Buy-Side M&A Advisory
You bring the thesis.We build the universe.
Kautilya is a Mumbai-based buy-side M&A advisory. We find, diligence and close off-market acquisitions from $500K to $10M for private equity funds, search funds, family offices and holding companies, in any sector.
We don't carry a pipeline. We build yours.
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Chanakya's Arthashastra, the ancient treatise on statecraft and economic policy, is not merely a historical text. It is a blueprint for strategic acquisition, institutional intelligence, and the patient accumulation of advantage. Kautilya embodies these principles in modern buy-side advisory.
"The wise acquire wealth as the bee gathers honey, without harming the flower."
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Frequently Asked Questions About Kautilya
What is Kautilya?
Kautilya is a buy-side advisory firm based in Mumbai. We build proprietary acquisition pipelines for buyers and take them from mandate to close: market mapping, off-market founder outreach, forensic due diligence, structuring and negotiation. We work only for buyers. We have closed 8 deals, reached more than 10,000 founders by cold call, email and direct mail, and look at 10–30 businesses every week.
Who is Kautilya for?
Private equity funds, search funds, family offices and holding companies: buyers who know what they want to own and need someone to find it, check it and close it.
What makes Kautilya different from a traditional M&A advisor or broker?
Traditional M&A advisors and business brokers typically deliver a report or a listing and step away once a deal is introduced. Kautilya stays through the entire acquisition lifecycle: sourcing, due diligence, deal structuring, operations setup, and growth, functioning as an operator first and a consultant second. The firm specializes in creative deal structures, including seller financing, earnouts, and revenue-based payments, that make acquisitions possible without large upfront capital. Kautilya's due diligence process runs 8 workstreams over roughly 6 weeks: Financial, Commercial/Product, Email & CRM, Affiliate & Partnerships, Traffic & Conversion, Tech & Data, Operational & Team, and Strategic & Exit. After close, Kautilya places vetted operators and builds a 30-60-90 day post-acquisition action plan, rather than exiting once the deal is signed.
How do you find deals?
Kautilya sources the large majority of its deal flow off-market, meaning the target businesses are not listed for sale on any public marketplace. Deal sourcing methods include direct founder outreach by cold email, LinkedIn messaging, and personalized Loom videos; a broker network built over multiple years; monitoring of community forums where founders discuss selling; and social-signal analysis used to detect early selling intent before a business is formally for sale. As a supplement, Kautilya also monitors more than 30 vetted online marketplaces. The firm's analyst team has run over 1,200 outreach campaigns with a 14.8% response rate, well above industry norms, and looks at 10–30 businesses every week before presenting pre-screened options to clients.
What does your due diligence process look like?
Kautilya's due diligence process is a roughly 6-week deep dive across 8 defined workstreams: Financial, Commercial/Product, Email & CRM, Affiliate & Partnerships, Traffic & Conversion, Tech & Data, Operational & Team, and Strategic & Exit. At the end of the process, the client receives a full due diligence report, a normalized financial model, a risk map identifying deal-specific red flags, a transition plan for the ownership handover, and a 30-60-90 day post-close action plan. The process can be run as part of a full-service retainer or purchased as a standalone engagement, quoted after the scoping call, regardless of how the underlying deal was sourced.
How much does it cost?
Pricing is a monthly retainer plus a success fee on close, sized to your mandate. Kautilya quotes after the scoping call, once the scope of the search is clear. Standalone due diligence and market research engagements are scoped and quoted per project. Success fees are only due once a deal actually closes, aligning Kautilya's incentives with the client's outcome.
More answers on pricing, timelines and deal structures are on the full FAQ page.