Business Acquisition

Approach the promoter, not the process.

Off-market opportunity sourcing, diligence coordination and discreet approach to promoters.

Speak to BeckonA named concierge, not a call centre

The principle

Quiet work, properly held.

The transactions worth doing rarely arrive in a teaser deck. They begin with a conversation between two principals who trust the person who arranged it.

Beckon makes that approach, holds the process around it and keeps your interest unattributed until you decide otherwise.

Most acquisitions that disappoint were not badly priced. They were badly understood. The numbers were checked and the business was not: who the customers actually stay for, which relationships walk out with the seller, and what the promoter was personally holding together without it appearing anywhere in the accounts.

For Indian mid-market businesses this is sharper than elsewhere, because so much value sits in relationships and in a promoter's personal standing. A business that looks like a going concern on paper can be a person with an office attached.

What we arrange

Considered from the first call.

Opportunity sourcing

Mandated searches within a sector, circulated through promoters, bankers and family offices without your name attached.

Discreet approach

First contact made on your behalf so an unsuccessful approach costs you no standing in the market.

Diligence coordination

Legal, financial, tax and technical advisors appointed and held to one timetable, with findings consolidated into a single view.

Regulatory liaison

Licensing, approvals and compliance representation handled by specialists we retain, tracked and reported weekly.

Target identification and approach

Where you have a sector rather than a target, we identify candidates and make the first approach discreetly. Most good Indian mid-market businesses are not for sale in any advertised sense, and are willing to talk to a credible buyer approached properly.

Diligence beyond the financials

Financial and tax diligence is the baseline. What we add is customer concentration, key-person dependency, undocumented arrangements, litigation and regulatory exposure, statutory dues, and employee liabilities including gratuity and provident fund. In Indian mid-market deals these are where the surprises live.

Structure, warranties and the promoter's role after completion

Share purchase against asset purchase carries very different tax and liability outcomes. Alongside that: warranties and indemnities, escrow, earn-out, non-compete, and how long the seller stays. That last term decides more about whether the acquisition works than the price does.

Selling a business, and finding the right acquirer for it

Promoters usually come to this later than they should, when a decision has already been forced by health, succession or a falling out. Approached early it is a different exercise: records put in order, key-person dependency reduced, the numbers made defensible. Then a quiet approach to acquirers who fit, rather than a process that tells your customers and your staff at the same time.

The Beckon standard

Nothing left to chance.

Your identity withheld until you authorise disclosure
Advisor fees quoted in advance and billed at actuals
One weekly written update, no unscheduled noise
No success fee retained by Beckon on any transaction
Key-person dependency is assessed on every target, because in Indian mid-market businesses it is usually the largest single risk.
We tell you when to walk. A deal you did not do is not a failure.
Where you are selling, we approach acquirers quietly. A public process tells your customers, your staff and your competitors at once.

Questions, answered once

Business Acquisition, without the theatre.

Do you act as an investment bank?

No. We do not underwrite, raise or advise on valuation. We source, approach, coordinate advisors and keep the process moving.

Do you take a percentage of the deal?

No. Beckon takes no success fee. Third party bankers or advisors you appoint are paid on their own terms, disclosed to you in advance.

How is confidentiality handled in a small market?

Approaches are made without attribution, under non disclosure, and staged so that a withdrawal at any point leaves nothing traceable to you.

Can you help with a sale rather than a purchase?

Yes. Quiet buyer identification, controlled information release and coordination of your bankers and counsel through to completion.

Share purchase or asset purchase?

Share purchase takes the company as it stands, including its history and its liabilities, and is usually simpler and more tax-efficient for the seller. Asset purchase lets you take what you want and leave the rest, but attracts different tax treatment and needs contracts and licences to be novated. The right answer depends on what is in the target's past.

How long should we expect it to take?

For a mid-market Indian business, three to six months from serious engagement to completion is realistic. Regulatory approvals, a complicated title or property position, or a seller who has not prepared their records will extend it. Anyone promising materially faster is compressing diligence, which is the wrong thing to compress.

Can an NRI or a foreign entity acquire an Indian business?

In most sectors yes, subject to the FDI policy, which permits automatic route investment in many sectors and requires government approval in others, with caps and conditions in a few. The sector determines the route, and that needs establishing before an approach is made rather than after terms are agreed.

We are thinking of selling. Where do we start?

Earlier than feels necessary. The year before a sale is where most of the value is made or lost: reducing how much of the business depends on you personally, documenting arrangements that live in your head, and cleaning up statutory dues. We will tell you honestly what your business looks like to a buyer today, which is not always what it looks like to you.

How does a request reach Beckon?

By call, message or WhatsApp to your concierge. There is no form, no ticket number and no queue. One line is enough to begin.

What does membership cost?

Beckon is Rs. 4,00,000 annually with a Rs. 1,00,000 joining fee, exclusive of GST. Beckon Black is by invitation only. Service costs are billed separately at actuals, with no commissions and no markups.

Are service costs marked up?

No. Vendor and supplier invoices are passed to you exactly as received. Beckon is paid by your membership, which is why our recommendation is never for sale.

What are the service hours?

Beckon members are supported from ten in the morning to ten at night, seven days a week. Beckon Black members have a named relationship manager available at every hour.

How is discretion maintained?

Every request is held by a single named concierge. Details are not circulated internally, staff are bound by confidentiality undertakings, and Beckon signs a non disclosure agreement with any member who asks.

Is there a limit on the number of requests?

No. Membership is limited instead. We keep the house small so that no concierge is ever carrying more than they can hold properly.

Can requests be made outside India?

Yes. Our members live and travel across London, Dubai, Singapore, Zurich, New York and the Mediterranean, and we hold relationships in each.

How does one join?

Through introduction by an existing member, or through an application read personally by our secretary. Every applicant meets us before an invitation is extended.

A private conversation

Tell us only what matters.

A line, a call or a message is enough. Your concierge will ask what is necessary and take the rest from there.

Speak to Beckon

Service costs are billed separately at actuals. No commissions, no markups.