Independence & Confidentiality
You should always know whose interests your advisor represents, and what happens to the information you share.
Our side of the table.
In a sell-side mandate, makanta represents the selling shareholders. We accept no compensation from buyers participating in a process we run. Where we represent an acquirer, the opposite applies.
Confidentiality by default.
The existence of a potential transaction is confidential information. We disclose neither your company nor the fact that we are speaking without authorization. Buyer outreach is staged, and material information is shared only under appropriate confidentiality arrangements.
Information moves when you decide it should move.
Mandate stays separate.
Buy-side and sell-side work is ring-fenced. We do not use information from one mandate for another, and we do not accept an engagement where a conflict cannot be managed cleanly.
If we previously approached you for a buyer
We would not accept a sell-side mandate while representing a buyer in relation to your company. Any relevant buy-side relationship would first be concluded and disclosed, and any remaining conflict assessed.
Responsibility stays with the partners
makanta has no separate offices or layers of deal teams operating outside the partners' visibility. The people who accept the mandate are the people responsible for its independence and confidentiality.
In a two-partner firm structure, the policy is personal.
Fractional corporate development is buyer-side work
When we act as a client's corporate development function, we are part of the buyer's team. We accept no compensation from sellers. Our retainer-plus-success-fee model allows us to recommend walking away when that is the right decision.