Pillar 04
M&A Technology Diligence
The technology workstream on an acquisition, before the deal closes.
The same capabilities that grow a business, pointed at one being acquired. Before a deal, we assess a target's technology, data and digital position, rank what we find by risk, and hand back a report you can decide on.
What we assess
Pillar 04
Digital and Brand
- How the target is found and perceived
- Quality and ownership of its channels
- What its market position is really worth
Software and Architecture
- Build quality and maintainability
- Technical debt and what it will cost
- Whether the platform can scale
Security and Compliance
- Security posture and known exposure
- Regulatory and data compliance
- What a breach would cost post-close
Data and Analytics
- Whether the numbers can be trusted
- What the data can and cannot tell you
- Gaps that hide risk or upside
Team and Key People
- Who the business depends on to run
- Skills, capacity and retention risk
- What walks out the door on exit
AI Readiness
- Where AI could raise efficiency
- Where its absence is a liability
- What a buyer would need to build
What Technology Diligence Uncovers
The Issues That Hurt a Deal After Close
The issues most likely to hurt a deal after close are technical, and they rarely show up in the financial model. These are the four we assess for.
Technical Debt Priced into the Deal
A modern-looking stack that is years out of date, carrying a re-platforming bill the buyer inherits.
Key-Person Dependency
A platform that lives in one founding engineer's head, and grinds to a halt if they leave after close.
Security and Data Exposure
Unpatched systems and quiet breaches that surface months later as remediation cost and liability.
Numbers You Cannot Trust
Reported metrics the data does not actually support, inflating the story the seller is telling.
Why it matters
Technology issues that surface after close, such as fragile architecture, security gaps, or unreliable data, are usually discoverable before you sign. Finding them in diligence lets you price them, plan for them, or walk away.
The Engagement and the Report
A Report You Can Decide On
A focused engagement scoped to your deal timeline. Every finding maps to a decision: proceed, re-price, or walk.
01
Scope
Agree the areas, the depth, and the deadline against your deal clock.
02
Access
Data room, and where granted, the target's systems and analytics.
03
Assess
Each area evidenced, findings ranked by risk and cost to fix.
04
Report
Delivered in time to inform the deal, in two to four weeks.
The output
- Findings by area, evidenced rather than asserted.
- Every issue ranked by risk and by what it will cost to fix.
- A view on AI readiness and what a buyer would need to build.
- A recommendation you can take into the deal: proceed, re-price, or walk.
Common Questions
- Who is this a fit for?
- Businesses that want m&a technology diligence delivered by a senior team, with a defined scope and a clear owner for the outcome.
- How does an engagement start?
- With a consultation about where the business stands. We follow with a diagnostic one-pager, then a written plan with scope, start date, and price.
- What affects cost and timing?
- Scope, the state of existing systems and data, integrations, and how quickly decisions can be made. Pricing is quoted after the consultation as one fixed price that holds for thirty days.
- Who does the work?
- Senior practitioners lead every engagement. Where we use AI tooling, people review the output and stay accountable for decisions and delivery, with written updates each week.
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- How We WorkConsultation, diagnostic, fixed-scope plan, then delivery.
- InsightsArticles and points of view from our engagements.
Scoped to the deal
Scoped and quoted in writing after the consultation, at one fixed price that holds for thirty days.