Buy-Side Diligence
Pre-signing assessment of a target's security posture, scoped to deal timeline and data-room access.
Advisory & Assessment · Flagship Service
M&A Cybersecurity Due Diligence
Transactions compress cyber risk into weeks. Ironhawk gives deal teams an evidence-based read of a target's security posture, expressed in transaction terms — and support that continues through post-close remediation and integration.
Engagement Methodology
From First Access to the First Hundred Days
Diligence is shaped to the deal's constraints — data-room reality, access limits, and timeline — and documented so findings hold up in negotiation.
PHASE 01
Scope & Access Strategy
Define what can be assessed given deal constraints, agree evidence sources, and set the review plan with the deal team.
TYPICAL DELIVERABLES: diligence plan · information request list
PHASE 02
Diligence & Evidence Review
Review controls, architecture, identity, incident history, and regulatory exposure against the evidence available.
TYPICAL DELIVERABLES: working findings log · interim flags for the deal team
PHASE 03
Findings & Deal Implications
Translate technical findings into transaction terms: risk severity, remediation effort, and integration implications.
TYPICAL DELIVERABLES: executive diligence summary · findings register
PHASE 04
Post-Close Execution
Sequence remediation into the first-hundred-days plan; support integration decisions and TSA security obligations.
TYPICAL DELIVERABLES: remediation plan with owners · integration risk reviewWhat You Receive
Deliverables
Every engagement produces documented, reviewable work product — findings you can act on and hand to the people who need them, from engineers to the board.
Findings that survive negotiation
Evidence-based and documented, so positions taken in the deal can be defended after it.
Risk expressed in deal terms
Severity, remediation effort, and integration implications — not raw tool output.
A plan the operating partner can run
Post-close work sequenced with owners, not left as a list of concerns.
Typical Deliverables
- Executive diligence summary for the investment committee
- Findings register with severity and remediation-effort ratings
- Regulatory and data-protection exposure review
- Post-close remediation plan with owners and priorities
- Integration risk considerations for the operating team
- TSA security support documentation, where applicable
Engagement Options
Scoped to Where You Are
Each option is scoped and agreed before work begins — including access requirements, client responsibilities, and the deliverables the engagement produces.
Sell-Side Readiness
Assessment and remediation before going to market, so security findings don't surprise the process.
Post-Close Remediation
Execution of diligence findings in the first hundred days, with owners, priorities, and progress reporting.
Integration & TSA Support
Security review of environment integration and transition service arrangements.
Questions Buyers Ask
FAQs
How early in a transaction should security diligence start?
As early as the deal team can accommodate it — ideally when the data room opens. Early scoping means findings arrive while they can still inform negotiation rather than after terms are set. That said, Ironhawk regularly scopes compressed reviews for deals already in motion; the scope is agreed up front so expectations match the time available.
What access do you need to the target, and what if access is limited?
The review plan is built around what the deal allows: data-room documents, management interviews, questionnaires, and — where permitted — technical review. When access is limited, findings are framed with that limitation stated explicitly, so the deal team knows what was evidenced and what remains open.
Can you work within the deal's NDA and clean-room constraints?
Yes. Engagement staffing, information handling, and reporting lines are agreed with the deal team at scoping, and Ironhawk operates within the confidentiality framework the transaction requires. Client responsibilities — such as arranging data-room access and interview availability — are defined at the same time.
What happens when you find something serious mid-diligence?
Material findings are flagged to the deal team as they are identified, not held for the final report — with an initial read on severity and what further evidence would confirm or narrow it. How a finding affects the transaction is the deal team's decision; Ironhawk's role is to make sure that decision is informed.
Do you support sell-side readiness as well as buy-side diligence?
Yes. Sell-side work assesses the environment before the process starts and sequences remediation of the findings a buyer's diligence would surface, so the security story is documented before anyone asks.
What does post-close support look like in the first hundred days?
Diligence findings become a remediation plan with owners and priorities. Ironhawk can execute or support that plan, review integration decisions as environments connect, and report progress in a form the investment team can track. Scope and duration are agreed at close based on the findings.
See the shape of the work product: a sample diligence executive summary.
View Sample SummaryScope a Diligence Review
Tell us about the transaction's timeline and constraints, and we will propose a review plan that fits them.