> BUY-SIDE & STRATEGIC ADVISORY
The corporate development team you cannot assemble — or afford — full time.
An acquisition program needs a lot of people for three months and almost nobody in between. That is the wrong shape for a payroll. Programs typically peak at five to ten people for a fixed commitment, drawn from a bench that includes a former public company CEO who has bought companies from your side of the table, a career corporate development leader, and bankers trained at Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs and Moelis.
Working the week you decide to move, not the quarter after you finish recruiting.
01 · PHASE
“I ran a public company that made five acquisitions and had a 3× return on capital. Not one of those deals came from an inbound.”
Start with Proven Strategic Thinking
“If you are responding to an inbound auction or negotiating 1:1 with a target, you are missing out on opportunities to consider alternative targets and to have those alternative targets enhance your negotiations.”
- We approach the CEO, CFO, investors or board directly — the off-market companies that will never run a process
- Targets screened for fit and interest before your management team meets anyone
- Debt or equity raised in parallel where the structure needs it
- Board and investment-committee materials prepared as the work goes, not assembled afterwards
02 · PHASE
“One client called it being the CEO whisperer — getting in the head of the CEO of the target and taking them along the journey.”
Find and Win the Hearts of the Best Team and Product
“We can significantly magnify your personal activities, unearth off-market transactions and bring you strong inorganic growth options.”
- Twelve to fourteen week cycles — fifty to a hundred targets cleared, and every relevant company met
- Management calls arranged and briefed, with background prepared on every counterparty before you meet
- An opportunity review per target: the business case, and a recommendation to close, stay in touch, or drop
- Programs run as repeating cycles, so the pipeline does not reset each time a deal falls away
03 · PHASE
“The multiples make no sense against revenue. They make sense when you look at avoiding build costs.”
Negotiate a Deal That's Compelling for All Sides
“We negotiate these types of transactions every day. We are typically more skilled negotiators and have better industry information than operational executives performing the same function.”
- Buyers pay for four things: talent, proprietary data, workflow ownership, and distribution — we price the one you actually need
- Extensive experience structuring cash, stock, earnout and other contingent consideration
- A valuation package built for the negotiation and for the board — the same document does both jobs
- We co-lead diligence with your team and manage the accountants, lawyers and lenders around it
SELECTED ENGAGEMENTS
Buy-Side Mandates Led by ComCap
Project ElevateLive
Cross-border buy-side mandate · details withheld pending client consent
In progress
Transcosmos
E-commerce, customer experience and BPO · a decade-long acquisition and investment program
10 transactions · four continents
PFS — Conexus, CrossView, MODA, REV Solutions, LiveArea
Commerce transformation services · 2014–2016. Mike Willoughby was CEO of PFSweb throughout, and joined ComCap as Senior Advisor in 2026.
5 targets
Crisp — Atlas Technology Group, Integral Group
Retail reporting, intelligence and supply chain · 2023–24 · Atlas divested from Advantage Solutions
2 targets
Jobandtalent — two US staffing and workforce firms
HR technology · 2021–22 · over 300 targets approached
2 targets
InMar Intelligence — Aki
Mobile advertising platform · MarTech · 2021
1 target
Astound — Fluid
E-commerce design and experience · 2018
1 target
Additional buy-side transactions led by ComCap team members at predecessor firms — including Xerox / Affiliated Computer Services ($8.3B), Saban Capital / Panavision ($622M), Publicis / Razorfish ($530M) and Accenture / Acquity Group ($316M) — are listed separately on the transactions page and are not ComCap engagements.
Tell Us What You Are Trying to Own
A first conversation is a working session, not a pitch: your categories, the targets you already know about, and an honest read on what the market will cost you.
Speak With a Partner