Buy-side Advisory

Discover the Best Investment Opportunities

Create value through disciplined acquisitions.

When acquiring a business, strategic fit is paramount. Small and mid-sized targets are often difficult to capture in conventional databases—many operate in different countries—making them harder to identify and assess.

The challenge is locating them and educating, persuading, and guiding owners through the requirements of a corporate transaction—often their first—to secure buy-in and execution. These companies frequently have multiple or multi-generational owners, demanding sustained, high-touch engagement to align stakeholders on willingness to sell, valuation, and an acceptable deal structure.

At ONEtoONE, we specialize in middle-market M&A, applying a rigorous, repeatable approach and a worldwide office footprint to source and engage targets that meet your precise criteria. We bring deep experience managing the corporate and emotional dynamics of owner-led businesses.

Our cross-sector and cross-border team identifies opportunities, secures seller commitment, and negotiates the most favorable terms.

We find Targets That Make Yours Stronger

For 20+ years, we’ve built global search tools to find the best-fit targets for your company.

Worldwide Search Capabilities

We operate with dedicated teams of M&A advisors across 90+ cities worldwide.

Negotiating with business owners

Business owners often approach their first deal with distrust—we specialize in closing transactions with them.

The Buy-Side Advisory Process

Selling a company is a complex process that requires a team of advisors specialized in the company’s sector of activity. In summary, the sale is structured in 6 stages: documentation, search, marketing, offers, agreements, and closing. Find out more about these steps and what they consist of.

Initial Engagement

Target Screening & Valuation

Marketing & Offers

Negotiations & Closing

Most recent transactions

Most frequently asked questions about buy-side transactions

ONEtoONE works with the client to define the acquisition thesis, identify qualified on- and off-market targets, and manage the entire deal cycle—including outreach, NDA and teaser process, valuation, due diligence, structuring, obtaining financing, and SPA negotiation.

ONEtoONE leverages global databases, in-depth market research, and the expertise of our sector specialists to identify businesses that match precise investment criteria. With offices across 90+ cities worldwide, we provide direct local access to targets in their own language. We collaborate closely with clients to align objectives and prioritize opportunities with the most substantial strategic synergies.

Our model combines unrivalled reach, deep specialization, and proven execution:

  • Unmatched search capabilities powered by extensive proprietary databases and advanced artificial intelligence tools, enabling us to uncover both on- and off-market opportunities.
  • A specialized research team with over 20 years of experience, dedicating hundreds of hours to each mandate to identify the best strategic fit.
  • Local M&A advisory teams across the globe who engage business owners in their own language, fostering trust and facilitating direct access.
  • Sector experts who refine strategic fit and ensure alignment between client objectives and potential targets.
  • A track record of over 20 years of negotiating with business owners and successfully executing more than 2,000 transactions.

This combination allows us to identify, engage, and secure the right opportunities more effectively than any other Investment Bank.

We coordinate debt and equity: banks, private credit, mezzanine, and co-investors. We test leverage capacity vs. cash flow resilience, covenant headroom, interest-rate sensitivity, and refinance risk. We also run staple or mini-auction processes with lenders when helpful.

Earn-outs, seller rollover, contingent value rights, contingent payments, price-protected adjustments based on net working capital or debt-like items, escrow or holdbacks, vendor loans, and warranty and indemnity insurance are used to reduce risk. We design structures that align incentives and protect downside.

Local regulatory, antitrust, and foreign investment requirements, labor and tax considerations, and cultural nuances are managed by in-country experts. We apply a standardized global process while tailoring outreach, valuation assumptions, SPA terms, and post-closing plans to each market—an advantage made possible by our seasoned M&A advisors operating in most countries worldwide.

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For more profound insights into company sales, visit the ONEtoONE Blog—expert articles, best practices, and FAQs.