Apr 30, 2026
In a deal, the gap between a signed Letter of Intent and a successful integration is paved with complexity and nuance. In the middle market, the big picture strategy is rarely what kills a deal — it’s the mechanical friction of working capital, the structure of earnouts and the human element of post-close management.
Greg McGuire, Senior Manager of Transaction Advisory Services at Louis Plung & Co., dives deep into the technical traps that can erode deal value. He discusses why a standard 12-month average for net working capital might actually be penalizing your business, the art of the earnout, the often-undervalued roles that cause the most integration friction, how to stress-test for post-close cash injections during diligence, and the "smoking guns" in financial data that signal a deal is headed south.