Buying a Distressed Business
Buy-side advisory for acquiring distressed businesses and assets, with the rescue and DIP finance to fund the deal.
Image · Buying a Distressed BusinessBuying a distressed business can create significant value, but it demands speed, disciplined diligence and financing that is ready when the opportunity is. Matchpoint runs buy-side distressed and special-situations mandates for corporates, sponsors and family offices, sourcing opportunities, structuring the acquisition, and arranging the rescue or special-situations finance to complete under pressure.
As part of our Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory Services in the UAE practice, Matchpoint Partners has originated and led $2+ billion of transactions across four continents, and every mergers & acquisitions advisory services in the uae mandate is led by a partner, from first call to close.
The central mandate decision. Price the opportunity against the liabilities, execution risks and capital required to stabilise it after closing. A low purchase price can conceal substantial working-capital, capex or legal exposure.
What capital providers or counterparties will test
Title and transferability, security, licences, contracts, employee obligations, environmental and regulatory exposure, customer retention, cash needs, management capability and post-close funding.
How the mandate is structured
An asset purchase may isolate selected liabilities; a share purchase may preserve contracts and licences. The feasible perimeter depends on law, creditor position, approvals and the time available.
Execution priorities
Build the post-close cash and operating plan before bidding, secure acquisition and rescue funding together and make conditions and pricing reflect any evidence that cannot be completed in the timetable.
Prepare before approaching the market
- Acquisition perimeter and excluded liabilities
- Post-close thirteen-week cash plan
- Legal, operational and commercial red flags
- Acquisition financing and stabilisation budget
Our role on buying a distressed business mandates
- Sourcing distressed and special-situations targets, on-market and off-market
- Asset-deal and share-deal structuring, including pre-pack and carve-out
- Accelerated diligence and risk assessment under time pressure
- Rescue, DIP and acquisition finance to fund the deal
- Negotiation with lenders, creditors and insolvency practitioners
Select transactions
Representative mergers & acquisitions advisory services in the uae mandates led by Matchpoint partners.
Sell-side M&A of a distressed US trophy landmark hotel.
Research relevant to this area
Original analysis and decision frameworks from the Matchpoint team.
Buying a Distressed Business — frequently asked questions
A distressed acquisition can secure assets, market position, capability or talent at a price anchored to distress rather than earnings, and can be transformational when combined with fresh capital and a credible turnaround plan.
It depends on the liabilities, contracts, licences and the insolvency route. An asset deal can leave unwanted liabilities behind but may break contracts and consents; a share deal preserves the entity but inherits its obligations. We structure the route that best protects value, alongside your counsel.
A pre-pack is a sale of a business arranged before it formally enters an insolvency process and completed immediately afterwards, preserving going-concern value and continuity. It requires speed, prepared financing and careful stakeholder handling.
Often in weeks rather than months. That speed is only possible with diligence and financing prepared in parallel, which is why acquirers engage an adviser who can run the deal and arrange the capital together.
Yes. We structure and raise the rescue, debtor-in-possession, special-situations, unitranche or mezzanine capital that funds the acquisition, so your bid is credible and deliverable.
Mergers and acquisitions advisory is professional guidance and transaction execution for a company sale, acquisition, merger, divestment or strategic combination. The work can cover transaction strategy, valuation, buyer or target identification, materials, outreach, diligence, structure, negotiation, financing coordination and completion.
Mergers and acquisitions services can include sell-side advisory, buy-side advisory, company valuation, transaction strategy, target or buyer search, financial analysis, process materials, due-diligence coordination, bid comparison, term negotiation, acquisition financing coordination and post-merger-integration planning.
M&A advisory services connect the commercial objective to an executable transaction process. The adviser defines the route, prepares the evidence and valuation case, manages counterparties and information flow, coordinates diligence and specialist workstreams, compares terms, supports negotiation and maintains the path to signing and completion.
M&A transaction advisory is the analysis and execution support required to move an acquisition, sale or merger from initial decision to completion. It combines financial analysis, valuation, process management, counterparty coordination, diligence tracking, terms and decision materials.
A merger and acquisition consultant helps the client define the transaction objective, evaluate options, prepare the business or acquisition case, identify counterparties, manage the process and convert evidence into decisions on value, structure, terms, risks and timing.
A company should consider appointing an M&A adviser before approaching buyers or targets, sharing sensitive information, accepting exclusivity or anchoring a valuation. Early preparation provides time to reconcile financial information, test transaction routes, define approval criteria and control disclosure.
In the UAE, merger and acquisition consultants can support local and cross-border sales, acquisitions and combinations by defining the transaction perimeter, preparing the valuation and evidence base, mapping UAE, GCC and international counterparties, managing diligence and coordinating the commercial path to completion. Legal, tax, accounting and other specialist conclusions remain with qualified advisers.
The process begins with objectives, scope, readiness and decision criteria. It then moves through valuation, process design, buyer or target mapping, controlled outreach, information exchange, bids or offers, diligence, terms, approvals, signing and completion. The sequence varies with the transaction and evidence available.
Sell-side M&A advisory represents an owner or company seeking a buyer and manages positioning, marketing, bids and closing. Buy-side M&A advisory represents an acquirer and manages acquisition criteria, target search, approach, valuation, diligence, terms and completion.
The starting set normally includes the transaction objective, ownership and entity structure, historical financial statements, current management accounts, operating KPIs, forecast assumptions, debt and cash, material contracts, management responsibilities, known issues and the client's decision timetable. The exact list depends on the mandate.
M&A advisory fees depend on the scope, transaction size, complexity, readiness, geography and expected execution work. A proposed fee structure should be documented in an engagement letter and becomes effective only when the parties approve and sign it.
Matchpoint can support UAE clients on cross-border buyer and target mapping, valuation, transaction materials, outreach, diligence coordination, terms, financing interfaces and process control, subject to mandate fit, available evidence and an agreed engagement scope.
Engagements ordinarily combine a retainer with a success fee. Terms are agreed in writing before work begins and calibrated to the mandate’s size, scope and complexity.
Most sell-side and buy-side M&A processes run 4–9 months from mandate to completion, depending on diligence, regulatory approvals and negotiation.
A short, confidential scoping call and NDA; we structure the requirement and prepare materials, then run a competitive process across our 5,000+ investor and lender relationships, and negotiate to close — with a partner leading at every step.
Matchpoint Partners is based in the UAE and runs cross-border mandates across the UAE, KSA, India and the UK, with active deal activity in wider Europe, Singapore and the United States.
Matchpoint undertakes corporate finance, financing, M&A and fund-placement mandates from USD 5m upwards, subject to mandate fit, diligence, applicable regulation, capacity and a written engagement. The partner team has originated and led $2+ billion of transactions.
Use the enquiry form, email contact@matchpoint-partners.com, or call/WhatsApp +971 52 345 1119. Every mandate is led by a partner from the very first conversation.
Yes. Confidential information is handled under the engagement terms and any applicable non-disclosure agreement.
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