skills/buyer-investor-list/references/workflow.md

# Buyer Investor List Workflow

Use this when executing a full buyer, sponsor, lender, financing source, or investor universe build.

## Table of Contents

- [1. Intake and objective setting](#1-intake-and-objective-setting)
- [2. Build the company and transaction profile](#2-build-the-company-and-transaction-profile)
- [3. Define buyer/investor archetypes before names](#3-define-buyerinvestor-archetypes-before-names)
- [4. Build the universe](#4-build-the-universe)
- [5. Normalize entities and preserve history](#5-normalize-entities-and-preserve-history)
- [6. Apply hard screens](#6-apply-hard-screens)
- [7. Score and tier](#7-score-and-tier)
- [8. Build rationale and outreach angle](#8-build-rationale-and-outreach-angle)
- [9. Map contacts and relationship owner](#9-map-contacts-and-relationship-owner)
- [10. Sequence the process](#10-sequence-the-process)
- [11. Finalize outputs](#11-finalize-outputs)

## 1. Intake and objective setting

Capture the minimum facts needed to avoid a generic universe:

- Process type: sell-side m&a, recap, minority raise, private placement, lender process, distressed/restructuring, continuation vehicle, or public investor targeting.
- Primary objective: maximize value, maximize certainty, preserve confidentiality, create competitive tension, find a strategic partner, raise debt, raise rescue capital, or validate market appetite.
- Company: name or anonymized profile, sector, subsector, product, customers, geography, financial scale, ownership, current debt, and transaction size.
- Structure: control sale, minority, majority recap, debt, preferred equity, structured equity, asset sale, carve-out, bankruptcy sale, dip, exit financing, or pipe.
- Constraints: do-not-contact names, direct competitors, commercial partners, existing lenders, relationship sensitivities, regulatory concerns, timing, geography, and client preferences.
- Output need: client-ready memo, spreadsheet table, crm/tracker export, top-call list, refresh of existing list, or meeting prep.

If key facts are missing, proceed with assumptions and state what would change the answer.

## 2. Build the company and transaction profile

Create a short profile before listing names:

- Business description and investment thesis.
- Revenue/ebitda/arr/loan size/check size if available.
- Growth, margin, cash flow, capex, working capital, cyclicality, and revenue quality.
- Customer type, customer concentration, contract duration, churn/retention if relevant.
- Geography and regulatory footprint.
- Ownership, shareholder goals, management preferences, and transaction timing.
- Value drivers and likely buyer objections.

Then summarize the marketable angle in one sentence. Example: "founder-owned vertical software platform with high retention, regulated financial-services customers, and a plausible sponsor-backed roll-up angle."

## 3. Define buyer/investor archetypes before names

Select relevant archetypes based on the mandate.

### Sell-side m&a

- Direct strategics: highest synergy, highest confidentiality/regulatory risk.
- Adjacent strategics: product, customer, channel, or geography expansion.
- Vertical integrators: customer/supplier/distributor/channel logic.
- Sponsor-backed platforms: add-on buyers with platform synergy.
- New platform sponsors: sponsors seeking a platform in the category.
- Growth/minority sponsors: for high-growth or partial-liquidity situations.
- Family offices/permanent capital: founder-friendly or long-hold fit.
- Cross-border strategics: strategic upside plus added execution risk.

### Lender or financing source

- Relationship banks, cash-flow lenders, abl lenders, unitranche lenders, bdcs, mezzanine, preferred equity, opportunistic credit, distressed/special situations, dip/exit financing, equipment/royalty/revenue-based finance.

### Investor targeting

- Growth equity, crossover, sovereign wealth, strategic minority, family office, long-only, hedge fund, sector specialist, event-driven, activist, pipe/structured capital.

## 4. Build the universe

Use a broad longlist, then narrow it. Include candidates from:

- User materials and current list.
- Bank/firm relationship notes and crm-like context where available.
- Prior process participants, inbound parties, conference meetings, and existing commercial relationships.
- Structured company, deal, sponsor, fund, lender, and contact sources.
- Public company filings, transcripts, press releases, investor decks, portfolio pages, websites, and recent news.
- Banker pattern matching from comparable deals, sponsor platforms, lender appetite, and sector consolidation logic.

Do not let a database tag determine relevance by itself. Confirm the actual product, customer, geography, mandate, size, and transaction structure fit.

## 5. Normalize entities and preserve history

Before scoring, normalize:

- Parent/subsidiary and business-unit relationships.
- Sponsor, fund, and portfolio company relationships.
- Corporate buyer vs sponsor-backed platform vs sponsor owner.
- Lender affiliate vs asset manager parent.
- Existing buyer rows vs new proposed additions.
- Prior outreach, nda, iois/lois, notes, and do-not-contact flags.

When refreshing an existing list, never delete rows. Add columns such as `proposed_status`, `proposed_tier`, `proposed_action`, `reason_for_change`, and `source_confidence`.

## 6. Apply hard screens

Screen out or hold parties before scoring when applicable:

- Explicit do-not-contact.
- Direct competitor too sensitive for current phase.
- Existing commercial/customer/vendor/lender relationship sensitivity.
- Known leak, retrade, or bad-faith diligence behavior.
- Sponsor owns a competing platform or has a conflict.
- Fund out of mandate, out of investment period, wrong stage, wrong geography, wrong structure, or wrong check size.
- Lender cannot lead or hold the required amount.
- Public investor cannot invest in the security/structure.
- Regulatory, antitrust, foreign investment, sanctions, or industry-approval concern.
- Prior broken process, litigation, or management relationship issue.

Move these parties to hold/exclude with a reconsideration trigger. Do not silently omit obvious names.

## 7. Score and tier

Use `scoring-framework.md`. Score is a decision aid, not the decision. Senior judgment can override numeric output when the narrative supports it.

Every tier 1 party must have:

- Specific thesis fit.
- Ability to transact.
- Evidence of probability or urgency.
- Clear outreach path.
- Risk assessment.
- Recommended wave/action.

## 8. Build rationale and outreach angle

For each recommended party, write:

- Why they care: strategic gap, platform add-on, mandate fit, customer/channel/geography, capital need, or financing appetite.
- Why they can transact: balance sheet, fund size/vintage, check size, hold size, precedent deals, existing relationship, or financing capacity.
- Why now: current strategy, recent fundraising, acquisition program, sector consolidation, portfolio need, new leadership, pressure to deploy, or restructuring timeline.
- What could kill it: valuation, confidentiality, antitrust, financing, diligence, culture, governance, or timing.
- Outreach angle: how the banker should position the opportunity.

Avoid generic language like "active in the sector." Explain the exact reason this party matters.

## 9. Map contacts and relationship owner

Use verified information only. For each party, identify where possible:

- Decision maker or likely first contact.
- Relationship owner at the bank or firm.
- Sponsor coverage/corporate coverage owner.
- Warm intro path.
- Last interaction or prior process history.
- Suggested outreach owner.
- Whether senior-only outreach is recommended.

If contacts are not verified, state that they require crm/contact validation. Do not invent names, emails, phone numbers, or relationship history.

## 10. Sequence the process

Recommend waves:

- Wave 0: quiet validation/sounding calls with trusted parties, often without naming the company.
- Wave 1: highest-probability/highest-value parties with credible capacity and relationship path.
- Wave 2: broader tension and credible backups.
- Wave 3: tail, niche, or opportunistic parties.
- Hold: client approval, regulatory review, or later-process trigger needed.
- Exclude: do not contact.

Specify the teaser/nda approach:

- Blind teaser.
- Named teaser only after approval.
- NDA before identity.
- Redacted data for competitors.
- Clean team or restricted data room where needed.
- Client approval gate for competitors, customers, vendors, lenders, or sensitive relationships.

## 11. Finalize outputs

Default final package:

- Executive summary.
- Ranked table.
- Top-call memo.
- Hold/exclusion table.
- Outreach wave strategy.
- Data gaps and validation asks.
- Tracker-ready export fields.

Keep the first answer senior-readable, but include the full ranked universe logic, source posture, exclusions, outreach waves, and table detail needed for execution unless the user asks for a shorter list.