WHAT WE DO
Three services. One focus: the outcome you're building toward.
Whether you're ready to sell, looking to acquire, or planning an exit years from now — we work with you from strategy through close.
01
Sell-Side Advisory
Selling a business is the most consequential financial decision most owners will ever make. A poorly run process doesn't just leave money on the table — it can cost you the right buyer, the right structure, and the right outcome for your employees and legacy.
Deacon manages the full sell-side process on your behalf. We prepare your business for market, identify and approach the right buyers, manage diligence, and negotiate the terms that matter — so you can stay focused on running the business while we run the process.
Financial packaging, positioning narrative, and CIM development. We frame your business to compete for the best outcome.
Targeted outreach to qualified buyers — strategic, PE, and family office. We control the process and protect confidentiality.
We solicit, evaluate, and negotiate indications of interest and letters of intent to maximize leverage before exclusivity.
We coordinate buyer diligence, manage the data room, and protect your valuation through the most vulnerable stage of the deal.
Final purchase agreement negotiation, closing coordination, and post-close transition support.
02
Buy-Side Advisory
Finding the right acquisition isn't just about deal flow — it's about finding businesses that fit your thesis, your culture, and your timeline. Generic intermediary lists aren't enough. You need a partner who understands what you're looking for and can source, qualify, and deliver opportunities that actually match.
Deacon runs targeted buy-side searches on behalf of acquirers, identifying off-market and lightly marketed businesses, managing outreach, and guiding you from first conversation through a signed purchase agreement.
We define your acquisition criteria — sector, size, geography, business model — and build a targeted search mandate.
Direct outreach to owner-operators and off-market businesses. We surface opportunities before they hit a broad process.
We vet opportunities against your criteria, make the initial approach, and manage early-stage conversations on your behalf.
LOI negotiation, diligence coordination, and closing support through final purchase agreement execution.
03
Exit Planning
The owners who get the best outcomes don't start planning when they're ready to sell — they start years earlier. Exit planning isn't about rushing a transaction. It's about building the business in a way that maximizes value, minimizes risk, and puts you in control when the time comes.
Deacon works with owners on a longer horizon — identifying value gaps, improving EBITDA quality, addressing key-person risk, and structuring the business so that when you're ready to run a process, you're starting from a position of strength.
We assess where your business stands today versus where it needs to be to command the valuation you're targeting.
Identifying and addressing adjustments, addbacks, and structural improvements that buyers will scrutinize in diligence.
Customer concentration, key-person dependency, and operational gaps that erode valuation or kill deals in diligence.
When you're ready to run a process, we already know your business — and you're ready for the market.