Corporate development is the process of building the future of a company. It involves exploring new opportunities, deal origination and creating strategies for using them to grow.
A corporate development team consists of people who are involved with the process of identifying, evaluating, and managing growth opportunities. The team usually includes:
Management from various areas within the company
Strategists who can help create a vision for growth
Finance professionals who can help assess potential investments
Corporate development should not be confused with mergers and acquisitions (M&A). M&A refers to buying other companies or merging with them, whereas corporate development strategy involves growing an existing company through internal processes.
The first step in corporate development is to identify potential opportunities for growth. These opportunities may come from within the company itself (such as acquiring another company), or they may come from outside sources (such as finding a new supplier).
Once opportunities have been identified, they need to be evaluated based on their potential value to the company. Then they need to be prioritized based on how likely they are to succeed and how much effort it will take to implement them.
There are several stages involved when implementing corporate development projects: feasibility studies; due diligence; integration planning; implementation; post-implementation review; financial analysis; exit strategies.
What is corporate development?
Corporate development is the process of acquiring and integrating new companies into your company. In this process, you are looking for ways to make your company more profitable through mergers and acquisitions (M&A).
Who is on a corporate development team?
The team consists of people from a variety of different departments within your company. The primary job of these people is to analyze and evaluate potential acquisition targets. They will then present their findings to the board of directors, who will make the final decision on whether or not to acquire a particular target.
Corporate development teams are responsible for identifying potential acquisition targets and then making those acquisitions happen by negotiating with sellers in order to secure a deal on favorable terms for the buyer. They'll also work closely with the legal team to ensure everything goes according to plan once an acquisition has been agreed upon.
What are the stages of corporate development?
There are three primary stages in M&A: identifying potential targets, evaluating those targets against one another, and negotiating with sellers.
The stages of corporate development are:
Preparation - The first step in any acquisition is preparation. In this stage, a team researches competitors, potential partners, and other relevant information about the company being acquired. They will also work to put together an offer that is attractive to both parties involved in order to increase the likelihood of a successful deal.
Due Diligence - In this stage, all aspects of the deal must be reviewed with great care and detail to ensure that there are no surprises when it comes time for closing. This includes reviewing financial records and meeting with senior executives from both companies involved in the acquisition so that they can answer any questions about their organization's history or future plans for growth/expansion into new markets/products/services...etc).
Closing/Closing Process - Once everything has been thoroughly vetted by both parties and all questions have been answered satisfactorily.
Corporate development is the process of creating a business plan, acquiring new companies and assets, and coordinating mergers and acquisitions. It is a process that is often misunderstood as just "buying stuff," but it's much more than that.
It's also one of the most important functions within a company—even more important than sales, marketing, or operations. Why? Because corporate development is what allows your company to grow in terms of revenue and profit potential, which will ultimately determine whether or not it thrives over time.