FOR FAMILY OFFICES
We act as the outside deal team for family offices buying companies directly.
Single and multi-family offices investing directly compete for the same assets as funds with full-time deal teams. We work as the outside deal team on those mandates. That covers origination against the family's own criteria, the diligence a direct deal still requires, and capital for the operating companies the family already holds. The office keeps its own managers and advisers, and it makes its own decisions.
WHERE OFFICES COME IN
Four situations where an office brings in outside help.
Every one of these is a transaction mandate with a start and an end. Portfolio management, tax, estate work, and reporting stay with the advisers the family already has, and we work alongside them.
A direct deal against a competitive process
The office wants to own the company rather than a position in somebody else's fund, and the seller's banker has built the process for sponsors.
No proprietary flow of its own
The deals the office sees are the same deals every other buyer has seen, at a price every other buyer already knows.
Co-investing beside a sponsor
The office has an allocation and wants an independent assessment of the asset rather than the sponsor's own materials.
Capital for a company the family owns
Debt or minority equity for an operating business, structured so control stays with the family and the company can produce the reporting that is required.
THREE MANDATES
Three kinds of work, each scoped to the office.
For an office buying directly
Buy-Side Advisory
Origination against the family's criteria, then the work a direct acquisition needs before the decision: outreach, screening, and negotiation. The negotiation is with a seller who runs these processes regularly.
- Owners approached directly, so the office is not one bidder in a queue
- Criteria written down first: sector, size, geography, and timeline
- The office decides; we do the work that leads up to that decision
For a company the family already holds
Capital Raising
Debt and equity raised for an operating business the family owns. The terms are structured so control stays where the family wants it, and so the company can produce the reporting a lender or investor expects.
- Senior debt, unitranche, and minority equity
- Governance and reporting terms negotiated rather than accepted
- Run at the family's pace rather than on a banker's calendar
For an asset under offer, or a co-investment
Technology Diligence
An independent assessment of the technology, security, data, and AI inside a target. It is written for the people making the investment decision rather than for the engineers. Each finding has a dollar consequence and a remediation window.
- Sorted by whether a finding must be resolved before close, changes the price, or threatens the investment thesis
- Usable in a co-investment where the sponsor's materials are otherwise the only source
- The same operator can take the technology leadership role after close if the company needs one
Each is engaged on its own terms and priced per mandate, agreed in writing before work starts. An office with an internal deal team hires us for the parts it cannot staff. That is usually the volume of outreach, and the final judgement stays with the office.
Frequently asked questions
What offices ask on the first call.
- Do you manage the office, or its portfolio?
No. This practice is hired on transactions: buying a company, financing one, assessing what is inside a target, and selling a family-owned business when the family decides to. Portfolio management, tax, estate planning, reporting, and the running of the office stay with the advisers the family already has.
- We have an in-house deal team. Where does this fit?
It covers the work the team cannot staff. An internal team knows the family's mandate better than any outsider will. It usually cannot contact thirty owners in a subsector within a quarter.
- Do you introduce offices to each other?
Our team has worked alongside family offices in several markets for over a decade, and introductions happen where a shared sector or a shared mandate makes them useful. They come out of the work rather than being sold as a service.
- How is this priced?
Per mandate, agreed in writing before work starts. We do not publish fees on this site, because those terms belong in an engagement letter rather than in marketing copy.
- What size of transaction?
Lower middle market and middle market, on both the acquisition side and the capital side. The capital raising page states the size screen in detail.
Start a conversation
Tell us what the office is trying to buy or finance.
A direct acquisition you are working on, a co-investment you want assessed independently, or financing for a company the family holds. You get a straight answer on whether it is a mandate we can run well.
Bass Zanjani leads M&A Advisory and reads every brief. If the mandate is not one we can run well, we will say so rather than take it.