The CorpDev.Ai Unified Process
Build the function.
Make better deals.
A practical guide for the people who run corporate development: how to set up the function, choose and win the right deals, and deliver the value you promised the board.
For the head of corporate development
Set up a function the business trusts.
Start with a 90-day plan: agree who decides what, fund the team, and make business leaders own the numbers in every investment case.
- 01Agree the mandate and the first 90 days
What the function is for, what it owns, and the agreement with the executive team.
- 02Hire and organize the team
Who to hire first, how to organize, and what to pay.
- 03Set clear approval gates
Who approves what, at which stage, on what evidence.
- 04Deliver the value you promised
Baselines, named owners, and honest measurement after closing.
Corporate Strategy
Choose where to compete. Decide how to win.
Build the direction behind the deal: customer advantage, portfolio choices, and the next sources of growth. Explore Corporate Strategy
Roger Martin / Featured videoPlaying to Win
Five connected strategic choices, with HBR's “A Plan Is Not a Strategy.”
Boston Consulting GroupMatch strategy to the marketThe growth-share matrix and strategy palette, with practical portfolio examples.
McKinsey & CompanyDevelop the next growth enginesThree horizons of growth and the GE–McKinsey nine-box matrix.
Programmatic M&A
Build a program that improves with every deal.
01 / The acquisition programMake repeated acquisitions work
Connect the thesis, target pipeline, capital, and integration capacity.
02 / The AI systemsBuild from evidence to decisionsData models, AI workflows, approval controls, and evaluations that hold up across deals.
03 / The implementationPut the first workflow into practiceA 90-day playbook with worked examples, review gates, and a measurable starting point.
Across the deal
Find the work in front of you.
01 / StrategyDecide what to buy
The kinds of companies worth more with you, and what you can afford.
02 / SourcingFind and qualify targetsMap the market, build relationships early, and agree a shortlist.
03 / DiligenceTest the thesisTurn findings into a change in price, terms, or the decision itself.
04 / ApprovalValue it and get approvalWhat it is worth to you, the downside, and a clear request.
05 / NegotiationAgree the termsProtect what matters most when price, risk, and control are traded.
06 / IntegrationDeliver the caseGet Day 1 right and track results against what was approved.
The complete reference
Explore the library
Fundamentals6
- What is Corporate Development?What corporate development does, the five outputs it owes the company, and how to write a charter that settles who decides what.
- Corporate Development Team StructureHow to organize a corporate development team, from operating model, core roles, and functional support to workload sizing, reporting line, and pay.
- M&A Strategy DevelopmentCompare programmatic M&A, roll-ups, buy-and-build, and selective or transformational acquisitions. Choose the value thesis, target criteria, and integration capacity each needs.
- Building an M&A PipelineHow to build an M&A pipeline in which every opportunity has an owner, evidence for its stage, and a next decision.
- Corporate Development KPIs & MetricsHow to measure corporate development by freezing the approved case, tracking benefits finance can check, and turning variances into decisions.
- M&A Team Roles & ResponsibilitiesWho owns each decision and deliverable on a deal team, when to bring in specialists, and how to test a deal lead candidate on a real case.
Corporate Strategy5
- Corporate Strategy OverviewChoose where the company will compete, why its businesses belong together, and how to fund growth with Roger Martin, BCG, and McKinsey frameworks.
- Roger Martin: Playing to WinApply Roger Martin and A.G. Lafley's five strategic choices, watch A Plan Is Not a Strategy, and turn customer advantage into a corporate development mandate.
- BCG Strategy FrameworksApply BCG's growth-share matrix and strategy palette to portfolio choices, investment priorities, and the way each business develops its strategy.
- McKinsey Strategy FrameworksUse McKinsey's three horizons and the GE–McKinsey nine-box matrix to develop growth opportunities and compare investment priorities across businesses.
- Run a Corporate Strategy WorkshopTurn Playing to Win, BCG, and McKinsey analysis into strategic choices, tests, portfolio priorities, and corporate development mandates.
M&A Lifecycle7
- M&A Process OverviewThe stages of an acquisition, the decision each stage must make, and how to plan the timetable from first screen to post-close review.
- Target Identification & SourcingFind companies that fit your strategy, research them carefully, and approach their owners in a way that builds relationships before anything is for sale.
- Letter of Intent & Term SheetWrite an approved letter of intent that states the price basis, what is being bought, the diligence process, and what is still unknown.
- Due Diligence in M&ATest the assumptions the deal depends on, judge how reliable the evidence is, and turn each finding into a change in price, terms, plan, or decision.
- M&A Negotiation StrategiesPrepare for an acquisition negotiation by knowing your alternative, learning what the seller values, trading whole packages, and tracking the full economics.
- Issue & Risk Management in M&AKeep one deal risk register that ties each risk and issue to its evidence, the financial case, the contract, and a named owner with authority to act.
- Post-Merger Integration (PMI)Plan integration around the deal thesis, keep the business running on Day 1, deliver the promised value, and hand the work over to operations.
Programmatic M&A12
- Programmatic M&A: The Complete GuideBuild a repeatable acquisition program that connects strategy, capital, integration capacity, and AI systems that learn from each deal.
- Program Strategy and Target CriteriaTranslate an acquisition thesis into evidence-backed target criteria, exclusions, capacity limits, and rules for revising the program.
- The Programmatic M&A Operating ModelAssign decision rights, plan integration capacity, and establish the cadence and handoffs that make repeated acquisitions manageable.
- AI System Architecture for Programmatic M&ADesign evidence-backed AI workflows with durable state, scoped retrieval, controlled tools, deterministic calculations, and reviewable decisions.
- The Data and Evidence FoundationConnect companies, documents, claims, decisions, and outcomes without losing provenance, permissions, historical versions, or financial definitions.
- Continuous Sourcing and Target IntelligenceBuild an evidence-backed target universe, qualify it consistently, maintain relationship context, and detect changes that deserve renewed attention.
- Repeatable Diligence Across an Acquisition ProgramTurn the acquisition thesis into reusable diligence tests, trace findings into decisions, and compare deals without leaking confidential evidence.
- Valuation and Portfolio EconomicsEvaluate deal value, program costs, capital requirements, correlated downside, and scarce integration capacity using consistent financial definitions.
- Integration and Value Creation Across DealsChoose the right integration pattern, manage shared dependencies, protect approved baselines, and distinguish realized benefits from forecasts.
- AI Governance and Controls for Acquisition ProgramsSet decision authority, protect deal information, test prompt injection and access boundaries, and manage AI workflow changes through observable controls.
- Measurement and Learning Across AcquisitionsMeasure program outcomes and AI workflow quality separately, preserve approval baselines, and turn reviewed mistakes into tested improvements.
- Build the Program: A 90-Day Implementation PlaybookLaunch a bounded acquisition workflow, validate its evidence and controls, measure the economics, and expand only after the team can operate it.
M&A Operations8
- Building a Corporate Development FunctionA charter, 90-day plan, executive ownership map, and capacity model for a new head of corporate development.
- M&A Operations OverviewHow to run corporate development week to week, with a clear mandate, six linked records, separate approvals, and capacity planned across deals.
- Sourcing Cadence & Pipeline ManagementTurn portfolio priorities into a covered target universe, one owner per relationship, and a pipeline that shows only deals the company can act on.
- Meeting Cadence & GovernanceSet up M&A meetings around the decisions each must make, with pre-reads, decision cards, and one decision log that tracks follow-through.
- Approval Gates & Investment ProcessSeven decision gates, from screening to post-close review, that control what a company commits and record who approved what on which evidence.
- Roles & Responsibilities in M&AHow to map who owns each deal decision, get written commitments from each function, and test the map on realistic incidents before diligence.
- M&A Reporting & MetricsBuild M&A reporting management can act on, with stable definitions, cohort-based conversion, a locked approval baseline, and honestly labeled returns.
- Board Reporting for M&AWhat directors need to oversee an acquisition program, approve a deal, and hold management to the case they approved.
Deal Thesis & Strategic Rationale5
- Building a Deal ThesisWrite down why a specific acquisition will create value at its price, what must be true, and what evidence would make you walk away.
- Strategic Rationale for M&AExplain why buying is the best way to reach a business goal, why this company fits, and why you are the right owner.
- Business Case Development for M&ABuild an acquisition business case that ties price, funding, cash flows, and downside together, with every number traceable to a source.
- Value Creation Planning in M&ATurn the value promised in the deal case into funded initiatives with owners, baselines, dependencies, and benefits Finance has checked.
- Investment Committee PresentationsBuild a committee pack that states the decision, reconciles every number, invites challenge, and records exactly what was approved.
Valuation6
- M&A Valuation Methods OverviewHow to choose valuation methods, keep value, price, and your walk-away limit apart, and set a negotiating range a committee can defend.
- DCF Analysis & Intrinsic ValuationHow to build an acquisition DCF from operating drivers, test the terminal value, and see what growth and margins the seller's price requires.
- Comparable Company AnalysisHow to choose listed peers that truly resemble the target, put their numbers on the same basis, and turn trading multiples into a defensible range.
- Precedent Transaction AnalysisHow to rebuild what buyers really paid in past deals, judge which deals compare with yours, and use them without mistaking price for value.
- Valuation Best Practices & PitfallsHow to review an acquisition valuation for weak evidence, hidden assumptions, double counting, impossible downside cases, and slipping price discipline.
- Merger Model & Accretion/Dilution AnalysisHow to build a merger model that links price, financing, and accounting to the buyer's earnings, cash, and debt, and how to test it for errors.
Deal Structuring & Financing3
- Deal Structure OverviewHow to choose what you buy, how you pay, which risks you keep, and how you close, so the structure delivers the case you approved.
- Earnouts & Contingent ConsiderationHow to design an earnout that pays for a measurable result, model what it could cost, and write definitions that hold up after closing.
- Tax Considerations in M&AHow tax changes what the buyer pays and the seller keeps, how to compare structures, and how to turn tax findings into deal terms.
Regulatory & Compliance1
Cross-Border M&A1
Divestitures & Carve-outs1
Trends & Technology3
- AI in M&AHow AI is changing M&A, from standalone assistants and integrated deal workflows to new business models and programmatic acquisition strategies.
- Private Equity in M&AHow corporate development teams compete with, buy from, sell to, and partner with private equity sponsors, starting with each sponsor's own position.
- Digital Twins for Corporate DevelopmentHow to build a linked model of a company's sites, contracts, customers, people, systems, and P&L to guide diligence, carve-outs, and integration.
Strategic Frameworks4
- Strategic Framework for M&ATurn company strategy into a few funded acquisition mandates, each costed against building, partnering, or waiting, and tested before any bid.
- Competitive M&A PlaybooksPick the acquisition playbook that fits your real advantage, predict how rivals will respond, and hold the price when an auction heats up.
- Strategic Partnerships & Joint VenturesDecide when a partnership or joint venture beats buying or building, then write terms that still work when the relationship breaks down.
- Corporate Venture Investing & Minority StakesTake minority stakes only when equity beats a contract or an acquisition, model what the stake really pays, and judge learning apart from returns.
Industry Guides6
- Cybersecurity M&AHow to test whether a security product works, whether its customers will stay, and whether you can integrate it without breaking their trust.
- AI & SaaS M&AHow to test recurring revenue, AI running costs, data rights, and what a competitor could copy before you buy a software or AI company.
- Defense & Aerospace M&AHow to value defense and aerospace targets program by program, from funding and contract terms to delivery capacity, ownership rules, and aftermarket.
- Engineering & Industrial M&AHow to test whether an industrial target's orders become shipped product and cash, what its plants need, and which synergies they can deliver.
- Energy M&AHow to value energy businesses asset by asset, from physical output and contract terms to financing limits on cash and development-stage risk.
- Life Sciences M&AHow to connect clinical evidence, the regulatory path, manufacturing, rights, and market access to a risk-adjusted price for a life sciences asset.
No guides found.
Try a broader term such as “strategy”, “risk”, or “team”.
© 2026 CorpDev.Ai Unified Process for M&A