{"id":524,"date":"2026-07-17T12:05:34","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T12:05:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ibgrid.com\/blog\/?p=524"},"modified":"2026-07-17T12:05:35","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T12:05:35","slug":"business-due-diligence-checklist-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ibgrid.com\/blog\/business-due-diligence-checklist-india\/","title":{"rendered":"What 26 Years of M&A Taught Me About Due Diligence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In over two decades of advising on transactions across banking, capital markets, and business valuation, I have watched more deals die in due diligence than at any other stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not because the businesses were bad. Not because the buyers were unreasonable. But because the seller, a capable, intelligent promoter who built a genuinely valuable company, was simply not prepared for what the process would ask of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Due diligence is the moment when a buyer stops listening to your story and starts verifying it. Every financial statement is cross-checked. Every contract is reviewed. Every regulatory filing is examined. And every gap, every inconsistency, every undisclosed liability, every number that does not reconcile, becomes either a negotiating lever against you or a reason to walk away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The data confirms what I have observed first-hand. The Axial Dead Deal Report (2025)<\/a>, which analysed 75 failed transactions,found that diligence findings and EBITDA discrepancies together accounted for nearly half of all deal failures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A broader Acquisition Stars study (May 2026)<\/a>, drawing on Deloitte, McKinsey, and academic research, placed inadequate due diligence as the cause of 31% of M&A failures globally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wharton’s analysis (December 2025)<\/a> was more pointed, noting that deals with thorough diligence (90+ days) have a 34% higher success rate than those rushed through in under 45 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

None of this surprises me. What surprises me, still, after all these years, is how many promoters enter a transaction without having spent a single day preparing for what is, in most cases, the largest financial event of their lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article is my attempt to change that. It is written for Indian business owners with \u20b910 crore to \u20b9200 crore turnover who are approaching a sale, a fundraise, or a strategic partnership. It covers what due diligence actually entails, what I have seen trip up even well-run businesses, how the regulatory landscape has shifted in 2026, and exactly what you need to have ready, illustrated with practical examples, formulas, and scenarios drawn from real transaction dynamics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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