Redacted Case Studies

Summary

Three anonymised mandates across SaaS, fintech infrastructure and affiliate media, from $1M to $50M.
Each structure followed the risk: earnouts for key-person risk, escrow for licensing, price for traffic concentration.
A licence transfer added 45 days to the fintech deal; planning for it kept the deal alive.
Traffic concentration cut the media multiple from a 4.0x ask to 3.2x revenue at close.

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Overview

The following case studies are drawn from completed transactions. All identifying details, including company names, specific financials, and parties, have been removed. The purpose of these summaries is to illustrate the types of situations, structures, and diligence issues that arise in digital asset M&A transactions across different verticals and deal sizes.

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Case Study 01 | SaaS | APAC | $5M - $15M

Situation	Founder-led B2B SaaS business serving professional services firms. Seeking full exit after 7 years. ARR of approx. $1.8M with 85% gross margin.
Structure	70% cash at close, 20% earnout over 18 months (revenue-based), 10% seller note at 8% p.a.
Diligence Issues	Moderate customer concentration (top 3 clients = 38% of ARR). Founder was primary relationship holder for key accounts. Required structured handover plan.
Outcome	Closed within 90 days of LOI. Earnout fully achieved at 18 months. Founder retained in a consulting capacity for 12 months post-close.

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Case Study 02 | Fintech Infrastructure | US | $20M - $50M

Situation	Payments infrastructure business processing transactions for SME merchants. High-volume, low-margin model with strong recurring revenue from platform fees.
Structure	85% cash at close, 15% rollover equity. Buyer was a strategic acquirer seeking to expand into the target's geographic market.
Diligence Issues	Regulatory licensing in two jurisdictions required transfer approval. One licence required re-application under the new ownership structure, adding 45 days to the timeline.
Outcome	Closed with a 30-day escrow extension to accommodate the licensing transfer. Full consideration paid on close of regulatory approval.

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Case Study 03 | Media / Affiliate | UK | $1M - $5M

Situation	Affiliate media site in the personal finance vertical. 92% organic traffic. Revenue primarily from affiliate commissions with a small display advertising component.
Structure	100% cash at close. Buyer was a portfolio operator with existing sites in the same vertical.
Diligence Issues	High SEO concentration risk: top 5 keywords drove 61% of organic traffic. Google algorithm volatility was flagged as a material risk. Buyer priced this into the multiple.
Outcome	Closed at a 3.2x revenue multiple, below initial seller expectations of 4.0x, reflecting the traffic concentration risk. Post-close, buyer successfully diversified traffic sources over 12 months.

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What Each Case Teaches

Case	Core risk	How structure handled it	Lesson
01 SaaS	Founder held key accounts	20% earnout and 12-month consulting role	Key-person risk is solved with time and alignment, not just price.
02 Fintech	Licence transfer approval	30-day escrow extension and conditional payment	Map licence transfer rules before LOI; they set the timeline.
03 Media	Top 5 keywords drove 61% of traffic	Price adjusted; 100% cash	Concentration is priced in the multiple. Diversify before going to market.

Summary of case lessons

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Patterns Across Mandates

Structure follows riskIn each case, the part of the deal that was hardest to verify was the part that was deferred, escrowed or discounted.
Timelines are set by third partiesRegulators, licence holders and key customers decide how fast a deal closes. Identify them in week one.
Preparation protects priceSellers who arrive with clean data and known risks negotiate from strength; surprises in diligence are always paid for by the seller.

For the benchmarks behind these structures, see the Deal Structure Playbook and Time-to-Close Decay.

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Work with Acquiry

Acquiry runs buy-side and sell-side mandates for digital businesses. We are not limited to the sectors or markets covered here: any sector, any market, bring it to us anyway. Start a mandate (opens in a new tab).

Reference

Frequently asked questions

Why are the case studies anonymised?

Our mandates are confidential. Names, exact financials and parties are removed so the structures and lessons can be shared without identifying anyone.

Why did the media site sell below the asking multiple?

Five keywords drove 61% of organic traffic, so the buyer priced in the risk of a search algorithm change. The deal closed at 3.2x revenue against a 4.0x expectation.

How do licence transfers affect fintech deal timelines?

Some licences need regulator approval or a fresh application under new ownership. In Case 02 this added 45 days, handled with an escrow extension.

About the analyst

Joash Boyton

Founder and Managing Director, Acquiry · Melbourne, Australia · Global coverage

Joash Boyton is the Founder and Managing Director of Acquiry, a specialist M&A advisory firm focused on the acquisition and sale of businesses. He executes buy-side and sell-side mandates from USD $1M to $500M across technology, SaaS, fintech, payments, gaming, blockchain and emerging verticals, and is not limited to them. Any sector, any market.

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