Acquisition Target Advice

New to the consulting world and have been asked to do a preliminary 'Acquisition target analysis'...any advice on what to include? Things such as; Turnover, profit, margins, sales growth, number of employees, location and contact details, services provided, quality standards, subsidiaries, parent company, etc etc. Any other KPI's or ratios that i should be including as a measure of performance/attractiveness/efficiency?

Sample ATA here: http://www.edocr.com/doc/5/m-project-acquisition-target-analysis-aggregate-industries-plc

Thanks for that Anon, any more advice on what to look for guys? In serious need for a few pearls of wisdom here!

Benchmark it against companies n a similar industry, geography, etc.

Do not include too many details.. You have been asked to something preliminary but complete. So focus on the most important companies (top 10) giving details on the 4-5 most relevant aspects. In my opinion, you should look at:

1) Revenues

It's important to realize how "big" the target is"

2) Relevant business

Assuming that you are focusing on an industry, it still matters knowing from which segment the money comes from

3) EBITDA Marging

At a preliminary stage, this is crucial. You do not want to buy something with margins lot smaller than yours

4) Relevant strategic information

Whether they are restructuring, growing, cutting costs, investing

5) Cash and debt

They influence how much you will pay for the target.

Hope this helps!