Confidentiality and selection
Agree the NDA, access and authorized Nation lead. Select one acquisition or merger opportunity.
Business and transaction advisory
Business acquisitions. Mergers. Stronger Nation economies.
M&A and business advisory for First Nations leadership and economic-development teams—from assessing the opportunity to supporting an agreed transaction mandate.
A business needs to fit the Nation’s objectives.
We help your team evaluate acquisitions, mergers and strategic partnerships against commercial return, community benefit, capital requirements and operating capability. We can begin with a live opportunity or help define the acquisition criteria and target search.
- Business acquisitions, mergers and sales
- Acquisition criteria and target assessment
- New Nation-owned enterprises
- Expansion of existing businesses
- Partnerships and joint ventures
- Commercial uses for land and buildings
- Growth and ownership-transition opportunities
M&A ADVISORY SERVICES
Support across the acquisition process.
| Area of support | The work | What your team receives |
|---|---|---|
| Acquisition strategy and target review | Define sectors, geography, investment capacity and operating requirements. Support target identification and assess potential businesses against the Nation’s criteria. | Acquisition criteria and an assessment of target fit. |
| Valuation and financial assessment | Examine earnings quality, valuation assumptions, working capital, capital expenditure and cash-flow requirements. | A commercial assessment of value, assumptions and financial exposure. Any formal independent valuation is separately scoped. |
| Due-diligence coordination | Organize document requests, track questions and coordinate appointed legal, accounting, tax and technical specialists. | A due-diligence register, unresolved issues and decision requirements. |
| Negotiation and transaction structure | Support discussions on price, payment terms, conditions and proposed deal structure with the appointed professionals. | Negotiation priorities and commercial terms for leadership consideration. |
| Funding readiness and completion coordination | Clarify capital needs, organize commercial information for funding discussions and track agreed transaction milestones. | A funding information checklist and completion action register. Lenders and investors make their own funding decisions. |
| Ownership transition planning | Identify management, staffing, handover and operating requirements for the acquired business. | Agreed transition priorities, owners and next actions. |
A POSSIBLE FIRST ASSIGNMENT
Review one live acquisition.
Begin with the opportunity your economic-development team is already considering.
Commercial assessment
Review business fit, financial records, funding needs and assumptions. Identify specialist due diligence.
Leadership decision
Present findings, unresolved questions and a recommendation to advance, revise, defer or stop.
A first review informs the next decision. Transaction execution requires its own agreed mandate.
THE QUESTIONS THAT MATTER
The economics and practical requirements.
Demand and revenue
What supports the demand, and how will the business generate cash?
Investment and exposure
What purchase price, working capital and further capital commitments are required?
Operations and people
Who will manage the business, and what capabilities must be in place?
Terms and due diligence
What responsibilities, risks and outstanding evidence need to be understood?
TRANSACTION SUPPORT
A defined mandate for the work ahead.
Assignments may include commercial review, specialist due-diligence coordination and negotiation support. The recommendation may be to proceed, revise, investigate further or decline.
Advisory fees and any transaction commission or success fee are agreed in writing, including the payer, calculation basis, completion trigger and retainer treatment. Related business interests are disclosed before affected recommendations.
Each mandate identifies whether Umbrella, Business Finders Canada or another appointed provider is responsible for specific work. Regulated transaction work requires an appropriately authorized provider. The mandate identifies the contracting entity, responsibilities, fee-paying party and any commission or success-fee terms.
Confidential information is exchanged through an agreed process. Start with a brief overview, then arrange the appropriate confidentiality terms and document access.
Discuss an acquisition or merger ↗Start with one priority.
Tell us what your Nation is considering, what work already exists and when a decision is needed.