WINDRIDGE

FOR ACQUIRERS, MANAGEMENT TEAMS & PE-BACKED PLATFORMS

Outsourced Corporate Development

Build and run an acquisition program without building the full department first. Market mapping, founder outreach, opportunity evaluation, and transaction support for management teams and private equity-backed platforms.

An acquisition function alongside your team.

Windridge works as an embedded extension of management: building the acquisition thesis with the team, mapping the market against it, and carrying opportunities from first contact through analysis, diligence, and the decision itself.

Every opportunity is weighed against the corporate strategy it serves—the point of the work is not more deals, it is the right ones. The engagement typically runs as a standing capability across a pipeline rather than a single transaction.

  1. Build the thesis

    Set with your team, against the strategy it serves.

  2. Map the market

    Prioritize the companies that fit, then approach them.

  3. Carry each opportunity

    From first contact through analysis, diligence and the decision.

The point is not more deals. It is the right ones.

Ways to work together

Choose the capacity your acquisition program needs. Both modes have a defined scope, principal oversight, and agreed management approvals.

Origination

For an acquirer that needs a consistent pipeline and has the capacity to evaluate and execute transactions internally.

DEFINED OUTPUTS

  • Acquisition criteria and a prioritized market map
  • Approved founder outreach and structured follow-up
  • Initial qualification, conversation notes, and introductions
  • A shared pipeline with owners, next actions, and decision points

A recurring origination mandate. Detailed modeling, diligence management, and live-deal execution are scoped separately.

Origination + Execution

For a management team that also needs hands-on support evaluating opportunities and coordinating the transaction work.

DEFINED OUTPUTS

  • The Origination program, plus deeper opportunity evaluation
  • Financial analysis, transaction models, and decision materials
  • Diligence requests, issue tracking, and adviser coordination
  • Negotiation support and integration-readiness planning

A recurring program with agreed live-deal capacity. The number of active opportunities and specialist workstreams are defined in the scope, not unlimited.

Programs are tailored to the thesis, pace, and resources available. A focused live-deal assignment can also be scoped without an origination retainer.

Programs are tailored to your thesis, pace and resources.

Discuss your acquisition plan

The first 90 days

An illustrative starting sequence, adapted to your thesis, readiness, and the opportunities in the market. It is not a timetable for completing a transaction.

Days 1–30

Set the thesis. Build the map.

Agree target criteria, exclusions, responsibilities, and reporting. Research and prioritize the initial universe, approve the approach, and begin outreach when ready.

Working output
Acquisition brief, initial market map, and outreach plan

Days 31–60

Open conversations. Refine the fit.

Qualify responses, record owner objectives and timing, prepare management introductions, and adjust priorities using what the market is telling us.

Working output
A working pipeline, target briefs, and documented next actions

Days 61–90

Evaluate progress. Decide what comes next.

Review qualified opportunities and pipeline coverage. Where the mandate includes execution and an opportunity is ready, progress the analysis and diligence work.

Working output
Program review, opportunity decisions, and the next-quarter plan

How a program runs

Select a stage
What should the company buy — and why?

What the company should buy and why — built with management, against the corporate strategy it serves.

Make the next decision clear.

A useful pipeline is more than a list of names. Each opportunity should show why it fits, what remains unknown, and who needs to do what next.

Initial target brief

Target profile
Regional equipment-maintenance provider serving commercial customers.
Potential thesis fit
Could add service coverage in an adjacent geography. Customer mix and operating fit still need validation.
What is not yet known
Ownership objectives, maintenance-contract quality, customer concentration, management continuity, and financial performance.
Current stage
Initial research. No seller interest or transaction terms established.
Next action & owner
Management reviews strategic fit; Windridge prepares an introduction only after outreach approval.
Decision needed
Proceed to a founder conversation, gather more information, or remove from the active list.

Clear responsibilities from the start.

Windridge

Owns the agreed research, outreach, analysis, coordination, and reporting work. The principal leads important relationships and reviews decision materials.

Your leadership team

Owns acquisition strategy, operating assessment, financing commitments, target and outreach approvals, and final transaction decisions.

Specialist advisers

Provide legal, tax, quality-of-earnings, technical, clinical, or other specialist diligence as required. Their scope and fees are agreed separately.

Our corporate development work

See all our work →

Windridge rebuilt a digital marketing platform’s acquisition program, from market mapping and founder outreach through diligence and integration planning. The first two agency examples below belong to that same client program.

Our work includes Windridge engagements and selected work of the principal. Engagements from 2024 onward describe strategic scope; financial terms are withheld. Earlier values provide transaction or financing context, not proceeds or a represented closing outcome.

Have a thesis in mind? Tell us what you want to acquire.

Start a conversation

Common questions

Building an acquisition program?

Describe the thesis, the pace you have in mind, and what exists internally today.

hello@windadv.com

What happens next

We review your note and follow up to understand the situation. If there is a fit, the next step is a conversation about priorities, scope, and how an engagement would work.

Please keep the first note high-level. Sensitive documents can follow after the appropriate confidentiality arrangements are agreed.

Only your name and email are required.

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