Signed mandate
Perimeter, value range, timetable and the exclusion list, agreed in writing.
You hold it fromWeek 1M&A advisory The number of bidders sets the price.
Buy-side and sell-side mandates for low and mid-market companies and funds. Buying, the job is to keep that number at one. Selling, to raise it.
/ 01
Who our M&A advisors have acted for
spectup runs mergers and acquisitions for low and mid-market companies and funds, on one side of the transaction. 150+ mandates since 2022.
“Their work significantly expanded our access to potential acquisition targets and helped us identify and engage with opportunities we wouldn’t have found otherwise.”
Laurent TrucSVP Business Development, Society Brands
~$12MTransaction
Buy-sideMandate
2024Closed
Society Brands
be
CreatorIQ
PopMeals
GORD
KLAYD
OnePulse
BREATHE
Perplexity
Lane Health
Imperative VC+150 more
/ 02
spectup’s record
Every number here comes out of a transaction we closed.
Advised on M&Abuy-side and sell-side transactions$150M+
Raised, placed and advisedacross every mandate since 2022$760M+
Mandates runcapital raising and M&A, since 2022150+
Investor, LP and acquirer relationshipsevery one from a closed transaction440+
I have worked with two other M&A advisors. You produced the best results by a very wide margin.
20strategic and acquirer meetings booked for them
MastercardProvidence Equity PartnersCrowe GlobalDailyPayOptimal BlueKochavaHealthWare SystemsMiCamp Solutions
/ 03
Buy-side or sell-side: which M&A mandate you need
spectup runs buy-side advisory and sell-side advisory mandates from one desk. Which side you sit on decides who we look for, how we reach them, and what your leverage actually is.
Buy-side
Be the only one at the table
- What you want
- A company nobody else has seen
- Who we look for
- Owners who never listed the business
- Your leverage
- No competing bidder, and time
Sell-side
Never be the only offer they have
- What you want
- A market of buyers, not one offer
- Who we look for
- Acquirers with the money and a reason to move
- Your leverage
- Competition, and a credible option to walk
/ 04
Where M&A transactions break
spectup has run mandates through all four, and four failures account for most of it on a buy-side or sell-side process, and they do not kill a deal at the same point. How far each run gets is the difference between a wasted month and a wasted year.
The target had been shown to everyoneDies at Approach
By the time it reaches a list, the buyers who wanted it have already passed.
What prevents itA universe built from your thesis, so most of the list has never seen an advisor.
The process leakedDies at Dialogue
Staff hear it, a customer hears it, a competitor hears it. Value leaves while you negotiate.
What prevents itA no-names approach on a list you approved, and your name released only against a signed NDA.
One bidder, and no alternativeDies at Offers
They set the price, the timetable and the terms, and every concession is one-way.
What prevents itSeveral qualified acquirers on one deadline, with an underbidder live to the end.
Nobody held the timetableDies at Diligence
Diligence drifts, urgency goes, a quarter passes. Deals die of exhaustion more than disagreement.
What prevents itOne partner owning the schedule across your counsel, your accountants and the other side.
The two on the left are decided in the list and the approach, long before a single conversation starts. The two on the right are decided by whoever is holding the process while it runs.
/ 05
The spectup partners who run your mandate
The partner on your first call is the partner who runs the mandate.
Discuss a transaction/ 06
How an M&A advisor finds the counterparty
On a buy-side or a sell-side mandate we hold every name to the same three tests. Where all three overlap is a counterparty. Everywhere else is an entry on a list.
All three at once
A name only counts as a counterparty when it clears every one of the three. Two out of three is an entry on a list.
Where a name can come fromOther advisors license the first set and work from something that has not changed since they bought it. We built both halves of ours, and the third set is the one nothing can be bought to fix.
/ 07
What an M&A mandate puts in your hands, and when
A workstream name is a promise. These are the things we put in your hands on a buy-side or sell-side mandate, dated before any work starts.
01/ 06
Signed mandate
Valuation and the argument
The counterparty list
A live approach log
Data room and diligence tracker
Term sheet through to signature
Valuation and the argument
A model and a defensible range, plus the case the other side's committee repeats when you are not in the room.
You hold it fromWeeks 2 to 4The counterparty list
Ranked, with a reason against every name, and every exclusion you asked for already applied.
You hold it fromWeeks 3 to 6A live approach log
Who was contacted, when, by whom, and what they said. One channel, nothing happening that you cannot see.
You hold it fromWeek 6 onwardData room and diligence tracker
Questions, owners and dates across your counsel, your accountants and the other side, held to the timetable.
You hold it fromMonth 3 to 8Term sheet through to signature
Price, structure, earn-out, working capital and conditions, with a partner at the table alongside your counsel.
You hold it fromTo signingAll six are scoped, priced and dated in the mandate before any work starts.
/ 08
Running a process without the market finding out
On a sell-side mandate, staff start looking and competitors brief against you. On a buy-side one, the market learns you are acquisitive and the price moves before you have made an offer. Disclosure runs in stages, and each one is earned.
3 of 9 fields released
What the acquirer is holding
- Sector
- Manufacturing
- Size band
- EUR 10 to 25M
- Geography
- DACH
- Company
- The registered name
- Owner
- Shareholding and succession position
- Revenue and margin
- Three years, audited
- Adjustments
- Add-backs and the basis for each
- Customers
- Named, with contract terms
- Key staff
- Named, with retention position
A one page profile. Nothing in it identifies you, including the combination of details.
/ 09
M&A advisory by region
Mandated out of Munich, running buy-side and sell-side M&A advisory across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific. On a cross-border transaction the counterparty is rarely in your own market, and that is the point.
M&A advisory in the United States and Canada. Acquirers, sponsors and owners in New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Toronto.
/ 10
Sectors we transact in
An acquirer buys inside a sector before it buys a company. These are the nine low and mid-market sectors our M&A mandates and relationships are deepest in, and they are where the transactions on this page were done.
- 01ManufacturingPrecision production, components, tooling
- 02Business servicesOutsourced services on recurring contracts
- 03Healthcare servicesClinic groups, diagnostics, care providers
- 04LogisticsFreight, warehousing and distribution networks
- 05Specialty distributionValue-added distributors and wholesale
- 06Building productsMaterials, systems and installed products
- 07IT servicesManaged services, integration and software
- 08Energy and utilitiesGrid, transition and industrial energy
- 09Consumer and foodBrands with repeat purchase and margin
/ 11
Transactions spectup has advised on
Named where the client has agreed to it. The rest carry sector, side, structure and size band, which is how this market publishes the ones it cannot name.
-
An active sell-side mandate run as a dual track. Details are withheld under NDA until the process completes.
- Sector
- Healthcare services
- Side
- Sell-side
- Structure
- Dual track
- Region
- Europe
- Size
- NDA
- Year
- Active
spectup acts as advisor to the seller
-
A buy-side platform mandate. The thesis set the universe. Every approach ran in the acquirer's name.
- Sector
- Business services
- Side
- Buy-side
- Structure
- Platform acquisition
- Region
- United States
- Size
- $25-50M
- Year
- Active
spectup acted as advisor to the acquirer
-
A bolt-on for a platform already in the sector. The target had never been listed and was not for sale when we approached it.
- Sector
- Manufacturing
- Side
- Buy-side
- Structure
- Add-on to a platform
- Region
- DACH
- Size
- EUR 10-25M
- Year
- 2026
spectup acted as advisor to the acquirer
-
A sell-side mandate run to a deadline with several qualified acquirers on one timetable, and an underbidder live to the end.
- Sector
- Logistics
- Side
- Sell-side
- Structure
- Trade sale
- Region
- Europe
- Size
- Undisclosed
- Year
- 2026
spectup acted as advisor to the seller
-
A buy-side mandate for Society Brands. The target was sourced, approached and led through to close.
- Sector
- Consumer and food
- Side
- Buy-side
- Structure
- Full acquisition
- Region
- United States
- Size
- ~$12M
- Year
- 2024
spectup acted as advisor to the acquirer
-
A sell-side mandate on a no-names approach. The company was named to each party only against a signed non-disclosure agreement.
- Sector
- IT services
- Side
- Sell-side
- Structure
- Sale to a strategic
- Region
- United Kingdom
- Size
- Undisclosed
- Year
- 2024
spectup acted as advisor to the seller
-
A buy-side mandate on a fragmented market. The list was approved before anyone was contacted and the approach came from a partner.
- Sector
- Building products
- Side
- Buy-side
- Structure
- Full acquisition
- Region
- Europe
- Size
- EUR 10-25M
- Year
- 2023
spectup acted as advisor to the acquirer
-
A buy-side mandate on an owner-managed business with no process running. Price, structure and conditions were negotiated to signing.
- Sector
- Specialty distribution
- Side
- Buy-side
- Structure
- Carve-out
- Region
- United States
- Size
- Undisclosed
- Year
- 2023
spectup acted as advisor to the acquirer
150+ mandates since 2022 across capital raising and M&A, in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific.
About spectup/ 12
Three ways to run an M&A process, and what each costs you
spectupA bulge-bracket bank
A business broker
Who works it
spectupThe partners you meet on the call, for the whole term.
Bulge-bracket bankA coverage banker wins it, an associate team runs it.
Business brokerOne broker, carrying twenty other listings.
Where it fits
spectupLow and mid-market, where a dedicated desk decides it.
Bulge-bracket bankLarger deals, where the fee supports a full desk.
Business brokerSmall business sales, mostly to individual buyers.
Counterparty coverage
spectup440+ relationships from closed transactions, plus signal-driven outbound to names nobody has a line to.
Bulge-bracket bankThe firm's institutional coverage.
Business brokerA listing site and a buyer mailing list.
Sides
spectupOne side, and no fee from the other.
Bulge-bracket bankRelationships on both sides of the market.
Business brokerPaid on the sale, whoever the buyer is.
What it costs
spectupMonthly retainer plus a transaction fee, agreed before work starts.
Bulge-bracket bankA larger retainer plus a success fee.
Business brokerCommission on close, rising as the deal gets smaller.
If it stalls
spectupThe same people are still on it.
Bulge-bracket bankPriority follows the fee pool.
Business brokerThe listing goes stale next to the others.
If you think a row is unfair to the alternative you are weighing, say so on the first call.
/ 13
What M&A advisory costs, and when you pay it
We price M&A advisory services two ways: a monthly retainer while we run the mandate, and a transaction fee that only lands on signing.
Monthly retainer+Transaction fee
Mandate term
Eight monthly retainers while the work runs, then one transaction fee at signing.
01
The retainer
The desk, the model, the materials and the outreach. Flat for the term.
02
The transaction fee
A percentage of transaction value, capped in the mandate. Paid only if a transaction signs.
/ 14
M&A questions we answer on every first call
The questions that come up before anyone talks about a specific transaction.
1What does an M&A advisor do?
An M&A advisor is mandated by one side of a transaction. The advisor scopes the mandate, sets the valuation range and positioning, identifies and approaches the counterparty, manages diligence and the timetable, and holds the commercial line in negotiation through to signing. spectup represents one side only and is paid by that side.
2Is an M&A consultant the same as an M&A advisor?
Different jobs. A consultant advises on strategy, readiness and valuation, and the work ends with a recommendation. An advisor holds the mandate, approaches the counterparty, runs the timetable and negotiates to signing. spectup does the second.
3What is the difference between buy-side and sell-side M&A?
4What is the average fee for an M&A advisor?
M&A advisory fees are two figures. A monthly retainer covers process management, materials and counterparty outreach, plus a success fee on completion as a percentage of transaction value. spectup charges both on every mandate. Success fees in this size band commonly sit in the low single digits and fall as transaction size rises, and the fee is capped in the mandate before work begins.
5How do M&A advisors make money?
Almost entirely on completion. The retainer covers the desk while the process runs; the success fee is the substance, and it is paid only if a transaction signs.
6How long does an M&A mandate take?
Six to twelve months from scope to signing. Valuation and materials take the first weeks, the approach starts once you have signed off the list, and the rest depends on how many conversations convert.
7Do you handle the negotiation?
Yes, on the commercial terms. Your own counsel does the documents.
8Do you do post-merger integration?
No. We run the transaction to signing and hand over cleanly. An advisor who sells you both is selling you the second on the strength of the first.
9How do you find the counterparty?
Three tests, three systems, and they are the same tests whichever side you are on. Can they do it comes from Valicon.ai, our own platform holding primary data on what each acquirer has bought, at what size, and on how an ownership is actually held. Are they ready comes from an in-house signal engine watching 80+ triggers continuously. Will they answer comes from 440+ relationships built on closed transactions. Other advisors license a database and answer one of the three.
10Is spectup a registered broker-dealer in the US?
spectup’s U.S.-related activity runs under SEC Rule 15a-6, through a chaperoning arrangement with a U.S. registered broker-dealer that is a FINRA and SIPC member.
11Which regions do you cover?
North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, run out of one office in Munich, including cross-border transactions with multi-jurisdictional requirements.
12When should a company bring in an M&A advisor?
Before the first conversation with a counterparty, not after it. Once a name has been approached badly, or a business shown around and passed on, that is hard to undo: the buyers who wanted it have already formed a view.
13What size transactions does spectup work on?
Low and mid-market. The transactions on this page run from EUR 10 to 25M up to $25 to 50M, with a buy-side transaction at roughly $12M.
We are mandated by one side, and we bring the other one to the table.
Paid by that side only. One call covers fit, structure and who would underwrite it.
Their numberYour number
One bidder is a price taker.
01
Which side you are on, and the perimeter
02
A 30-minute call on fit and counterparties
03
Written mandate proposal
