BUY A FIRM
Identify firms that may never come to market
Many attractive professional services firms are never broadly marketed.
Navigate helps acquirers identify firms that fit their acquisition criteria, approach owners directly and create conversations where there is a genuine reason for both sides to meet.
Acquisition search across professional services
Navigate works with acquirers pursuing firms across the following markets:
CPA Firms
Entertainment Business Management Firms
RIA & Wealth Management Firms
Our work can support:
Independent CPA Firms
Capital-backed platforms pursuing add-on acquisitions
Private equity groups seeking a first platform
Investment companies
Single-family and multi-family offices
Individual investors
Entrepreneurs
Searches can be national, regional or focused on a specific professional services niche.
Many of the right firms are not actively for sale
A serious acquisition search cannot rely solely on listed opportunities
An owner does not need to be running a formal sale process to be open to the right conversation. They may be several years from retirement, may be considering succession, may have received occasional approaches without actively marketing the firm, or they may simply be willing to listen if the strategic fit is compelling.
That means the acquisition search often has to reach beyond opportunities already circulating among buyers. Navigate identifies the firms that fit the agreed search and approaches the relevant owners directly. For a defined search area, our job is to work through the relevant firms rather than wait for the right one to appear.
Why a third-party introduction can open more doors
The first approach matters
An owner can react very differently to a direct acquisition email from a buyer than to a conversation introduced by an independent third party. Navigate approaches owners without assuming the outcome. We explain why there may be strategic relevance, learn whether the owner is open to a conversation and understand what matters to them before introducing the parties.
This creates useful context before the first meeting, such as:
Is the owner genuinely interested?
What is motivating them?
What would they want from a potential partner?
Is there enough alignment for the conversation to be worth having?
A useful introduction is more than contact information, it’s a conversation where both sides understand why they are meeting.
The right introduction can reach an owner in a way a direct approach never would.
Firm acquisition outreach takes time
Identifying a firm is only the beginning. Someone still has to find the right owner, make contact, follow up, try again, understand the response and keep the search moving. That work rarely happens through one email or one call. It requires consistent outreach over time and relationship building.
For firms without a dedicated corporate development team, that responsibility often falls to senior executives who already have businesses to run. Navigate provides focused acquisition-search support so that the work continues even when the buyer’s leadership team is focused elsewhere.
This can be particularly useful for:
Firms pursuing acquisitions without a dedicated corporate development function
Investors entering a new professional services niche
Platforms expanding into a new geography
Executives who know what they want to acquire but do not have the time to conduct repeated owner outreach themselves
How an acquisition search works
From acquisition criteria to owner conversations, the goal is to create the right opportunities, not the longest list.
01
Define the acquisition criteria
We start with what you are trying to acquire and why. That can include sector, geography, capabilities and the strategic rationale behind the search.
02
Define the search area
We agree on the geography, niche and profile, then identify which firms are relevant to approach.
03
Contact the relevant owners
We work through the agreed search area directly rather than relying only on opportunities already available to buyers.
04
Understand interest
We determine whether an owner is genuinely open to a conversation and what is driving that interest.
05
Make targeted introductions
When there is enough alignment, we bring the parties together with context around why the conversation may make sense.
06
Report back and keep the search moving
Navigate provides updates on outreach activity and helps coordinate the conversations generated through the search.
How Navigate helps
Clear roles make for a better process
Navigate focuses on:
Understanding your objectives
Providing market perspective
Identifying relevant potential counterparties
Making targeted introductions
Managing expectations
Helping coordinate conversations
Navigate does not provide:
Formal business valuations
Analysis of financial statements
Accounting or financial due diligence
Tax advice
Legal or regulatory advice
Financial information, diligence, valuation, tax and legal matters remain with the buyer and the appropriate qualified advisors.
Professional services markets we work with
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Accounting and <br> Advisory Practices
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Entertainment Business Management Firms
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RIAs and Wealth Management Groups
Know what you want to acquire? Let us help start the conversations.
If you have a clear acquisition strategy, Navigate can help identify relevant firms, approach owners directly and create the conversations worth pursuing.
An initial conversation is not a commitment to pursue a transaction.