Skills › Financial Services › buyer-list
buyer-list
The facts
Its description
Build and organize a universe of potential acquirers for sell-side M&A processes. Identifies strategic and financial buyers, assesses fit, and prioritizes outreach. Use when preparing for a sell-side mandate, building a buyer universe, or evaluating potential partners. Triggers on "buyer list", "buyer universe", "potential acquirers", "who would buy this", "strategic buyers", or "financial sponsors".
The description the agent reads to decide when to use it.
From its settingsline 3
When it starts
The agent would pick this skill when someone is working on a sell-side M&A process and needs to assemble or organize the set of companies and sponsors that might acquire the target — building a buyer universe, ranking potential acquirers, or mapping outreach contacts.
Things a person might say (the model's guesses)
- “We just got a sell-side mandate for a mid-market industrial company — help me build a buyer universe.”
- “Who would buy this business? Let's put together a list of potential acquirers.”
- “I need a buyer list of strategic buyers and financial sponsors for the pitch.”
A model's summary of when it is used.
A model's reading
Licence
Apache-2.0, from LICENSE
The terms its author shares it under, which let it be shown here.
From the repositorylicence text
The text
1---
2name: buyer-list
3description: Build and organize a universe of potential acquirers for sell-side M&A processes. Identifies strategic and financial buyers, assesses fit, and prioritizes outreach. Use when preparing for a sell-side mandate, building a buyer universe, or evaluating potential partners. Triggers on "buyer list", "buyer universe", "potential acquirers", "who would buy this", "strategic buyers", or "financial sponsors".
4---
6# Buyer List
Buyer List
Raw lines 1 to 7Workflow
Raw lines 8 to 910### Step 1: Understand the Target
12- Company description, sector, and business model
13- Revenue, EBITDA, and growth profile
14- Key assets and capabilities (IP, customer relationships, geographic footprint, team)
15- Expected valuation range
16- Seller preferences (strategic vs. financial, management continuity, timeline)
Step 1: Understand the Target
- Company description, sector, and business model
- Revenue, EBITDA, and growth profile
- Key assets and capabilities (IP, customer relationships, geographic footprint, team)
- Expected valuation range
- Seller preferences (strategic vs. financial, management continuity, timeline)
18### Step 2: Strategic Buyers
20Identify strategic acquirers across categories:
22**Direct Competitors**
23- Companies in the same space that would gain market share
24- Rationale: Revenue synergies, eliminate competitor, scale
26**Adjacent Players**
27- Companies in adjacent markets that could expand into the target's space
28- Rationale: Product extension, cross-sell, new market entry
30**Vertical Integrators**
31- Customers or suppliers that could integrate vertically
32- Rationale: Supply chain control, margin capture, strategic lock-in
34**Platform Builders**
35- Large companies building a platform in the space through M&A
36- Rationale: Tuck-in acquisition, fill capability gap
38For each strategic buyer, assess:
40| Buyer | Sector | Revenue | Strategic Fit | Financial Capacity | M&A Track Record | Likelihood | Priority |
41|-------|--------|---------|--------------|-------------------|------------------|------------|----------|
42| | | | High/Med/Low | | Active/Moderate/None | | A/B/C |
Step 2: Strategic Buyers
Identify strategic acquirers across categories:
Direct Competitors
- Companies in the same space that would gain market share
- Rationale: Revenue synergies, eliminate competitor, scale
Adjacent Players
- Companies in adjacent markets that could expand into the target's space
- Rationale: Product extension, cross-sell, new market entry
Vertical Integrators
- Customers or suppliers that could integrate vertically
- Rationale: Supply chain control, margin capture, strategic lock-in
Platform Builders
- Large companies building a platform in the space through M&A
- Rationale: Tuck-in acquisition, fill capability gap
For each strategic buyer, assess:
| Buyer | Sector | Revenue | Strategic Fit | Financial Capacity | M&A Track Record | Likelihood | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High/Med/Low | Active/Moderate/None | A/B/C |
44### Step 3: Financial Sponsors
46Identify PE/financial buyers:
48**Platform Investors**
49- Sponsors looking for a new platform in this sector
50- Criteria: Fund size, sector focus, deal size range
52**Add-on Buyers**
53- Sponsors with existing portfolio companies that could acquire the target as a bolt-on
54- Identify the specific portfolio company and synergy rationale
56**Growth Equity**
57- For earlier-stage or high-growth targets
58- Minority vs. majority preference
60For each sponsor:
62| Sponsor | Fund Size | Sector Focus | Portfolio Overlap | Recent Activity | Priority |
63|---------|-----------|-------------|-------------------|-----------------|----------|
64| | | | | | A/B/C |
Step 3: Financial Sponsors
Identify PE/financial buyers:
Platform Investors
- Sponsors looking for a new platform in this sector
- Criteria: Fund size, sector focus, deal size range
Add-on Buyers
- Sponsors with existing portfolio companies that could acquire the target as a bolt-on
- Identify the specific portfolio company and synergy rationale
Growth Equity
- For earlier-stage or high-growth targets
- Minority vs. majority preference
For each sponsor:
| Sponsor | Fund Size | Sector Focus | Portfolio Overlap | Recent Activity | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A/B/C |
66### Step 4: Prioritization
68Tier the buyer list:
70- **Tier 1 (5-10)**: Highest strategic fit, proven acquirers, clear rationale — contact first
71- **Tier 2 (10-15)**: Good fit but less obvious — contact in second wave
72- **Tier 3 (10-20)**: Possible but lower probability — contact if process needs broadening
Step 4: Prioritization
Tier the buyer list:
- Tier 1 (5-10): Highest strategic fit, proven acquirers, clear rationale — contact first
- Tier 2 (10-15): Good fit but less obvious — contact in second wave
- Tier 3 (10-20): Possible but lower probability — contact if process needs broadening
74### Step 5: Contact Mapping
76For each Tier 1 buyer:
77- Key decision maker (CEO, Corp Dev head, Partner)
78- Relationship status (existing relationship, cold outreach, need introduction)
79- Known preferences or constraints (size, geography, structure)
80- Best approach channel
Step 5: Contact Mapping
For each Tier 1 buyer:
- Key decision maker (CEO, Corp Dev head, Partner)
- Relationship status (existing relationship, cold outreach, need introduction)
- Known preferences or constraints (size, geography, structure)
- Best approach channel
82### Step 6: Output
84- Excel workbook with:
85 - Strategic buyers tab (sorted by tier)
86 - Financial sponsors tab (sorted by tier)
87 - Contact mapping for Tier 1
88 - Summary statistics (total buyers by tier, by type)
89- One-page buyer universe summary for the engagement letter or pitch
Step 6: Output
- Excel workbook with:
- Strategic buyers tab (sorted by tier)
- Financial sponsors tab (sorted by tier)
- Contact mapping for Tier 1
- Summary statistics (total buyers by tier, by type)
- One-page buyer universe summary for the engagement letter or pitch
91## Important Notes
93- Quality over quantity — a focused list of 30-40 well-researched buyers beats a list of 200 names
94- Research recent M&A activity — buyers who just did a deal in the space are either hungry for more or tapped out
95- Check for antitrust concerns with direct competitors — flag any that might face regulatory issues
96- Financial sponsors: check fund vintage and deployment pace — a fund nearing end of investment period may be more motivated
97- Always ask the seller if there are buyers they want included or excluded
98- Update the list as the process progresses — move buyers between tiers based on feedback
Important Notes
- Quality over quantity — a focused list of 30-40 well-researched buyers beats a list of 200 names
- Research recent M&A activity — buyers who just did a deal in the space are either hungry for more or tapped out
- Check for antitrust concerns with direct competitors — flag any that might face regulatory issues
- Financial sponsors: check fund vintage and deployment pace — a fund nearing end of investment period may be more motivated
- Always ask the seller if there are buyers they want included or excluded
- Update the list as the process progresses — move buyers between tiers based on feedback
From anthropics/financial-services at 6056506, 2026-10-28. Skills read by DeepSeek V4.1 Flash on 2026-11-04. Summary and techniques by Claude Opus 5.5 on 2026-11-06.