BY MICHAEL HOFER

DUE
DILIGENCE
A Guide for a Successful Due Diligence

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 BY MICHAEL HOFER
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABOUT MICHAEL 03

THE M&A PROCESS 04

1. INTRODUCTION TO DUE DILIGENCE 05

2. DUE DILIGENCE TEAM 06

3. GET EXTERNAL HELP 07

4. DUE DILIGENCE AREAS 08

5. FINANCIAL DUE DILIGENCE 09

6. TAX DUE DILIGENCE 10

7. LEGAL DUE DILIGENCE 11

8. COMMERCIAL DUE DILIGENCE 12

CONCLUSION 13

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 BY MICHAEL HOFER

MICHAEL
ABOUT
Welcome to my guide for a successful due diligence!

My name is Michael, and I created this guide to help other executives

and employees who work on mergers and acquisitions projects. A little
bit about myself: I have been a senior executive in international
companies for over 20 years. I have a Ph.D., an MBA, a Master in
Accounting, received the Elijah Watt Sells Award for my CPA exam, and
went to Wharton Business School for my executive education. Based on
30+ M&A transactions, my specialty is in all topics around mergers and
acquisitions including performance improvement plans and
restructuring. This guide is an introduction, and you can read more
about M&A on my website.

Enjoy the guide!

Michael

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 BY MICHAEL HOFER

Understanding mergers and

acquisitions is difficult because
of its complexity. Nevertheless, THE M&A
you usually follow five steps from
the beginning to the end of an
M&A process. PROCESS
Once you have defined that
M&A is one of the strategic tools 1 Strategy Formulation and
for long-term growth, the
development of a target Pipeline Development
pipeline is next. After you
analyze your targets with an
M&A scorecard, you start with 2 Initial Discussions with
initial discussions, followed by a
Target and Letter of Intent
term sheet and Letter of Intent
(LOI). Next comes a more
detailed data analysis in the due
diligence, which is the focus of
3 Business Case and
this guide. You take this Due Diligence
information and develop a
business case and investment
thesis/value capture approach. 4
Afterward, you continue with the Negotiation and Closing
negotiations and close the deal
if you still believe that it creates
value for your company. The
operational integration comes 5 Post-Closing
after the closing in parallel with Adjustments and Integration
any required post-closing
adjustments.

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INTRODUCTION TO
01 DUE DILIGENCE
Due diligence, in a sentence, is the process of collecting and analyzing
information from the M&A target company. In a broader sense, the due
diligence definition is any kind of research and analysis of a company
for a business transaction. It is a crucial step in the mergers and
acquisitions process. Here are a few general tips to make the due
diligence successful:

1. Build a due diligence team with people from different functions

2. Combine internal teams with external experts
3. Question everything in the reporting and planning assumptions
4. Based on the due diligence findings, develop a business case and
investment thesis/value capture approach
5. In parallel with the due diligence, prepare an integration plan
6. Organize check-ins to exchange information between teams
7. Work closely together with the M&A project and negotiation leader

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DUE
02
DILIGENCE TEAM
The main goal of a due diligence process is to understand the target
company better and get more data on the financial performance. It
includes the competitive situation, go-to-market strategy, operational
processes and customer service, management of administrative
processes, and financial statements. When you go through those topics,
you immediately understand why the due diligence team needs to have
a broad background and good business knowledge. Within a short time,
you need to understand why the target has been successful, what
doesn’t work currently, and where is an opportunity for improvements
and synergies.

Choose an experienced project manager to lead the team operationally

together with the M&A lead person, who is usually more strategic.

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03 GET
EXTERNAL HELP
Certain elements in the due diligence are complex. Examples are the
legal, financial, and tax due diligence, including a quality of earnings
(QoE) report. I propose that you work with an external law and
accounting firm for those due diligence items. When you have a target
with R&D and product development, it may also be helpful to hire an
external expert.

I always found that combining internal teams and external experts

results in a better analysis. Also, consider that the workload for people
on the due diligence team is high, and adding external resources helps
you to avoid overloading your employees.

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 BY MICHAEL HOFER

DUE DILIGENCE
AREAS 04
Understanding a target company is complex. It includes the competitive
situation, go-to-market strategy, operational processes, customer
service, management of administrative processes, and financial
statements. My proposal is to have for each of those areas a due
diligence team that can focus on the details. In this guide, I include only
four of those topics: Financial, tax, legal, and commercial due diligence.
Make sure that you also cover all other important aspects in your next
due diligence.

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FINANCIAL
05
DUE
DILIGENCE
The main focus of the financial due diligence is on all facets of the
accounting approach (i.e., accounting standards and policies), cash
management (treasury), and the financial performance of the target
company. The tax due diligence is a separate topic. Focus on the
following issues:

1. Use an external accounting firm and include a quality of earnings

(QoE) report in the scope, which normalizes the reported numbers
2. Understand first the business model, then the numbers
3. Focus on the cash flow, then the income statement and balance
sheet; cash flow/income statement differences should be only due to
timing => continuous big differences are a red flag
4. Think about what is missing in the numbers (because some
companies adjust the reported financials)
5. Don’t assume compliance with accounting rules; even big
companies sometimes have poor quality of accounting

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06
TAX DUE DILIGENCE
Besides the legal due diligence, one of the technically more complicated
topics is the tax due diligence because every country (and sometimes
region) has different tax rules. Here are some examples from my M&A
transactions that will help you with your next due diligence.
1. Ensure that the target company
has complied with filing
requirements, which is not
always the case
2. Identify potential tax risks and
evaluate the target’s tax
strategy (conservative vs.
aggressive approach)
3. Understand the transfer pricing
approach for intercompany
transactions
4. Check whether there is a risk of
permanent establishments in
other countries
5. Analyze the impact of the M&A
transaction on tax positions
6. Think about different tax
structuring options for the group
after the closing

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07 LEGAL
DUE DILIGENCE
The legal due diligence process is one of the fundamental elements of
the overall due diligence process. The reason is that every aspect of a
company has at least some legal touchpoint. Whether you talk about
employees or analyze assets and liabilities on the balance sheet, there is
a legal topic that you need to address in the due diligence. Moreover, the
legal due diligence must address issues that may arise during the due
diligence from other workgroups and use those findings in the
preparation of the M&A purchase agreements later in the process. Here
are some tips for your next legal due diligence:

1. Understand the regulatory

environment in the target's country
2. Start with the analysis of the legal
entity structure
3. Go through all balance sheet and
income statement items to identify
legal topics
4. Intellectual property (IP) is a big
topic; work with an external expert
on it
5. Analyze past, ongoing, and
potential litigation
6. Include Environmental, Social, and
Governance (ESG); it is a growing
topic with a significant impact

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08 COMMERCIAL
DUE DILIGENCE
The commercial due diligence is another essential element of the
mergers and acquisitions process. It is at the heart of understanding the
competitive market position of the target company and digs into other
aspects of marketing and sales. Here are a few topics:

1. Define the addressable market and understand first the market and
the target's competitive position
2. Continue with the business model and go-to-market strategy
before digging into the numbers
3. Get the details of the client list and revenue development
assumptions
4. Understand the target's gross margin calculation because
companies have very different approaches
5. Benchmark marketing and sales costs for potential synergies

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CONCLUSION
Due diligence can be a lengthy and complicated process; however, it is
one of the most crucial elements in the M&A process, and there is no
way around it. Based on your due diligence findings, you develop your
business case and investment thesis/value capture approach. In
parallel with the due diligence, you also work on the integration plan. An
M&A process is a stage-gate process, meaning you have multiple
go/no-go decisions throughout the process. The end of the due
diligence is certainly one of those points where you need to decide
whether you continue the process or not.

The good news is that you don't have to reinvent the wheel. You probably
have at least some employees who worked on M&A projects before, and
there are experts that you can hire. You don't have to do it alone.

You can do it!

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Interested in
More M&A Tips and Ideas?

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