Consulting · Technical due diligence
Know what you are buying.
An independent assessment of a manufacturing company, from technology and product strategy through development and organisation to IT, licensing and quality. Buyers see the risks before they close.
The risk
The financials don't show everything.
Investing in a technology or engineering company without knowing the reality of its development is risky. Process debt, dependence on key people, hidden quality problems and gaps in IP can destroy deal value after closing.
Financial due diligence sees little of this. Our technical due diligence gives you a clear picture before you commit, from someone who has led engineering organisations of 70 to 300 engineers himself.
What we assess
Nine areas, one verdict.
Technology and product strategy
Whether roadmap and architecture fit the business strategy and the investment thesis, how scalable the technical base is and where technical debt slows growth.
Product management and portfolio
How market and customer requirements make it into products, how differentiated and future-proof the portfolio is and how many variants are carried along.
Development processes
Maturity of requirements, development, testing, release and documentation, and for software also code quality and maintainability.
Engineering governance and budgets
Project and portfolio governance, metrics and schedule reliability, and whether the R&D budget fits the planned growth.
Leadership and organisation
Structure, responsibilities and decision paths of the technical organisation, and succession in the leadership team.
Team and key people
Capabilities, dependence on individual people, attrition, ability to recruit and the role of external development partners.
IT and information security
IT operations, ERP and other business systems, backup and disaster recovery, and the maturity of cyber security.
IP and licensing
Patents and ownership of development results, and correct licensing of purchased and open-source software.
Quality, standards and compliance
Field issues and complaints, certifications such as ISO 9001, ISO 13485, ISO 26262 or ASPICE, and regulatory obligations including data protection.
What you get
A report you can decide on.
Independent assessment across nine areas, each as a traffic light: current state against what you would expect for the size and maturity
Benchmarking against industry standards, so you can put the result in context
Risk and opportunity report with measures before closing and for the first 100 days after, each with urgency and a rough cost estimate
A structured 19-step process, from the non-disclosure agreement to the final report
Frequently asked questions
Before the first conversation.
What does a technical due diligence cost?
It depends on the size of the transaction and the depth of the assessment. After the intro call you receive a fixed quote.
How confidential is it?
Fully. The process starts with a non-disclosure agreement before we see any documents.
Do you work with M&A advisers?
Yes, on both the buy and the sell side. We cover the technical side, while finance, legal and tax stay with your advisers.
See the risks before you close.
In the intro call we clarify scope, timing and what you need for your decision.