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The Model

How a transaction is shaped around the owner, how a company is selected, and what occurs through the first year.

The Stewardship Model

The structure follows the owner.
Nothing the customer sees changes.

There is no template. What fits is set per acquisition and written into the definitive agreements — from advisory and growth capital at one end to full ownership at the other.

Most often it starts as a buy-in rather than a buy-out. DMX McArthur enters alongside the owner as an adviser and a source of capital, in exchange for equity, and buys out the owner later only if and when the owner wants that.

Owner keeps controlFirm takes it on

  1. Advisory and growth capital

    DMX McArthur enters alongside the owner with capital and the back office for a minority stake. The company remains the owner’s to run.

    Where most of the firm’s deals begin

  2. Staged control

    Control moves on a schedule agreed to at the start, against milestones written down before close — not on a date the firm picks afterwards.

  3. Majority with rollover

    DMX McArthur takes control. The owner keeps a stake and operating authority through a documented transition.

    51/49 is the familiar example of this one

  4. Full ownership

    The owner sells the whole company and hands over the keys. Some owners want a clean line, and that is a legitimate answer, not a failure.

Additional structures include employee ownership, joint venture, SPV participation, preferred equity, a debt-supported acquisition, or another structure the firm’s counsel approves. Which one applies is decided in the transaction and written into the definitive agreements before close.

What does not change at close

  • The name and brand. Preserved by written policy.
  • Customer relationships. The last thing any integration touches.
  • The retained stake, where the structure leaves one. Equity in the business the owner built, on terms set before close.
  • Transition authority. Documented in the closing agreements.
  • Founder protections. Negotiated and set out in the definitive agreements before close.
  • Standing in the community. That is the asset, and stewarding it is the obligation assumed.
“Back-office changes precede customer-facing changes. Always.” DMX McArthur Integration Playbook | Standing rule, no exceptions without Board approval
The Standard

Discipline governs the process before the deal. Standards govern what follows it.

No letter of intent is issued on instinct. Every candidate is scored on a 24-point rubric, re-scored at purchase agreement, and re-scored at close. A candidate that falls short is declined.

Layer 1

Operational Maturity

How the business runs without its owner: reporting, systems, procedures, key-person risk.

Layer 2

Brand Equity

What the name is worth in its market: repeat revenue, reputation, tenure, standing.

Layer 3

Cross-Sell Potential

How it fits the platform: customer overlap, vertical adjacency, internal demand.

Day one

Benefits on. Payroll moved. Founder agreement signed. Zero customer disruption.

Day 30

Reporting migrated. IT consolidated. A first visible improvement, every integration.

Day 100

Shared-services cutover complete. Cross-sell connections live and logged.

Year one

Improvement documented and reported against the baseline set at close.