Water Street on Transactions

Water Street on Dealmaking

Our services include custom engagements and lighter touch support through our membership services, in the following areas:

Transaction Strategy and Management

Joint venture and alliance transactions differ from traditional M&A transactions and in nearly all cases, applying the typical corporate development protocols to these transactions does not work. Water Street has developed a proprietary approach for JV and alliance transactions which leverages best practices we've identified over the years and our knowledge of pitfalls to avoid. Water Street works closely with clients and their legal, accounting/tax, and other advisors on transactions and provides a wide range of services, including:

• Transaction Strategy Development
• Deal Management
• Financial Modeling and Model Pressure-Testing
  
  

Structuring and Negotiations

In the structuring and negotiation phases of the deal process, there are many variables "in play" as joint ventures offer lots of flexibility in scope, exclusivity, contributions, terms, etc. The iterative process is often bumpy, internally and externally, with stops and starts and the negotiation results are often unpredictable. Water Street offers a wide range of services to reduce the pain of structuring and negotiating transactions, including:

• Deal Concept Development
• Partner Identification, Engagement and Due Diligence
• Synergy Identification and Quantification
• Scenario Planning/War-Gaming
• Deal Structuring*
• Deal Term Benchmarking
• “Deal Checks” and Opinion Memos/Letters
• Negotiation Preparation and Facilitation
• Definitive Agreement Markups and Negotiations
  
  

Launch Planning and Management

Rarely are major launch considerations fully-ironed out between partners before they close a deal. We’re here to help and offer a full-range of services, including:

• Integrated JV Launch Planning (prior to or subsequent to deal closing)
• Function-Specific Launch Support (e.g., organization design, staffing plans, shared service agreements, operational interfaces with shareholders)
• Change Management
  
  

Look-Back, Evolution/Restructuring, and Exit 

Water Street has developed a proprietary approach to help shareholders and venture management teams navigate assess performance compared to initial transaction objectives, evolve/restructure ventures over their lifetimes (which can span decades), restructure ventures, and assist an owner(s) with exiting a venture through partner buyouts or equity sales. Water Street works closely with clients determine the appropriate scope of support provided by Water Street, which can include:

• JV Transaction “Look-Backs”
• JV Evolution, Restructuring – Scope, Business Model, Economics, and Governance and Control
• JV Exit Planning and Execution
• JV Parent Company Integration Post-Buyout
  
  

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