Mergers and acquisitionsCalgary
Sell-side and buy-side M&A advisory for private companies in Calgary and across southern Alberta. We help owners and acquirers buy, sell or exit with a clear view of value, risk and terms, from the first conversation to closing.
When owners call us
Most of our M&A work starts with one of these decisions. Each needs a different kind of preparation, and the earlier we are involved, the more options you keep.
You want the strongest price and terms from a buyer who will look after the business, without the sale distracting the team that runs it.
An acquisition that adds customers, capacity or margin, priced on what the target is worth to you rather than to its owner.
A buyer has made contact. Before you reply, you need a view on value, on the buyer and on whether to talk to others.
An owner is stepping back and the company passes to family, managers or a partner, at a fair value and with financing the business can carry.
A private equity firm, family office or strategic partner wants part of the company, and the terms of a minority deal matter as much as the price.
Clean financials, a business less reliant on the owner and the reporting a buyer will ask for, put in place while there is still time.
How we help
Mergers and acquisitions advice for founders, family businesses and investor-backed companies in Calgary, from owner-led companies to the mid-market. One team carries the analysis from valuation through due diligence and negotiation to closing.
We prepare the company for market, set a defensible asking range, build the information memorandum and approach the buyers you approve, then manage offers, diligence and negotiation through to closing.
We screen and approach targets, assess fit, value the business on what it would be worth in your hands, and help arrange the financing so the price still works after closing.
A grounded valuation range, and a structure that balances price, control and risk: cash at closing, earn-outs, vendor financing and rollover equity.
Models that show what the deal assumes, from accretion and dilution to synergies, financing and performance after closing, so both sides can see the trade-offs.
Buy-side financial due diligence, sell-side preparation and a data room organized before the first buyer request, so surprises surface early rather than late.
Not ready to sell yet? We clean up the financials, identify the value drivers a buyer will pay for and test the earnings with a quality of earnings review before going to market.
M&A in Calgary
Calgary’s deal market is shaped by energy. Large producers, pipeline and infrastructure companies have their own corporate development teams, and energy-focused private equity firms, family offices and U.S. strategic buyers look for acquisitions alongside them. Owner-led service, industrial and technology companies are often the targets they compete for.
Many of those owners have built their companies through more than one downturn and are now thinking about an exit. Across Canada, three in four small business owners plan to leave their business within ten years, according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. The buyers and capital providers active in Calgary range from strategic acquirers and private equity firms to search funds, family offices and the banks, ATB Financial and private lenders that finance acquisitions, and each approaches value and risk differently.
Buyers pay for earnings they believe will last. For an energy services company, going to market after a strong year, with a backlog and contracts to support it, can make a large difference to price and terms. We help owners prepare early so they can choose the moment.
When buyer and seller see the next few years differently, often because of commodity prices, an earn-out or a vendor note can bridge the gap. We model each structure so you can see what it is worth in a downside case, not just the headline. Read how earn-outs are structured and valued.
Buyers often prefer to buy assets, while sellers usually prefer to sell shares, in part because qualifying shares may be eligible for the lifetime capital gains exemption. Equipment, leases and environmental obligations widen the gap in many Alberta deals, so we model both routes with your tax adviser before terms are set.
U.S. strategic buyers and private equity firms are active in Alberta, and many Calgary companies already sell into the U.S. Offers may be priced or financed in U.S. dollars, so we compare them on the same basis and test each buyer’s financing before you choose.
Our view
By the time buyers submit letters of intent, the range of outcomes is largely fixed. It follows from how well the business is prepared: whether its earnings hold up, whether it can run without the owner, and whether the numbers answer a buyer’s questions before they are asked.
We do that work first. Then we run a process that gives serious buyers a reason to compete, and we negotiate terms as well as price, because the structure decides how much of the headline number you keep.
Watch: The Right Deal, Done the Right Way
How a sale process works
We run a sale as one project with one team, so you can keep running the business while it is sold. The timetable depends on the company and the market, and you receive a written proposal with the scope, stages and fee before any work begins.
Buying a business? The work runs the other way: screening, valuation, offer, diligence and integration, with the same team throughout.
Thinking about selling or buying a company?
Selected clients
Frequently asked questions
Both. We advise owners selling all or part of a company, and companies, private equity firms, search funds and family offices acquiring one. We also support due diligence on either side.
Through our network of business owners, search funds, family offices and private equity firms, and through direct outreach to strategic buyers in Alberta, across Canada and in the U.S. We agree the list with you before anyone is contacted.
Business brokers usually list smaller, owner-operated businesses and market them widely to individual buyers. M&A advisers usually work with larger private companies, run a confidential process aimed at specific strategic and financial buyers, and spend more of the work on preparation, valuation, structure and due diligence. Which fits depends on the size of the business and who the likely buyers are.
The company is described without being named until a buyer signs a non-disclosure agreement, and information is released in stages as their interest firms up. Staff and customers are told only when you decide.
It depends on how prepared the business is, the market and the buyer. Once a buyer is chosen, financial due diligence typically takes two to six weeks before the purchase agreement is finalized.
Usually, yes. A valuation sets a realistic range before buyers are approached and shows which adjustments a buyer is likely to challenge. See our business valuation services in Calgary.
Most sell-side advisers combine a retainer or work fee with a success fee paid at closing, usually a percentage of the transaction value that falls as the deal gets larger. In Firmex’s survey of mid-market M&A advisers, only about one in five worked on a success fee alone. We set out the scope, the stages and the fees in a written proposal before any work begins.
Yes. Our office is in Vancouver, and we advise on transactions in Calgary, Edmonton and across Alberta, including deals with buyers elsewhere in Canada and in the U.S. See also our M&A advisory in Vancouver.
Have a question that isn’t covered here? Ask us directly.
Start a conversation
Tell us whether you are buying or selling, and your timing. We will come back with the questions that matter for your situation.
What happens next
Office
Alphabridge Group Inc.555 Burrard StreetVancouver, BC V7X 1M8
We use your details only to respond to your inquiry.
vasant@alphabridge.co
+1 778 903 4883
Five practices, organized around the decisions our clients face.
Sector depth across the businesses we advise, from early-stage ventures to established operators.
Perspectives on transactions, valuation, capital, performance and strategy.
An independent strategic finance firm, founded in 2016 and led by its principal on every engagement.
