Sell-side commissioned due diligence that gets ahead of buyer questions before you go to market – quality of earnings, working capital, net debt, and UAE Corporate Tax exposure verified and packaged for bidders in advance, speeding up your process and protecting your negotiating position.
Rather than waiting for a buyer's financial due diligence to surface issues mid-negotiation, a vendor due diligence report identifies and addresses them proactively , before a bidder's advisors find them and use them as negotiation leverage against the asking price.
The same report is shared with all shortlisted bidders on a reliance basis, which accelerates every bidder's own due diligence process, reduces the number of duplicate advisor engagements, and shortens the path from indicative offer to signed SPA.
VDD is particularly valuable in competitive, multi-bidder processes where speed and certainty of close are what differentiate one offer from another , and in GCC mid-market sales where unaudited accounts and related-party activity are common enough that an independent, pre-verified financial pack materially increases buyer confidence.
Reported EBITDA bridged to normalised EBITDA before bidders ask – every non-recurring item, owner adjustment, and related-party distortion identified and documented with supporting evidence.
A defensible normalised working capital peg established ahead of the SPA negotiation, with seasonality, receivables ageing, and inventory obsolescence addressed before a buyer raises them.
Full net debt schedule including EOSB gratuity liabilities, IFRS 16 lease obligations, and contingent liabilities – disclosed proactively so it cannot be used to re-trade the price post-signing.
CT registration status, free zone qualifying income classification, transfer pricing exposure, and VAT/FTA audit history reviewed and remediated ahead of buyer tax due diligence.
Every issue identified is paired with a remediation recommendation and, where practical, fixed before the data room opens – rather than disclosed as an open item for bidders to price against you.
Reports structured so shortlisted bidders and their financing banks can rely on the findings directly under a reliance letter – removing the need for each bidder to commission a duplicate FDD.
| Dimension | Vendor Due Diligence | Buy-Side FDD |
|---|---|---|
| Commissioned by | Seller, before going to market | Buyer, post-LOI and pre-SPA |
| Purpose | Identify and fix issues before bidders find them | Independently verify the target's numbers |
| Shared with | All shortlisted bidders, on a reliance basis | The commissioning buyer only |
| Effect on process | Shortens the sale, reduces duplicate advisor cost across bidders | Confirms the buyer's own price and structure |
| Effect on price | Protects the asking price by removing negotiation ammunition | May reduce price if issues are found |
A Dubai-based logistics operator preparing for a competitive sale process engaged Corvian to prepare a VDD report covering QoE, working capital, and UAE CT exposure across three legal entities ahead of launching to five shortlisted bidders.
Ahead of a PE-backed exit, Corvian prepared a reliance-ready VDD report identifying EOSB and IFRS 16 lease exposures the sponsor had not previously quantified, allowing them to be addressed before bidder due diligence began.
One legal entity, standard QoE, working capital, and net debt scope for a straightforward sale process.
Multiple UAE or GCC legal entities, full UAE CT and VAT workstream, reliance-ready reporting for multi-bidder processes.
Group structures across multiple GCC jurisdictions, cross-border tax exposure, and PE sponsor exit reporting.