When considering an acquisition, it is critical to conduct an in-depth analysis of the target company’s operations to identify any potential risks and possible future income, a major source of value in any M&A deal. Cartesian and parent company TMNG Global have proven success in operational due diligence engagements in all sectors of the communications industry.

Operational Due Diligence in the Communications Industry

Operational Due Diligence enhances decision making and reduces the potential risk of a merger/acquisition through a thorough understanding of how effectively the target business operates. ODD provides a more robust perspective of what your business can expect from the target's future operational performance by measuring the effectiveness and efficiency of the company's business units against the management's own performance targets, as well as industry benchmarks. With the help of our Strategy division, CSMG, we will also identify industry and technological developments that can impact the operational effectiveness of the target, and wherever possible, help you develop mitigation plans.

Cartesian and parent company TMNG Global have conducted dozens of operational due diligence engagements across all segments of the communications industry for investment banks, financial institutions, and corporate Boards. Operating each Operational Due Diligence engagement with strict confidentiality, we gather, analyse and validate information relating to operational risks related to the following questions:
  • What is the functionality and the scalability of the current network?
  • What is the network topology today and how should it be transformed?
  • How would the target company’s network build out equipment and costs compare with industry benchmarks?
  • What equipment and/or software solutions are best-in-class?
  • How does the target’s OSS/BSS performance, systems and applications compare with the targets peers?
  • What currently available or future technologies should be considered?
  • What is the target company’s optimal technology and operational roadmap?
  • What are the potential disruptive technologies which are likely to impact the target? What are the optimal contingent strategies?
  • Which elements of the target company’s operations are manual? Which should/could be automated?
  • What is the level of the managerial talent?
  • What organizational changes would you recommend?
  • What would it cost to implement your recommendations?
To address these questions, we leverage our expert resources, industry knowledge, operational and business experience, toolsets, and methodologies drawn from our twenty years of experience with communications companies, technology vendors, equipment manufacturers and standards organizations. Our structured methodology consists of two modules tightly integrated with the target company’s business plan and your goals for the assessment:
  1. Module One: Baseline and gap analysis
    • Review of documentation, system diagrams, flow charts, engineering network maps, process flow, etc.
    • Interviews with employees at different levels
    • Identification of in-house systems or vendors and staffing levels
    • Test runs of network and/or service delivery
    • Analysis of current performance levels versus TMNG Global’s best-in-class standards with identification of gaps
  2. Module Two: Synthesis of baseline analysis and presentation of results, which may include some or all of the following:
    • Detailed reports with network topology, both current and required
    • Key current vendor profiles with strengths and weaknesses
    • Technology and operational road maps
    • Disruptive technology analysis and contingency plans
    • Benchmarking and best-in-class comparisons
    • Identification of specific actionable activities depending upon the SOW and purpose of the due diligence
At every point in the process, we work closely with our deal development colleagues at CSMG (To learn more about their end-to-end capabilities, click here).

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