Use case · M&A due diligence
Surface deal-killers before signing, not after closing.
Financial and legal diligence tell you what the target owns. We tell you who you’re buying it from: the litigation, distress and regulatory history of the company and every owner and officer behind it.
What goes wrong without it
The risks that don’t show up in a data room.
Litigation the seller didn’t mention
Suits against the founders personally, filed in counties the disclosure schedule never covered.
A pattern of failed ventures
Prior bankruptcies, tax liens and judgments that say more about management than any reference call.
Exposure you inherit at close
Sanctions links, SAM.gov exclusions or regulatory actions that become your problem the day you sign.
What we check
The searches that matter most in a deal.
Every M&A case runs the full package on the target and each principal. These are the searches that most often change a deal.
See all 28 searches →County civil · Federal district civil
Contract disputes, fraud claims and judgments against the target or its owners.
Federal bankruptcy
Prior failures by the same principals, often under a different company name.
Federal tax liens · State tax liens · UCC liens
Unpaid taxes and secured creditors that may already have a claim on the assets.
OFAC and global sanctions
Any link to a sanctioned person or entity, for the company and every owner.
SEC enforcement actions · FINRA · NFA
Enforcement actions and disciplinary history for anyone in financial services.
Business history (SOS, D&B)
Prior entities, dissolved companies and officer roles the pitch deck leaves out.
What a finding looks like
Graded, sourced and matched to the right person.
Each finding tells you what happened, how serious it is and how we know it’s the same person, with the record attached for your file.
Sample finding · fictional subject
Federal bankruptcy — Chapter 7
HighSubject: Marcus Reyes, CFO and 45% owner of the target. Prior company, Reyes Freight Partners LLC, filed Chapter 7 in the D. Ariz. in 2019 with roughly $2.1M in unsecured claims. Not disclosed in the management questionnaire.
- Court and case
- D. Ariz. · 2:19-bk-0XXXX
- Identity match
- Name, DOB, address history
Petition and docket attached
Where it fits
From letter of intent to close.
At LOI
Open the case
Add the target and the principals from the cap table. It takes minutes in the client portal.
During diligence
Read the report
Findings arrive in about 5 business days, in time to shape the questions you ask and the reps you negotiate.
After close
Keep watching
Continuous monitoring re-screens the principals daily and alerts you when something new appears.
Questions
M&A due diligence, answered.
Who should we include as subjects?
The target entity plus anyone with significant ownership or control: founders, majority owners, officers and directors. Holding companies in the ownership chain can be added as entity subjects.
Can you work to our signing date?
Tell us the date when you open the case. Most reports land within 5 business days; slower county courts and international subjects are flagged up front so you can plan around them.
Does the target know we’re investigating?
Our standard work uses public records and doesn’t involve contacting the target. Enhanced due diligence can add discreet source inquiries, scoped with you first.
What about cross-border deals?
We cover 100+ countries through in-country partners, with source-language records and English translations. International work is quoted per jurisdiction.