Buyer List
Workflow
Step 1: Understand the Target
- Company description, sector, and business model (CrowTech targets typically: multi-site physician groups, ASCs, home health/hospice, behavioral health, dental/vet/med-spa platforms, or healthcare AI/automation businesses such as RCM, ambient scribe, or clinical decision support)
- Revenue, EBITDA, and growth profile (CrowTech deal anchor: $25M–$250M EV, $10M–$150M revenue, $2M–$25M EBITDA)
- Key assets and capabilities (IP, customer/payor relationships, clinician workforce, geographic footprint, team)
- Expected valuation range
- Seller preferences (strategic vs. financial, management continuity, timeline)
- For healthcare services targets, also capture reimbursement mix (Medicare / Medicaid / commercial / self-pay) and value-based care exposure (MSSP, ACO REACH, MA capitation) — these drive buyer fit
Step 2: Strategic Buyers
Identify strategic acquirers across categories:
Direct Competitors
- Companies in the same space that would gain market share (e.g., larger PPMs, national home health operators, ASC platforms)
- Rationale: Revenue synergies, eliminate competitor, scale
Adjacent Players
- Companies in adjacent markets that could expand into the target's space (e.g., primary-care platform adding behavioral health; EHR vendor adding RCM AI)
- Rationale: Product extension, cross-sell, new market entry
Vertical Integrators
- Customers or suppliers that could integrate vertically (e.g., payors acquiring provider platforms; hospital systems acquiring ASCs)
- 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 |
Step 3: Financial Sponsors
Identify PE/financial buyers:
Platform Investors
- Sponsors looking for a new platform in this sector (healthcare services or healthcare-AI)
- Criteria: Fund size, sector focus, deal size range (match CrowTech's lower-middle-market band)
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 (e.g., ARR-based healthcare AI)
- Minority vs. majority preference
For each sponsor:
| Sponsor | Fund Size | Sector Focus | Portfolio Overlap | Recent Activity | Priority |
|---|
| | | | | A/B/C |
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
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
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
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 (plus healthcare-specific concerns: state CON laws, corporate-practice-of-medicine restrictions, Stark/AKS)
- 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