Due Diligence: Appraisal and Management of Potential Investors and Partners

How you “do” due diligence? The quality of due diligence matters as much as the quantity undertaken. A meaningful due diligence is a customized exercise which is well integrated into the overall investment process and relies on effective interaction between all participants. It must be able to address different types of challenges, including both the ability and the willingness on the part of the investee to meet the investor’s information requirements. Fortunately, for potential investors, there are well-established tools and practices supporting the investor’s due diligence which are available to everyone.

Participants attending the program will:

• Know why due diligence is necessary.
• Understand the steps required for due diligence?
• Overcome the challenges with due diligence.
• Use specialists to assist with building out analysis on incomplete data sets.

This course is designed for those who must navigate the nuances of potential investment due diligence.

The program is highly interactive and practical. There will be work in groups and pairs as well as individual exercises and everyone will get an opportunity to discuss and practice. Each day will end with time to produce an action plan for delegates’ continuing development and application back in the workplace.

Pre and Post-course assessments will be used to measure the effectiveness of this training and the pre and post skill and ability of participants.

• Conducting a detailed investigation on a target business after successfully completing preliminary negotiations with its owner
• Four types of due diligence: commercial, legal, financial and tax checks.
• Negotiating additional, more detailed terms and conditions in its final agreement with the business’s owner.
• What ‘caveat emptor’ dictates
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• Initial contact
• Preliminary terms
• Investor’s due diligence
• Final terms
• Negotiate contracts

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• Before the due diligence
• Due diligence kick-off
• The due diligence process

• Investment due diligence challenges
• Ensuring cooperation
• The ability to provide/disclose information
• Analysis of the investor’s potential conflicts of interest and possible different motivations to engage in the investment process, other than the investment opportunity itself

• History and track record of the investor from publicly available sources
• Obtain references to check the investor’s industry reputation
• Check for “red flags”
• Direct Q&A with the investor to probe its stance on key matters of importance to the investee and its degree of openness