For some BV firms to grow, it’s a matter of acquire or be acquired. A deal may come along that looks good on paper, but you need to go beyond the numbers before you actually take the leap.

Recent example: Two large accounting firms recently called off their planned merger due to a “cultural mismatch,” according to Inside Public Accounting. The firms, Elliott Davis and Whitley Penn, had announced plans to merge this past June.

While this deal didn’t work out, it does illustrate the importance of cultural fit and of exploring opportunities for growth. Take the recent acquisition of Vantage Point Advisors, a boutique valuation and advisory firm with 30 professionals, by Stout, the global investment bank and advisory firm with 900 professionals. Stout’s private equity partner, Audax, which made an investment in Stout in late 2021, provided advice on how to build the firm’s valuation practice, which included an acquisition strategy. One of the important considerations in the acquisition was how the cultures of the two organizations would align.

What are the other attributes of the buyer and seller that make them attracted to each other? The January 2023 issue of Business Valuation Update has an article that includes interviews with some of the professionals at Stout and Vantage Point who made the deal happen.