Who should be inside the deal team
Keep the group small enough for control and broad enough for execution.
A sale process cannot remain a one-person project. It also should not become common knowledge inside the company. “Building the tent” means selecting the limited group of people who need to help prepare, evaluate, and execute the transaction.
The core external team commonly includes the M&A adviser, transaction counsel, tax adviser, and accounting or quality-of-earnings support. Depending on the business and transaction, specialists may also be needed for environmental, regulatory, benefits, cybersecurity, intellectual property, or real estate matters.
Inside the company, the tent may include the chief financial officer or controller and one or two operating leaders. Each person should have a defined reason to know. The controller may assemble financial support; an operating executive may explain capacity and performance; a commercial leader may prepare customer analyses. Access to information should follow role, not title.
Before bringing someone inside, decide how the conversation will occur, what confidentiality obligations apply, and whether retention or transaction incentives are appropriate. The owner should also plan around the workload. Asking an executive to run the business and respond to unrestricted diligence requests at the same time can put both objectives at risk.
A well-designed tent improves speed and accuracy while reducing leaks. It also prevents a common failure: waiting until a critical deadline to involve the only person who can explain the data.