The Industry Standard For Transaction Diligence
In 1989, as the Cold War drew to a close, CSP recognized that political upheaval would lead to fundamental changes in the aerospace, defense and government services markets, both in the United States and abroad. Consolidation and restructuring of the U.S. defense industry would generate unprecedented transaction volume, while the often-attractive cash flow characteristics of defense contracts would draw private equity investors to our served markets for the first time.
While traditional transaction diligence – legal, accounting, tax, and environmental – would continue to be important, investors and lenders required assistance to understand the investment thesis that would determine whether an acquisition candidate was likely to create value.
We innovated a business diligence model that helped to translate the often arcane vocabulary of government programs and contracting into terms that investors and lenders could understand – and more importantly, could value. By analyzing and explaining the myriad market, competitive, program, customer, and financial variables that underpin any transaction opportunity, CSP created a new industry standard for both the business diligence process and the product that resulted from it. Today, more than 600 transactions later, CSP’s ‘brand’ is widely recognized within the community of private equity sponsors, institutional lenders, and third party advisors who are engaged in the markets we serve.