Services
Full-cycle execution, thesis through integration.
An outsourced corporate development team for sponsor-backed platforms, a co-advisory bench for banks and brokers, and growth and integration work once the deal closes.
Service lines
Three ways to engage.
Plug in a deal team that has run add-on programs inside sponsor-backed platforms. Use us for one workstream or for the whole process.
Outsourced corp dev / M&A team
Your acquisition program, staffed and run day to day.
- Target thesis & sourcingPre-LOI
- Pre-LOI analysis & valuationPre-LOI
- LOI negotiation & structureLOI
- Diligence management: QoE, legalPost-LOI
- Closing statement & funds flowClose
Co-advisory
A senior execution bench for mandates you already own.
- Shared success fees & retainersEconomics
- You keep the client relationshipCoverage
- Sell-side and buy-side process supportProcess
- Pre- and/or post-LOI workstreamsScope
Growth & integration
Find the next market and make the last deal work.
- TAM & white-space mappingStrategy
- Site & service-line profitabilityAnalysis
- Revenue & margin expansionValue
- Integration planning & Day-1 readinessPost-close
- De novo / organic growthGrowth
PE-backed platforms & sponsors
A staffed deal team that has worked together in acquisitive, sponsor-backed settings. Live on day one, with no recruiting or ramp.
Banks & advisors at capacity
Convert overflow mandates into fees instead of declining them, with variable cost that scales with your pipeline.
Brokers without M&A infrastructure
Offer M&A advisory to your existing client base without building a team.
Lower middle market
Smaller deals are harder deals.
42 of 47 buy-side acquisitions in the record carried less than $3M of EBITDA. Founder-owned practices need a different process than banker-run auctions, and most advisors won’t staff them at these fee levels.
| Dimension | Upper middle market | Lower middle market · our focus |
|---|---|---|
| Seller | Institutional or sponsor-owned; advised | Founder- or physician-owned; often their first and only sale |
| Financials | Audited, accrual-basis, QoE-ready | Cash-basis and commingled; owner expenses run through the P&L |
| Process | Banker-run auction with CIM and data room | Off-market or lightly brokered; the buyer builds the package |
| Earnings quality | Clean run-rate EBITDA | Owner and provider compensation normalization drives value |
| Key-person risk | Management team in place | The owner is the business; retention and roll design are critical |
| Regulatory | Standard corporate structures | Corporate practice rules, Stark / AKS, law-firm ownership limits; MSO required |
| Advisor economics | Fees scale with deal size | Same work, smaller fee, so most banks will not staff it |
Working with banks & advisors
You own the mandate. We carry the execution.
A clear split of the work across the deal lifecycle, and economics that pay when the deal closes.
Success-fee share
Lockstep earns a share of your success fee on co-advised mandates. No close, no cost.
Best for overflow sell-side and buy-side mandatesRetainer + success
A monthly retainer credited against the success fee, for multi-deal programs.
Best for platform add-on programsWorkstream-based
A fixed fee for defined deliverables: model, diligence management, funds flow.
Best for discrete capacity gapsNo channel conflict. Lockstep does not solicit your clients and works under your engagement letter and brand.
The program we install
Four M&A programs built from zero.
Thesis & target map
Market sizing, white space and a ranked target universe, built before the first outreach call.
Sourcing engine
Outreach cadence, CRM discipline and owner relationships. Most lower-middle-market targets are not for sale until someone asks the right way.
Valuation & LOI
Pre-LOI model, structure, and roll or earn-out design that keeps sellers aligned after close.
Diligence & close
Quality of earnings, legal, data room, funds flow and closing statement, run to a timeline.
Integration
Day-1 readiness, compensation alignment and KPI tracking, so the next deal starts from a working base.
Engagement process
From first call to standing arrangement.
Most relationships start with one live workstream. The structure is set once both sides have seen the work.
Next steps for PE-backed platforms & sponsors
- 1
Working session
Map your acquisition thesis, pipeline and where your deal team is capacity-constrained.
Weeks 1–2
- 2
Pilot mandate
Lockstep runs one live add-on or workstream under an engagement letter: a retainer credited against a success fee, or a fixed workstream fee.
Weeks 3–8
- 3
Standing arrangement
An outsourced corporate development program: a named deal team, a monthly retainer and success fees per closing.
Post-pilot
- 1
Working session
Map your pipeline, capacity gaps and the mandates you are turning away today.
Weeks 1–2
- 2
Pilot mandate
Lockstep staffs one live buy-side or sell-side workstream under a co-advisory letter, on success-fee economics.
Weeks 3–8
- 3
Standing arrangement
A co-advisory framework, fee-share schedule and named deal team for ongoing overflow.
Post-pilot
- 1
Working session
Which clients are asking about M&A, what they need, and how involved you want to stay.
Weeks 1–2
- 2
Pilot mandate
Lockstep runs the M&A process for one client under a co-advisory agreement. You keep the relationship and share in the fee.
Weeks 3–8
- 3
Standing arrangement
A referral and co-advisory framework with an agreed fee share, so you can offer M&A across your client base.
Post-pilot
- 1
Confidential conversation
Your goals and timing, and whether a sale, partnership or recapitalization fits.
Week 1
- 2
Readiness & valuation review
Normalized earnings, a realistic value range and structure options: cash, rollover equity and earn-outs.
Weeks 2–4
- 3
Engagement
A defined process to reach the right buyers or partners, with terms set in an engagement letter.
When you are ready
- 1
Introduction
Your hold sizes, sectors and the structures you lead.
Week 1
- 2
Market dialogue
How lower-middle-market MSO deals are being structured, and where platforms are looking for lending partners.
Ongoing
- 3
Ongoing relationship
Our clients choose their lenders; we keep you in the conversation as their programs scale. Lockstep does not arrange or provide financing.
Ongoing