We will typically provide initial feedback within one or two weeks after receiving an opportunity teaser. Final investment decisions are typically reached two to four months after the proposal is introduced but under special circumstances we will provide a decision earlier.
The entire period for the analysis and execution of the investment is however always specific and depends on the nature of the information provided, contractual anchoring of mutual agreements, third-parties cooperation and others. Nevertheless Milestone has an apparent advantage of an entity managing its own equity so that the process is not encumbered with multi-level decision making processes and the decision itself is very flexible. Therefore in specific cases the entire period between receiving the first information and the investment itself may not exceed one calendar month.
As for the start-up or greenfield projects we usually spend a considerable amount of time getting to know the people, environment, and markets of the business before we invest. The business plan need not be carved in stone before we talk, but the idea must be clear. We use senior advisors and consultants to complement our expertise and to accelerate the decision-making process.
The investment process is usually structured as follows:
- Receiving the information about the target company
- Request fir the first meeting and initial feedback
- Gathering the information about the target company and internal analysis
- Submission of indicative terms and conditions of the investment
- Legal, financial and tax due diligence
- Approval of the transaction by the investment committee
- Submission of binding bid
- Contractual documentation preparation
- Signing of contracts and settlement of the transaction