Global sparring partner: lead your M&A deal with clarity and control

Deal leadership that aligns strategy, numbers, and execution

Every successful deal has one thing in common: someone leads it. Not just lawyers drafting, or advisors modeling, but a partner who sees the full picture and drives it forward.

At dups, we act as your global sparring partner, a deal leader who combines legal, financial, and strategic insight to guide your M&A process end-to-end. We keep every moving part aligned: valuation, terms, documentation, timing, and negotiation dynamics. The result: fewer surprises, faster execution, and a deal that actually reflects your intent.

Why you need a deal leader, not just advisors

In most transactions, too many experts, too little coordination. Financial advisors model assumptions. Lawyers draft contracts. Accountants audit numbers. But who's connecting it all? Who ensures the valuation model, the term sheet, and the legal terms tell the same story?

That's where deals break, and where dups steps in. We act as the strategic center of gravity, translating business objectives into deal mechanics, and ensuring execution stays consistent across every stakeholder. Our approach eliminates friction, protects leverage, and keeps your process under control.

Our role as global sparring partner

1. Strategy definition and deal positioning

Before any documents or models, we start with clarity. What are you trying to achieve: growth, partial exit, consolidation, or capital optimization? We define your transaction thesis, value drivers, and negotiation priorities. We then translate that strategy into deal terms, valuation frameworks, governance structures, and key conditions that will guide the process from day one.

2. Process orchestration and stakeholder alignment

An M&A deal is a moving puzzle. We coordinate financial, legal, and tax advisors under one unified flow, ensuring everyone works toward the same outcome. We manage information flow, anticipate negotiation bottlenecks, and keep timelines realistic and enforceable. Our goal is simple: keep the deal alive, clean, and strategically coherent while you focus on leading your company.

3. Negotiation and decision support

We sit by your side, not behind the scenes. We help you weigh strategic trade-offs in real time: valuation vs. governance, speed vs. certainty, structure vs. flexibility. We prepare your negotiation points, model their implications, and handle conversations with investors, buyers, or counterparties. Our job is to make sure you never walk into a negotiation unprepared and never accept a term you don't fully understand.

4. Documentation and execution oversight

Once the deal structure is set, we ensure the documentation reflects what was negotiated, no disconnects, no hidden clauses. We coordinate between lawyers, auditors, and financiers to make sure financial logic and legal drafting stay aligned. From first draft to final signature, we oversee accuracy, coherence, and speed, because even the best strategy fails with poor execution.

What makes dups different

Most advisors focus on their slice of the deal. We own the whole process. At dups, we merge legal and financial expertise into one transaction leadership layer. That means we speak every stakeholder's language (investor, lawyer, CFO, or CEO) and translate complexity into clear, actionable decisions.

We don't slow deals down. We remove noise, anticipate friction, and create momentum. We're not intermediaries. We're partners in execution: pragmatic, fast, and relentlessly aligned with your outcome.

Deliverables you can expect

As your global sparring partner, we manage and deliver:

• Deal strategy and process mapping
• Timeline and stakeholder alignment plan
• Negotiation framework and decision modeling
• Coordination of legal, financial, and tax workstreams
• Term sheet, SPA, and closing oversight
• Post-deal governance and integration guidance

Each deliverable is designed to make your deal faster, clearer, and safer, from intent to execution.