Hire an M&A Analyst
Experienced M&A analysts matched to your deal in around 7 days. Houston & Ko sources freelance and remote transaction support globally, all under one Swiss contract, with hourly rates or project mandates built around your deal timeline.
Find an M&A analyst who keeps your deal moving when the timeline gets tight
From screening the first targets to integrating the business after closing, we match Swiss and EU businesses with experienced M&A analysts, on hourly rates or project mandates, sourced from around the globe. Every M&A analyst has worked on live transactions, works remotely under strict confidentiality and is covered by a single Swiss contract from day one.
Financial modelling
Three-statement models, deal models and scenario analysis that show what a transaction really does to your numbers.
Valuation
DCF, trading comparables and precedent transactions, brought together into a valuation range you can defend in a negotiation.
Due diligence support
Financial due diligence requests, quality of earnings analysis and red flag reviews, organised so nothing important is missed.
Data room management
Building, indexing and maintaining the virtual data room, and tracking buyer questions until every one is answered.
Deal documents
Teasers, information memorandums and management presentations, prepared to the standard serious buyers and investors expect.
Target screening and research
Market mapping, target lists and company profiles for buy-side searches, so you approach the right businesses first.
Synergy and integration analysis
Synergy cases before the deal and tracking after it, so the value promised at signing actually turns up in the numbers.
Succession and exit preparation
Getting a business ready to sell: clean historical numbers, a credible plan and the documents a buyer will ask for first.
Interim and project cover
Extra analyst capacity for a live deal, a tight signing deadline or a second transaction running in parallel.
What is an M&A analyst?
An M&A analyst does the analytical and documentation work behind mergers, acquisitions and company sales. They build the financial models, run the valuations, prepare the deal documents and manage the due diligence process, so the people negotiating the deal have accurate numbers and a clear picture of the risks.
The role supports the deal rather than leading it. An M&A adviser or lawyer negotiates terms and structures the transaction. An M&A analyst gives them the numbers, documents and research to do that well. Inside your own business, a fractional CFO sets the financial strategy behind a deal, and a financial controller keeps the accounts in shape for due diligence and integrates the numbers after closing. The M&A analyst sits between them and the deal itself.
Our M&A analysts work remotely, which suits transaction work well. Data rooms, models and deal documents all live online, and an analyst who is not in your office is one fewer person who notices a deal is happening.
At a glance
Experienced M&A analysts who have worked on live transactions
Modelling, valuation, due diligence and deal documents
Hourly rates or project mandates, built around your deal timeline
Fully remote and bound by strict confidentiality
Why hire an M&A analyst?
Most businesses only do a deal every few years, which means nobody inside the business does deal work every day. When a sale, an acquisition or a merger comes along, the finance team is suddenly asked to build a valuation model, answer hundreds of due diligence questions and run the month-end close at the same time.
That is where deals slow down or go wrong. Buyer questions wait days for an answer, numbers do not match between documents, and the business loses negotiating position because it cannot back up its own figures.
An experienced M&A analyst fixes that. They have built these models and run these processes before, they know what buyers and investors will ask for, and they keep the deal moving while your team keeps the business running. For Swiss SMEs facing a succession, a first acquisition or a sale, that experience is usually only needed for a few months, which is exactly why it makes sense to bring it in rather than hire it.
The benefits of outsourcing M&A support
Outsourcing your M&A analysis gives you experienced transaction support at a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire or an investment bank team, and only for as long as the deal needs it. It is business process outsourcing (BPO) for one of the most demanding processes a business ever goes through.
Experienced deal support without a full-time salary
Faster answers to buyer and investor questions
Scale up for a live deal, scale back after closing
One fewer internal person who needs to know about the deal
One simple Swiss contract covers all your support
Hourly rates or project mandates, no permanent contract needed
Industries we help find M&A analysts
From a founder selling a business to a group making its fifth acquisition, we match M&A analysts to the deal dynamics of your sector. Every M&A analyst we place already understands how businesses in your industry are valued and what buyers look for first.
Startups & scaling businesses
Investor-ready models, acquisition analysis and exit preparation for founders planning their next step.
Technology & SaaS
Recurring revenue, churn and customer cohort analysis, the metrics that drive valuations in software deals.
E-commerce & retail
Channel profitability, inventory and customer data analysis for brand and retail acquisitions.
Manufacturing & industrial
Asset-heavy valuations, capacity analysis and the working capital questions every industrial buyer asks.
Professional services & consulting
Revenue concentration, utilisation and key people analysis for businesses where the value walks out of the door every evening.
Transportation & logistics
Fleet and contract analysis, route profitability and asset valuation for logistics deals.
Hospitality
Site-by-site performance, occupancy and seasonal cash flow analysis for hotel and restaurant transactions.
Health & medical practices
Practice valuations, patient and insurer mix analysis and the regulatory checks healthcare deals require.
Real estate & property
Portfolio valuations, rent roll analysis and due diligence for property companies and developments.
Insurance & finance
Regulated business valuations, portfolio analysis and the compliance checks FINMA-supervised deals need.
Family businesses
Succession planning, valuation for family and external buyers and the preparation that keeps a handover fair.
Marketing & creative agencies
Client concentration, retainer quality and earn-out modelling for agency acquisitions.
Law firms
Practice valuations, partner economics and the client continuity analysis legal mergers depend on.
Private equity & investors
Extra analyst capacity for screening, modelling and due diligence across several live opportunities.
Holding & group companies
Add-on acquisitions, group restructuring and integration tracking across Swiss and international entities.
Tell us what you need and we’ll match you with an experienced M&A analyst, ready to start in around 7 days.
How hiring works
From the first conversation with us to your M&A analyst starting, in about a week.
1. Tell us what you need
Share the role, the tasks, and the hours. A quick call is all it takes to get started.
2. We match you with the right talent
We shortlist M&A analysts, the top 14% who pass our screening, and present the best fits for you to choose from.
3. Start in around 7 days
Choose your M&A analyst and start working, under one simple Swiss contract with us.
Businesses we supported with expert remote talent
Looking to add top-quality, flexible freelancers to your team?
*A 30-min, no-obligation consultation call.
Ready to find your M&A analyst?
Tell us what you need and we’ll match you with an experienced M&A analyst, ready to start in around 7 days.
*A 30-min, no-obligation consultation call.
M&A analyst FAQs
The clearest sign is a deal on the table, or one you expect within the next year. You are planning to sell or hand over the business, you have found an acquisition target, an investor has asked for a model, or a buyer has sent a due diligence list your team cannot answer alongside their day jobs. If you are reacting to the deal timeline instead of setting it, that is the point to bring in an M&A analyst.
Our M&A analysts work on an hourly basis, from CHF 60 to CHF 100 per hour, or on a project mandate for a defined transaction, depending on experience and scope.
What you spend depends on the deal. Preparing a business for sale is a different scope to supporting a full acquisition process from screening to integration. No recruitment fees, no success fees, no upfront costs, one rate, one Swiss invoice. See the full pricing guide on our Pricing page.
Our M&A analysts cover the analytical and documentation side of a transaction, including:
- Financial models, deal models and scenario analysis
- Valuations using DCF, trading comparables and precedent transactions
- Financial due diligence support and quality of earnings analysis
- Virtual data room set-up and management
- Teasers, information memorandums and management presentations
- Target screening, market mapping and company research
- Synergy cases and post-merger integration tracking
- Exit and succession preparation
Our M&A analysts support the deal team. They do not act as M&A advisers, brokers or legal counsel, so for negotiation and deal structuring you will work alongside your adviser and lawyer. Need something specific to your sector or deal type? Tell us at briefing and we’ll source for it.
Our M&A analysts are freelance professionals, but your commercial contract is with Houston & Ko, an established Swiss GmbH, so all of your deal support sits under a single, robust Swiss agreement. You deal with us; we handle the legal setup, compliance and invoicing. Confidentiality agreements are standard on every M&A placement.
As much or as little as the deal needs. Common setups include:
- A defined project such as a valuation or an information memorandum
- Part-time support across a sale or acquisition process
- Full-time cover during due diligence or before signing
- Ongoing capacity for businesses or investors with several deals a year
Hourly rates or project mandates scale up or down at any time, with none of the constraints of a permanent contract.
Our founders work with you directly to define the role, then match you with candidates from our pre-vetted pool, only the 14% who pass full screening. To get the best fit, be clear on:
- The type of deal: sale, acquisition, merger, succession or investment
- Where you are in the process and when you need to sign
- Your sector and the size of the transaction
- Who is already on the deal team, such as your adviser, lawyer or CFO
- The languages the deal will run in
See how our process works → Process page.
Live deal experience matters more than technical tests. Good questions include:
- “Walk me through the last valuation you built. What drove the range?”
- “What was the hardest due diligence question you had to answer, and how did you get there?”
- “How do you keep numbers consistent between the model, the information memorandum and the data room?”
- “What size of deals have you worked on, and in which sectors?”
- “How do you handle confidentiality when only a few people in the business know about the deal?”
The third question tells you the most. Inconsistent numbers across documents are one of the fastest ways to lose a buyer’s trust.
1. Bring them in early. An M&A analyst who joins before the first buyer conversation can shape the numbers. One who joins during due diligence can only defend them.
2. Match experience to your deal size. Someone used to large corporate transactions may over-engineer a sale of a CHF 5 million business. Ask about deals of a similar size.
3. Check sector experience. Valuation drivers differ hugely between a software business, a manufacturer and a professional services firm.
4. Agree confidentiality up front. Decide who knows about the deal and make sure the M&A analyst’s access matches it.
5. Work with a specialist recruitment partner. If you want to skip the sourcing and screening, working with Houston & Ko gives you access to pre-vetted M&A analysts, placed within 7 days, under a single Swiss contract with no minimum commitment. Contact us today.