ESFA
How a boutique M&A advisory firm prepares its team for international transactions
2
Employees enrolled in the program
20+
months of continuous partnership
1-on-1
format, tailored to each participant
About the company
ESFA is a boutique M&A and corporate finance advisory firm based in Belgrade, specializing in transactions, financing, and strategic advisory. The team works with domestic and foreign investors on transactions where English is the language of communication with the other side.
The challenge
Communication in live transactions
M&A advisory means daily communication with foreign investors and counterparties in a transaction: presenting offers, negotiating terms, and aligning expectations, all in English.
Documentation with no room for ambiguity
Term sheets, investment memoranda, and confidentiality agreements don't tolerate imprecision. The team had to write and interpret financial and legal documentation in English with the same confidence as in Serbian.
Working in a small, dedicated team
As a boutique advisory firm, ESFA works with a small team where every member is directly involved in transactions. The program had to be tailored individually to each participant and flexible around the schedule of live deals.
The solution
We created a premium one-on-one program for ESFA's two-person transaction team. Each participant works with a dedicated senior mentor on real materials from live transactions: investment memoranda, term sheets, and preparation for calls with foreign investors. The session schedule follows the pace of active deals, not the other way around.
One-on-one work with a senior mentor, built around real documents and calls from live transactions, not generic business scenarios.
A focus on the language of M&A transactions: valuation, due diligence, structuring offers, and contract terminology, so the team writes and speaks with the same precision as in their native language.
Practice running negotiations and calls with foreign investors: structuring arguments, responding to counteroffers, and representing ESFA with authority in English.
Results
Continuity and commitment
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