At Arthur D. Little, we work with Private Equity funds and their portfolio companies to help achieve superior returns for their funds.

Proprietary deal flow

Overpaying for deals is easy when deal flow comes from traditional "auctions." Our most successful clients rely on Arthur D. Little for proprietary deal flow generated by our comprehensive Industry Screening methodologies. We start with a pool of over 1,000 companies in a given segment, which we then refine through primary research on each individual company, applying our client's selection criteria. Ultimately, we deliver a "short list" of attractive targets that could be approached with an investment offer, as well as an industry "primer" which details key trends and dynamics shaping the target's business environment.

Due diligence

Rigorous due diligence has never been more important than today when every targeted company's business is affected by a multitude of complex factors. Our due diligence projects answer the following four investment questions:

• How attractive is the company's industry / market?
• Is the company well positioned in its market?
• What are the value creation opportunities available (quantified in terms of EBTIDA improvements)?
• What are possible exit strategies for this investment in 3-5 years?

As our clients like to tell us, the key differentiator for Arthur D. Little is that we give them an actionable "business plan" for their investment even before they close on the deal.

Portfolio company improvement

Actively managing your portfolio is the only way to gain superior returns today. Whether you already have an underperforming portfolio holding or just acquired a new company, it is never "too early" to extract operational improvements. At Arthur D. Little we deliver hands-on, pragmatic, EBITDA-focused improvements, by working side-by-side with the portfolio companies' line managers at every level. Our typical projects include:

• Strategy and Sales Growth, helping companies assess their current and new markets, define product and service offerings, and improve the way they respond to customers
• Operational Improvement projects, ranging from lean manufacturing, to Six Sigma, to BPR (business process re-engineering), to supply chain management
• Organizational Design studies, helping companies align their internal structure with their strategies and bring objective performance metrics in line with world class benchmarks