Sell-Side M&A
Our core practice is sell-side M&A advisory. We represent founders and owners in the full or partial sale of their companies to strategic acquirers and financial sponsors. We build the equity story, prepare the company for scrutiny through disciplined exit-readiness work, run a controlled competitive process, and manage negotiation and diligence through to closing. The objective is not merely a buyer, but the right buyer on the strongest achievable terms, a result grounded in our proprietary M&A research and valuation intelligence across every sector we cover.
Two things a founder evaluating this firm should read before anything else. How we run a sale sets out the process in full. Fees and engagement model publishes what it costs.
How We Run a Sale
Every mandate runs through six gated phases, from pre-market diligence and positioning through closing, planned across roughly nine months. Each phase has a condition that must be satisfied before the next begins, which is what keeps a process from drifting into a bilateral negotiation. The full sequence, the buyer funnel at each stage, what the client is asked to do, and the four points where processes lose value are set out in how we run a sale.
Fees and Engagement Model
Windsor Drake publishes its fee schedule rather than disclosing it late in a selection process. A founder comparing advisors should be able to compare economics before the first meeting.
The engagement letter is negotiated on most mandates, usually by the client’s counsel. The fee rate is not discounted to win a mandate.
Recapitalizations
For owners seeking partial liquidity while retaining meaningful ownership and control, a recapitalization can realize value today while preserving upside in a second transaction. We structure these to balance immediate proceeds, governance, and the owner’s continued role, frequently as one chapter of a longer strategic advisory relationship that begins well before any decision to transact.
Management Buyouts & Ownership Transitions
Where the natural buyer is the management team or the next generation, we advise on structure, financing, and valuation to deliver a fair outcome for the departing owner without compromising the continuity of the business. Every step is run under strict confidentiality controls, with the same process discipline we bring to a full sell-side process.
Strategic Alternatives
Not every engagement begins with a decision to sell. We advise owners weighing their options, whether sale, recapitalization, or continued independence, with candid analysis of what each path is likely to yield and what it will require, informed by the same strategic insights and market intelligence we apply to a live process. For many founders, that conversation starts with a confidential valuation overview.
Sectors We Cover
We concentrate on technology and technology-enabled businesses, maintaining active buyer relationships and publishing valuation research in each. Our coverage spans fintech, B2B SaaS, cybersecurity, and AI software. Sector depth is what allows us to position a company within the specific competitive and valuation context its buyers actually use, drawing on current insight reports rather than generic databases.
Why Process Quality Decides the Outcome
Most founders sell once, and the quality of the sell-side process determines the result more than any single negotiation. A structured, competitive process reverses the leverage that otherwise sits with professional buyers. That is the discipline reflected in our selected transactions and the reason a mandate from our firm is taken seriously by acquirers. If you are considering a sale, the most valuable step is an early, confidential conversation. Begin one here.