2025/ma-synergies-value-public-acquisitions.html
Buy-side processes gap
Where buy-side processes typically go wrong (and why clients bring this work to CGI) is not a lack of spreadsheets or advisors. It is the gap between a plausible deal story and an executable operating reality.
Large advisory teams can generate volume; long lists, template diligence checklists, and polished materials. What they often struggle to provide is single-thread ownership that keeps the process moving, tests assumptions early, and links each diligence question back to the value case. In practical terms, you get lots of activity, but not enough clarity.
CGI’s buy-side support is designed to close that gap.
We help you define an acquisition thesis with measurable criteria (capability gaps to fill, revenue or distribution logic, cost take-out realism, geographic or customer expansion, risk appetite, and dealbreaker issues).
We then translate that into a target map and screening approach that is commercial, not academic: who matters in your space, which competitors or adjacent players create real synergy, what valuation ranges are sensible, and what integration complexity looks like in the real world.
From there, we keep the process controlled: target screening, management engagement preparation, data-room discipline, diligence coordination across workstreams, and an execution plan that anticipates the first 100 days rather than improvising them.
You should be comfortable because this is senior-led and accountability-led.
You tell your story once.
We document the objectives, build the decision framework, and run an organised cadence so the right people spend time on decisions rather than chasing updates.
Our focus is straightforward: protect value by keeping decisioning grounded in evidence and sequencing
Typical engagement
A typical engagement includes:
(1) an acquisition thesis and screening scorecard aligned to your strategy
(2) a target landscape that prioritises credible opportunities rather than noise
(3) diligence coordination with a clear issues log and decision points
(4) value and synergy framing that is realistic about time, cost, and dependencies
(5) an integration-ready plan (Day 1 / Day 100) so the deal is executable, not just signable.
Where formal legal, regulatory, or tax advice is required, we coordinate with appropriately licensed professionals, but we keep the transaction moving as one integrated process.
Call to action
If you are considering acquisitions (or want to build a pipeline), we can start with a short discovery session to define your buy-side criteria and the “non-negotiables”, then revert with a structured scope, deliverables, and fees aligned to the outcome you want (fixed fee, retainer, or staged approach).
