Buy-Side M&A Advisory: Why work with Calder?
2025 Update: Calder's Buy-Side Gold service recognized as finalist for Product/Service of the Year at the 23rd Annual M&A Awards in New York.
Buyer competition, research, calling/emailing bankers, lack of time for prospecting/pipeline building, and limited administrative resources: these are all factors that add to the difficulty of sourcing enough deal flow to be successful in buying one or more businesses. We understand these limitations, which is why we have created an aggressive buy-side M&A advisory firm focused on sourcing services designed to do the work that corporate, family office, private equity, and individual entrepreneurial buyers know is necessary but often falls to the bottom of the priority list.
Calder Capital’s Buy-Side M&A Advisory is focused on bringing buyers proprietary, off-market deal flow driven by high-quality, high-quantity direct outreach to potential sellers matching our client’s specific criteria and by leveraging our existing network. Our team can source and execute deals nationwide, as evidenced by having completed deals in 30+ different states to date. By completing all of the work in-house, our team can uphold professionalism and quality in establishing the first impression on behalf of our client, as well as guarantee leads and deal flow.
Our buy-side gold clients are guaranteed 10 introductions with sellers that meet their criteria (or they don't pay) and often pay a .5x EBITDA multiple less than fair market value for these businesses. Similarly, our buy-side clients' ability to consistently close transactions with off-market sellers is tied directly to our willingness to research, call, email, and qualify sellers diligently. Most firms offering buy-side services tap their existing network, issue a press release, and hope the phone rings. We contact each owner seven times through cold calling and emailing within two weeks. That's how we get a "yes", "no", or "call me in a year" response from 40%+ of those owners we reach out to. And for those that say "yes", we conduct a 30-minute interview with them to ensure that they're a fit before we bother our client.
Additionally, we will reach out to acquisition targets that you already have in mind but haven't been able to get a hold of or for confidentiality reasons, don't feel comfortable reaching out to.
How Does Buy-Side M&A Advisory Firm Calder Capital Solve These Challenges?
Calder Capital serves as a Buy-Side M&A advisor and provides acquisition search services to serious buyers with clearly defined acquisition criteria. Calder does all of the heavy lifting: researching prospects, qualifying prospects, verifying ownership, confirming phone numbers and emails, reaching out directly multiple times solely on behalf of our client, and setting up a drip campaign so that your prospects are periodically and professionally contacted. Additionally, as requested, Calder will conduct business valuations, write LOIs, negotiate on behalf of our client, coordinate due diligence, and quarterback all steps to a successful closing.
Recent Successful Buy-Side Transactions
Compare Calder Capital with Traditional Buy-Side M&A Advisory Firms
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TRADITIONAL
BUY-SIDE FIRMS |
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|---|---|---|
| MARKETING |
Multi-pronged Marketing Approach •Email blast (200k+ business owner network). •7-touch point prospect outreach to all prospects. •Built-in follow-up drip works to nurture prospects. |
Rely primarily on press releases and existing contacts. Some use email marketing (mostly outsourced). None make calls. |
| QUALIFICATION |
Multiple Layers of Qualification Each prospect is fully qualified through a Q&A phone call with a Calder team member. Roughly 50% - 60% of respondents pass qualification and are introduced so we do not waste your time with unqualified prospects. |
Minimal qualifications leading to wasted time. "Prospect responded to email or booked a time on your calendar so they must be a fit." |
| GUARANTEE |
Performance Guarantee Our team executes as promised - if we do not hit our lead guarantee we refund work fees. Introductions routinely begin within the first month of engagement. |
No other firm offers a guarantee, and certainly not one covering industry, size, geography, and EBITDA. |
| FULL-SERVICE |
One-Stop Shop Our team can introduce off-market deals, value targets, structure offers, write LOIs, coordinate financing/legal, and quarterback due diligence. |
Commonly introduction-only firms or may use independent third parties. |
| AGREEMENT |
Proper Incentive Fair monthly fee to ensure continue focus and mutual incentive alignment on getting a deal done. Success fee in line with industry standards. |
Typically require a large up-front fee to get a team moving and a long-term (12+ month) agreement. |
| INDUSTRY & DEAL EXPERTISE |
Proven Track-Record Our process has led to closed deals in countless industries and differing deal sizes; 220+ of which were completed in the past 5 years - see our tombstones. |
May position themselves as industry experts with industry writeups but typically lack the deal volume to remain sharp. |