Strategic support to prepare the company for a corporate transaction.
Independent board advisor for portfolio companies, shareholder mediation and board support in moments of highest complexity. No conflicts of interest, investor-grade judgment.
Who is this service for?
- →Portfolio company needing an independent board member with financial judgment
- →Board with shareholder conflict requiring a trusted mediator
- →Family business undergoing a generational transition or bringing in external capital
- →Company needing targeted strategic support without hiring an additional CFO
"We needed a trusted independent advisor, not another consultant. Someone with their own judgment and no agenda. That is exactly what Dextra was in our process."
Corporate advisory is the least visible face of a boutique M&A firm’s work, but it is critical to the value generated for shareholders. The decisions made in the boardroom or by the management team, how shareholder conflicts are managed, and how the company is prepared for a future transaction are the factors that most influence the value realised when a sale or acquisition eventually happens.
At Dextra, we bring something few advisors can offer: the experience of those who have been — and still are — on the board as shareholders and investors. Through Gemba Private Equity and Atalaya, we have managed industrial and hospitality businesses, made difficult decisions under pressure and prepared the divestment of our portfolio companies with the goal of generating maximum value. That fundamentally changes the nature of the advisory we can provide.
Our corporate advisory clients are companies navigating moments of complexity that require senior judgment: generational transitions, shareholder conflicts, preparation for a transaction, or simply the need for a trusted, experienced voice — with real experience and no agenda — to accompany the board or management team on the decisions that matter most.
The process, step by step.
Shareholder structure and governance diagnostic
We analyse the ownership structure, existing shareholders' agreements, relationships among shareholders and areas of potential or existing conflict. The diagnostic is the starting point for any effective advisory.
Strategic agenda definition
Together with the board or principal shareholders, we define strategic priorities: organic or inorganic growth, divestments, management succession, financial optimisation or preparation for a future transaction.
Board or advisory committee membership
When the engagement requires it, we formally join the board of directors or monitoring committee as an independent director — with voice and judgment, not as observers.
Support on key decisions
We advise the board on its highest-impact decisions: corporate transactions, management changes, financial restructurings, shareholder disputes and significant corporate events.
Periodic KPI and covenant review
We monitor compliance with shareholders' agreements, financial covenants and agreed KPIs. We identify deviations before they become conflicts.
Corporate event management
We advise on capital increases, entry of new shareholders, partial exits, generational transitions and preparation of the company for a future M&A transaction.
What makes us different.
Investor judgment, not consultant judgment
As managers of Gemba and Atalaya, we take real positions in companies. Our corporate advisory starts from the experience of those who have sat on the board as shareholders, not as passing consultants.
Direct access to founding partners
The client deals directly with Stephan Koen and Iker Zabalza at every board meeting, every critical decision and every moment of tension. No delegation. No intermediaries.
CFA Worldwide international network
For companies with shareholders or subsidiaries abroad, our CFA Worldwide network facilitates coordination with local advisors in 30+ countries when the corporate situation has an international dimension.
A strategy consultant analyses and recommends. A corporate advisor is involved: they advise the board, mediate, negotiate and accompany the company during its most pressured moments. At Dextra we bring the judgment of investors who have managed their own portfolio companies — not analysts who present PowerPoints and move on.
Yes. We join boards of directors as advisors when the engagement requires it. The independence is real: we have no cross-interests with any shareholder or with the company's financial institutions.
With discretion, independent judgment and no agenda. Our starting point is always the company's interest — not that of any particular shareholder. We mediate between opposing positions, identify the ground for possible agreement and prevent personal differences from blocking business decisions that need to be made.
Yes, and it is an area where we have specific experience. Generational transition in a family business combines technical complexity (valuation, ownership structure, tax) with emotional complexity (family relationships, unexpressed expectations, differences in strategic vision). We know how to navigate both dimensions.
A shareholders' agreement is a private contract between shareholders governing rights and obligations beyond the company's articles of association. It should be reviewed when the ownership structure changes, when new shareholders enter, when the company changes in size or activity, during a generational transition, or when the current agreement no longer reflects the company's reality. An outdated shareholders' agreement is a time bomb.
We work on a monthly or quarterly retainer that reflects the committed time and the ongoing nature of the engagement. For projects with a transactional element — preparing for a sale, bringing in a new shareholder — we combine a retainer with a success fee tied to the outcome. We always agree the structure before starting.
Next step
Shall we talk about
your deal?
Founding partners respond directly. No intermediaries.