Buy with eyes open. Pre-SPA target diligence across the jurisdictions that actually matter
In M&A, an acquirer doesn't pay for page count. The acquirer pays for jurisdictional coverage. UA registries are only the start. Real risk lives in EU/UK/UAE links and public offshore leaks: a hidden UBO, a mirror entity abroad, a litigation or regulatory history the SPA warranty won't cover. We pull it all into one VDR-ready report with a READY / CAUTION / STOP verdict — before you sign.
Price after a short brief, fixed before we start. Scope — from UA plus one jurisdiction to unlimited cross-border with crypto.
- UA plus one jurisdiction of your choice
- Standard Report — corporate history, beneficiaries, debts, Argus Score
- UBO Deep Trace — through nominees and the holding chain down to a real person
- 3-year litigation history for the target and its key persons
- Asset baseline: main declared assets with source
- Regulatory history: licenses, revocations, penalties
- PDF 25–30 pages + raw sources as a separate archive
- Everything in M&A Lite
- UA plus three jurisdictions of your choice (EU / UK / UAE / other)
- GEOSINT on production and warehouse assets — satellite, web archive, photo trail
- Sanctions / PEP screening of beneficiaries against OFAC / EU / UK / UN / NSDC
- Cross-jurisdiction links: mirror entities, shared UBO, overlapping directors
- 1-hour Q&A session for the VDR with the buyer's lawyer or dealmaker
- PDF 30–40 pages + raw sources archive + READY / CAUTION / STOP verdict
- Everything in M&A Standard
- Unlimited jurisdictions — every country actually linked to the target
- Crypto-tracing of beneficiaries — when public wallets exist and matter for the deal
- Intercompany flow analysis — how money and assets move between group entities
- Pre-closing risk memo — structured risks, recommended SPA warranties, escrow scenario
- Executive Summary for the dealmaker + 1-hour call with the buyer's lawyer
We quote the price after a short brief and fix it before work starts.
Six risk layers covered by M&A Target Check
Hidden beneficiaries
We get past nominees, trusts and the holding chain to the real person behind the target. Often the seller you meet at the table is not the one who controls the company — and the controller never appears in the VDR.
Litigation history
Three years of disputes on the target and its key persons across every jurisdiction in scope: tax, labour, counterparty claims, criminal proceedings. One quiet $400K filing the seller forgot to mention and your SPA warranty won't cover the gap.
Sanctions and Russia / Belarus links
Screening of the target, beneficiaries and key counterparties against OFAC, EU, UK, UN and NSDC lists — including silent exposure: shared UBO with a sanctioned party, an RU or BY supplier in the chain, assets in sanctioned jurisdictions, war-time transit routes.
Undisclosed liabilities
Off-balance debts, personal guarantees of the founder secured by company assets, tax notices, regulatory fines, suppliers pursuing payment. The signals sit in registries and public filings, not in the data room the seller curated for you.
Real estate, equity, vehicles, foreign holdings
The flip side: assets parked with affiliates before the deal. Production lines, real estate and IP that are formally off the company — and surface in a separate structure six months after closing. We cross-check the real-world footprint via GEOSINT against what the VDR claims.
Regulatory warnings
Licenses, revocations, fines, warnings from sector regulators and market watchdogs — in UA and in every involved jurisdiction. If the target already holds a regulatory yellow card, post-deal it becomes the acquirer's problem to clean up.
Four steps under the standard Intelligence Cycle
One word that tells the deal team what to do next
Every report closes with one of three verdicts plus the Argus Score, so the dealmaker and the buyer's counsel know within seconds whether to move, structure around the risk, or walk away.
One report vs a $500K post-closing price adjustment
- The standard price of an M&A surprise is 5–15% of deal value. On a $5M deal that's $250K–$750K out of the acquirer's pocket
- The most expensive surprises — undisclosed litigation, a parallel UBO in a sanctioned jurisdiction, a key asset stripped before the deal
- Catching that risk before SPA signing is either a price chip in the acquirer's favour, a justified escrow, or walking away without losing money
- If we find zero critical risks, the verdict comes back clean READY and the Q&A session for the VDR replaces the sleepless night before closing
Order M&A Target Check
Describe the deal in two sentences — we'll suggest the depth level that's actually needed for the SPA timeline and give a rough risk read before we start.
Thanks — request received
We'll get in touch via your chosen channel within 24 hours with scope, price and timing. Urgent? Reach out directly — @argus_int
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