Know what you are buying before you buy it.
Due diligence is a structured investigation of a business before a transaction, such as an acquisition or investment. It tests what the seller has said about the business: whether its earnings are real, what liabilities and tax exposures it carries, and whether it complies with the rules that apply to it. The findings help you decide whether to proceed, at what price, and with which protections in the deal documents.
Due diligence turns assumptions about a target business into facts. It surfaces liabilities that do not appear in the headline numbers, tests the quality of earnings and shows how the business really runs, before you commit money.
M2K Advisors carries out financial, tax and regulatory due diligence, and reports the findings in a form you can act on. We focus on what changes a decision, such as price, structure and protections, rather than producing a report that no one uses.
A review of the target's financial performance and position, to confirm what you are really buying.
Identification of tax exposures and opportunities in the target, and how they should be reflected in the deal.
A check that the target follows the corporate, sector and other regulatory rules it is subject to.
A sell-side review that gets the target ready for buyer scrutiny, so the sale process runs faster and with fewer surprises.
The questions a good due diligence exercise answers.
Whether reported profit is real, recurring and supported by cash.
The true level of working capital and debt-like items the buyer inherits.
Open assessments, unpaid taxes and aggressive positions that could become liabilities.
Key customer and supplier terms, and dealings with related parties.
Licences, filings and sector rules the target must follow.
Issues that should shape the price, structure and warranties of the transaction.
The main types are financial, tax, legal, commercial and regulatory due diligence. M2K Advisors carries out financial, tax and regulatory due diligence, and we coordinate with lawyers and other advisors on the rest.
It depends on the size and complexity of the target and how quickly information is provided. Smaller reviews may take a couple of weeks, and larger cross-border ones longer. We agree a timeline with you at the outset.
Yes. Findings often feed directly into price adjustments, specific indemnities, escrow arrangements and other terms in the deal documents.
A quality of earnings review tests whether reported profit is genuine and repeatable. It adjusts for one-off items and accounting choices to show the earnings a buyer can expect from the business going forward.
Tax due diligence looks for unpaid taxes, open disputes and uncertain positions in the target. When you buy a company, you generally inherit its tax history, so understanding it before you sign protects you from unexpected liabilities.
Yes. We can prepare vendor due diligence so that a sale process runs faster and with fewer surprises, and help you fix issues before buyers find them.
We usually ask for financial statements, tax returns and assessment orders, key contracts, statutory records and management accounts. We share a request list at the start and keep it focused on what matters for the decision.
Due diligence gives you the facts, and our M&A advisory turns them into decisions on price, structure and protections. Because both come from one firm, the findings flow straight into the negotiation.