Acquire
Acquire a founder-led company in Eastern Europe with the operational picture before the process
Deal flow that sits outside the standard channels, a read on how a target really runs before you spend six months on due diligence, and a warm introduction when the founder is ready to talk. Our team has built the growth, delivery and account functions inside 100+ companies in this market, so we know which founders are open to a conversation before a process starts.
Why the standard route stalls
What an acquirer runs into in this market
- No deal flow in the standard channels: The targets worth having use no bankers, list on no marketplace, and their founders have often not decided to sell.
- The operational black box: Financials are built for tax, the CIM exists only where an advisor is already engaged, and delivery maturity, governance and real client relationships are invisible before a process.
- Founder dependency, the hidden deal killer: Revenue, client relationships and team retention often hang on one person; standard due diligence surfaces it after the LOI, when walking away is expensive.
- The valuation gap: Founders expect 5 to 7× EBITDA from the publicized deals; most companies of 2 to 10 million in revenue trade at 3 to 5×, with haircuts for concentration, dependency and delivery risk.
- Country risk read at the wrong level: Blanket Ukraine discounts miss good companies; the question that matters is whether this specific company holds together, and that is answered at company level.
The pattern our founder has watched four times in the last 18 months
The financials look reasonable, operational due diligence passes, the deal closes. Nine months later three senior engineers leave, two of the largest clients churn, and the founder, now an EVP at the acquirer, disengages. The deal loses 30 to 50 percent of its value. All of it was visible before due diligence to someone who knew which three unwritten relationships held the company together; none of it is in a data room.
What we offer
Four ways in, from a call to a mandate
Engagement
What you get, and what it costs
Intelligence call
A call on your thesis: which companies in our network fit, what they really look like, what this market pays. Complimentary.
Pre-DD operational read
A read on a specific target before a formal process: founder dependency, delivery maturity, team stability, client concentration. Complimentary.
Warm introduction
An introduction to a founder in our network who is open to a conversation. A finder fee of 1 to 1.5 percent of the transaction value, paid on close, and only then.
Buy-side advisory
The process end to end where the scope justifies it: target work, the founder relationship, the valuation gap, the structure. Retainer plus success fee, agreed in writing before the work starts.
Who pays, and the conflict policy
The seller pays on close, the standard sell-side model. You pay a finder fee of 1 to 1.5 percent only for a warm introduction through our network that closes. Where we represent the seller on a target, there is no buyer-side fee on the same deal. Any prior advisory relationship with a target is disclosed before intelligence is shared, and you decide whether to proceed.
What a target looks like
The companies in our network
Parameter
Profile
Company
A founder-led services company: IT services first, with the same read available for other B2B services.
Size
2 to 20 million in revenue, 30 to 200 people.
Geography
Ukraine first, then Poland, Romania and the Baltic states.
Deal size
3 to 30 million in transaction value, the range where a 1 to 1.5 percent introduction fee replaces a 3 to 5 percent buy-side banker fee.
How it works
From your thesis to a founder conversation
1
You send the thesis
Target profile, size, geography, timing, and what the acquisition must deliver: capacity, a vertical, a team, an AI capability.
2
We read the network against it
Within a week: which companies fit and which are open to a conversation; an operational read on each once you pick the ones to pursue.
3
We introduce you
A warm introduction from someone the founder already knows, with the valuation conversation prepared on both sides.
4
You run the process, with us where it helps
Your advisors run due diligence and the documents; our team stays on the operational questions, the founder relationship and the integration risks.
Before the first call
Read what we see from inside
M&A Due Diligence Checklist: 30 operational signals
The operational lens a financial process misses: founder dependency, delivery maturity, team stability.
Learn moreFounder Dependency Assessment
Twelve questions that surface the hidden deal killer before the LOI.
Learn moreWhy Eastern Europe is the most underpriced market for IT services acquisitions
CEE multiples recovered to 10.5× in 2024; Ukrainian assets still trade at 3 to 4×. What that gap is made of.
Learn moreWiseboard Talk: what happens after the deal
Post-M&A integration with Iryna Rudenko, M&A Lead at Lviv IT Cluster.
Learn moreFAQ
What acquirers ask first
Yes. We prepare founder-led companies for a sale and run the deal to closing. Where we represent the seller on a target you are looking at, there is no buyer-side fee on that deal, and the relationship is disclosed before any intelligence is shared.
Tell us your acquisition thesis
Target profile, size, geography and timing. Our team comes back within two working days with the companies that fit and the next step. Read by our team only; no founder hears from us without your yes.
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