01 / WHAT THE MANDATE DELIVERS
Buy side advisory services built around your search
Buy side advisory services give a buyer a structured way to define, source and assess acquisition opportunities. A useful service should make the work visible: the criteria guiding the search, the channels being used, the opportunities being screened and the next decisions required. You should understand what you receive and how it helps you move toward an informed acquisition decision.
Discreet Acquisitions provides a managed search for US business buyers. Our core services cover buy box development, targeted sourcing, preliminary opportunity screening, weekly pipeline reviews and coordination with your chosen advisers. The exact responsibilities and commercial terms are agreed in writing. This page explains the practical outputs behind those services so you can decide whether a mandate fits your needs.
| Service | Practical output |
|---|---|
| Buy box development | A written acquisition brief with requirements and exclusions. |
| Targeted sourcing | A relevant target universe and owner or intermediary conversations. |
| Screening | Opportunity fit, concerns and missing information. |
| Weekly review | Active pipeline, decisions and next actions. |
| Coordination | A shared view of information requests and responsibilities. |
02 / BUY BOX DEVELOPMENT
Service one: turn your goals into an acquisition brief
A search begins with a written buy box covering target industries, geography, price, earnings, operating role and exclusions. We discuss your capital position, likely funding route, timing and reasons for buying. The aim is to make your criteria specific enough to guide a search while identifying where further information or professional advice is needed.
The practical output is an agreed acquisition brief. It distinguishes essential requirements from flexible preferences and records the assumptions behind the search. If you need an existing manager, that should be explicit. If you can relocate only within a particular region, the brief should say so. This gives both parties a consistent reference when evaluating a new opportunity.
The free Buy Box Audit is the starting conversation. It helps us assess whether your objectives and readiness suit a managed mandate before you commit to a paid service.
03 / TARGETED SOURCING
Service two: build and work a relevant target universe
We research acquisition targets and use suitable sourcing channels around your brief. These can include relevant intermediaries, industry contacts and targeted approaches to business owners. The purpose is to create credible conversations about businesses that may fit your criteria. It is not enough to gather names without understanding why they belong in the search.
On market opportunities may come with an established sale process and initial materials. Off market businesses may require a conversation before the owner’s intentions are clear. The pipeline should distinguish researched companies, contacted owners, interested sellers and opportunities with information available for review. That distinction prevents early activity from being mistaken for a ready acquisition.
A narrower buy box may produce fewer suitable conversations. A broader one may create more screening work. We discuss the evidence as the search develops so you can make an informed decision about whether to maintain or adjust the criteria.
04 / OPPORTUNITY SCREENING
Service three: show the fit, concerns and missing information
Preliminary screening compares each opportunity with the mandate. We organise the information available and identify why the business may deserve further attention. Relevant questions include business model, location, available earnings information, price expectations, management structure, owner involvement and seller motivation. What cannot yet be established should be recorded as an open question.
The output is a clear basis for your next decision. You may choose to request more information, meet the owner, involve a specialist or decline the opportunity. A screening note should not present seller statements as independently verified facts. Nor should it label a business “qualified” without explaining the criteria used and the information still missing.
This initial work helps direct your attention. Formal due diligence is a separate stage undertaken by your appointed professionals. Our buy side M&A advisory page explains how commercial questions carry through into transaction coordination.
05 / WEEKLY PIPELINE REVIEW
Service four: make progress and decisions visible
A weekly review brings together active opportunities, recent developments, reasons for declining targets and actions for the next period. You should be able to distinguish an owner who has not responded from one who has requested a call, or an opportunity awaiting financial information from one ready for specialist review. This makes the pipeline useful for decisions.
The review is also where we test whether the search remains aligned with your goals. If a repeated constraint is limiting results, we can discuss the trade off directly. You might widen geography, change the required management structure or keep the criteria unchanged. Any change should be agreed rather than quietly applied to increase the number of businesses presented.
Our search goal is to bring you four to five high quality options within your agreed buy box each month from the second month at the latest. This is a target discussed within the mandate, not a guarantee of seller availability, transaction readiness or a completed acquisition. Quality, seller engagement and the agreed criteria matter more than filling a quota with unsuitable listings.
06 / NEXT STEP COORDINATION
Service five: organise the people and information around a deal
For a business you decide to pursue, we help coordinate introductions, information requests and next actions with your chosen attorney, accountant, lender and other advisers. This includes keeping unresolved questions visible and clarifying who is responsible for each next step. The purpose is to reduce confusion as the opportunity moves from initial interest into a more detailed investigation.
The output is an organised transaction workstream within the agreed scope. It should help you understand what is outstanding and which decisions require your attention. Your professional advisers remain responsible for their advice, reports and approvals. Seller cooperation, due diligence and financing can all affect timing, so a coordinated process does not create a guaranteed closing date.
07 / CLEAR RESPONSIBILITIES
What is included, and what needs a separate specialist?
The core mandate covers acquisition criteria, sourcing, preliminary screening, reporting and process coordination. Services such as legal advice, tax structuring, financial due diligence, business valuation opinions and lending decisions require appropriately appointed professionals. The engagement should identify where our work connects with theirs and which deliverables are separately commissioned.
This distinction is especially useful when comparing buy side financial advisory or transaction advisory services. Similar labels can describe different scopes. Ask whether a proposal includes an independent review of financial records, a sourcing mandate, commercial support or only one stage of the transaction. A clear scope of work helps prevent important responsibilities from falling between advisers.
08 / WHO THE SERVICE SUITS
Support for different types of business buyers
Owner operators often need a company that matches their skills, available capital and willingness to work in the business. Private investors may need to focus more closely on management continuity and oversight. Family offices can have broader investment criteria but still need a clear decision process for each acquisition. Strategic acquirers need a target that contributes to an existing business plan.
Buy side advisory for private equity buyers also starts with a specific investment thesis and clear sourcing requirements. If you represent a fund, tell us who controls the decision, the intended transaction size and the support already provided by your team. We can then assess whether the mandate fills a practical gap rather than duplicating an established internal process.
09 / US ACQUISITION SEARCHES
Set geography around the way you will own the business
Our buy side advisory service focuses on US business acquisition searches. Your geographic criteria may be nationwide, regional or limited to a particular location. The right scope depends on how the company operates and how involved you intend to be. A buyer planning to supervise local teams has different requirements from a corporate acquirer with an existing regional presence.
If you are researching buy side advisory services in Texas, Chicago, Houston or another US market, discuss the actual operating footprint you need. We can assess a search brief for that geography without implying a local office or a ready inventory of businesses. Location belongs in the mandate alongside the commercial and management requirements.
10 / FEES AND AGREEMENT
Agree the scope before the paid search begins
Our initial audit is free. A paid engagement uses an upfront fee and an agreed success fee, with the precise terms recorded in the mandate. Ask how any credit works, when the success fee is triggered and which third party costs are outside the scope. The agreement should also address duration, existing opportunities and the process for ending the engagement.
Compare buy side advisory fees alongside the work and accountability you receive. A proposal with fewer deliverables may carry a different price, while a broader mandate may involve other professionals and costs. The useful comparison is whether the responsibilities, communication and commercial terms match the support you actually need.
11 / BEGIN YOUR MANDATE
Start with a useful conversation about your buy box
Discreet Acquisitions is led by Philip Pich, a lawyer, former banker and M&A advisor. Our team works across Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. We bring structure and commercial judgement to your search while keeping the final acquisition decisions with you.
Watch Philip’s introduction and complete the acquisition brief below. Bring your current criteria, the funding discussions you have had and the obstacles you have encountered. We will discuss whether a managed search is appropriate and what needs to happen next. For the broader explanation of buyer representation and the search process, read our buy side advisory overview.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Questions about the service
What do I receive during a managed search?
The core outputs are an agreed acquisition brief, a screened pipeline, a documented weekly review and coordination of next actions for opportunities you advance. The written scope specifies the work included in your own engagement.
Will every presented business be ready to buy?
No. Seller interest, information availability and transaction readiness vary. We distinguish the stage each opportunity has reached and the questions still outstanding. Screening is intended to help you decide where to investigate further.
Can you guarantee a business purchase?
No. A completed acquisition depends on the seller, your decisions, diligence, agreed terms and financing. The mandate defines the search process and reporting rather than guaranteeing a purchase or an investment return.