First-time buyers
For experienced executives and operators preparing for business ownership. We help define a realistic search around your available capital, operating experience and intended role after closing.
Business buyers & M&A
The Lotus Acquisition Program
Buy-side advice for a first acquisition or a plan to build a group of companies.
Lotus helps buyers find businesses and manage the decisions involved in acquiring them. We work alongside legal, accounting and lending advisers through the transaction, with a plan for management and growth developed before closing.
Who we work with
A search shaped around the buyer.
Business owners
For owners considering an acquisition to expand an existing business. We assess how a target would fit the company you already run and what the combined business would require.
Sponsors and family offices
For buyers pursuing a platform or a series of acquisitions. The work connects a defined investment thesis with owner outreach, transaction support and planning for management across the group.
The engagement
What Lotus brings to the acquisition.
The engagement is built around your acquisition objectives and the support you need. Scope, responsibilities and commercial terms are agreed in writing before work begins.
An acquisition plan
A written buyer brief sets out the industries, business size and geography to pursue. We agree financial criteria, your intended operating role and the factors that would rule out a target.
Target research and owner outreach
We build a research-backed list of businesses and approach owners directly. Outreach reflects the buyer’s mandate and the circumstances of the business, with follow-up managed throughout the search.
A visible acquisition pipeline
A shared CRM records conversations, opportunity status and next steps. Weekly pipeline reviews keep the search accountable and give you a regular opportunity to refine the criteria.
Transaction support
We help assess opportunities and develop the offer, then coordinate diligence, lender requirements and the work needed to close with your professional advisers.
Management and transition planning
We plan for the owner’s transition and the management the business will need. Where an operator is required, we support the search and screening process. The buyer makes the hiring decision.
Support after closing
The growth plan identifies priorities before the purchase. Subsequent work can include sales improvement, pricing, custom software and executive training, with reporting that tracks operating performance.
The acquisition process
From the search brief to ownership.
Each stage gives you the information needed to decide whether and how to proceed.
Define the acquisition
We begin with your objectives and financial position. Together, we establish what the business needs to earn, the role you intend to take and the boundaries of the search.
What you receiveBuyer brief and acquisition criteria
Research and approach owners
The team maps the market, researches businesses against the brief and begins conversations with owners. You can see which businesses have been approached and how each opportunity is progressing.
What you receiveTarget research, owner conversations and a shared pipeline
Evaluate the opportunity
We review the commercial and financial information available, assess dependence on the owner and consider the work required after acquisition. These findings inform the valuation and the decision to proceed.
What you receiveOpportunity assessment and an initial view of value
Agree terms and prepare to close
We support the offer and negotiation, then coordinate the transaction workplan with counsel, accountants and lenders. Financial diligence and financing requirements are worked through before the buyer commits to closing.
What you receiveOffer strategy and a coordinated diligence and closing workplan
Manage the transition
The work after closing follows the plan developed during the acquisition. We support the incoming management team and the agreed growth initiatives, with the longer-term ownership and exit objectives in view.
What you receiveManagement transition and a prioritized improvement plan
Evaluating a business
The questions behind an acquisition decision.
A promising introduction is the start of the work. We assess the business against the buyer’s criteria and the realities of operating it.
- Earnings and financing capacity
- How much cash the business generates, the quality of the financial records, and the debt and working capital the proposed structure would require.
- Customers and revenue
- The sources of revenue, customer concentration and retention. We look at recurring business and the extent to which relationships depend on the current owner.
- Management and owner dependence
- Who runs the business today, what would change when the owner leaves and whether an incoming operator or additional management is needed.
- Opportunities for improvement
- Specific changes to pricing, sales or operations that the buyer could realistically implement, including where software could reduce costs or improve delivery.
- Terms and transition
- The purchase structure, working capital requirements and seller’s transition responsibilities, considered alongside findings from professional diligence.
- Fit with the wider plan
- For buyers building a group, we assess how the business would operate alongside other acquisitions and what integration would require from the management team.
The people involved
Experience across the acquisition and the business that follows.
The engagement brings together the people needed for the work, with a named lead responsible for the client relationship.
Zackary Thornberg
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Client relationship and acquisition-program design, with continued involvement in growth after closing.
Gene Wright
Senior Partner & Head of M&A Strategy
Senior advice on the acquisition thesis, valuation, transaction structure and eventual exit.
Matt Currie
Senior Partner & Chief Strategy Officer
Origination strategy, target research and owner conversations for the acquisition search.
Charles Burke
Chief Revenue Officer
Revenue leadership and executive and sales training within acquired businesses.
Dan Lipschultz
Head of Growth
Initial buyer conversations and assessment of acquisition objectives, capital and fit.
Rhina Esteban
Director of Operations & Deal Origination
Seller research, outreach coordination and the records and follow-up behind the acquisition pipeline.
Before we speak
Common questions.
Do I need to have identified a business?
No. We can help define the acquisition criteria and conduct the search. If you already have a target, the initial discussion can focus on that opportunity and the support needed to evaluate and pursue it.
How much capital will I need?
That depends on the business, purchase structure and financing available. We discuss your capital position at the outset so the search reflects what you can pursue. The financing plan also needs to account for working capital and the costs of completing the transaction.
How does financing fit into the process?
We help prepare the buyer and deal materials and coordinate introductions and requirements with lending and loan-packaging partners. Financing options are assessed alongside the acquisition. The lender determines eligibility and terms.
Who runs the business after closing?
That is addressed before the search begins. Some buyers intend to operate the business themselves; others need a management team. Lotus can support operator recruitment and transition planning, while the buyer retains the operating and hiring decisions.
Can the engagement cover more than one acquisition?
Yes. The program can support a platform acquisition and subsequent additions. The plan needs to address management capacity and integration as well as sourcing, so each acquisition contributes to a business the buyer can operate effectively.
Your acquisition plans
Discuss your acquisition plans
Tell us what you would like to buy, the capital you expect to commit and how you want to be involved in running the business. If you have already identified a target, include a short description. We will use the conversation to establish where Lotus can help.
Helpful to have in mind
- The business or industries you are considering
- Your available capital and financing plans
- Your operating experience and preferred role
- Your timing and any target already under consideration
Considering a sale? Tell us about your business. Our acquisition work represents the buyer, and you can work with your own advisers throughout.