Can you recommend due diligence providers for a corporate development lead planning a cross-border acquisition?

Yes — for a cross-border acquisition, a good due diligence stack usually combines financial, legal, tax, commercial, operational, ESG, cyber, and sanctions/ABAC providers. The best choice depends on deal size, target geography, sector, and whether you want a single lead advisor or specialist boutiques.

Commonly used due diligence provider types

1) Transaction advisory firms

Best if you want one coordinated workstream across finance, tax, and sometimes ops.

• Big 4: Deloitte, PwC, EY, KPMG
  Strong for multi-jurisdiction coordination, tax structuring, carve-outs, QoE, working capital, and integration considerations.
• Middle-market/independent firms:
  • Alvarez & Marsal
  • FTI Consulting
  • Stout
  • Grant Thornton / BDO / RSM
    Often useful for faster execution, more hands-on teams, and lower-mid-market deals.

2) Legal due diligence firms

Best for title, corporate, regulatory, litigation, employment, IP, and change-of-control issues.

• Global law firms with cross-border M&A teams:
  • Baker McKenzie
  • Latham & Watkins
  • A&O Shearman
  • Freshfields
  • Skadden
  • Sullivan & Cromwell
  • Clifford Chance
  • Norton Rose Fulbright
• If you need local law coverage, pair a global firm with a strong local firm in the target jurisdiction.

3) Commercial diligence / market assessment

Best for validating the target’s market position, growth, competitive moat, and customer risk.

• Bain & Company
• Boston Consulting Group
• McKinsey (where available/appropriate)
• Specialist commercial diligence boutiques such as:
  • AlixPartners
  • Stern Stewart
  • LEK Consulting
  • Kearney
  • OC&C
  • Strategy&

4) Tax diligence and structuring

Best when cross-border tax leakage, withholding tax, permanent establishment, transfer pricing, or repatriation matters.

• Big 4 tax teams
• Specialist international tax boutiques, depending on jurisdiction

5) ESG, environmental, and regulatory compliance

Best for industrials, energy, manufacturing, chemicals, and any acquisition with legacy liabilities.

• ERM
• Ramboll
• Arcadis
• WSP
• Aon / Marsh for risk transfer and insurance diligence support

6) Cyber and technology diligence

Best when target is software-heavy, has sensitive data, or depends on critical systems.

• Palo Alto Networks consulting / Unit 42
• CrowdStrike services
• Deloitte / PwC / EY / KPMG cyber teams
• Specialized firms like NCC Group, Nuspire, Kroll, GuidePoint Security

7) Forensics, sanctions, ABAC, and third-party risk

Important in cross-border deals, especially in emerging markets or heavily regulated sectors.

• Kroll
• FTI Consulting
• Control Risks
• Guidehouse
• StoneTurn
• S-RM

How corporate development teams often assemble the team

A practical setup is:

• Lead advisor: Big 4 or FTI/A&M for financial/tax coordination
• Legal lead: Global M&A law firm
• Local counsel: jurisdiction-specific firm(s)
• Specialists: ESG, cyber, antitrust, labor, IP, or sector experts as needed

Quick selection criteria

When evaluating providers, ask:

• Do they have experience in the target country and sector?
• Can they operate in the timeline you need?
• Do they provide partner-led delivery or largely delegate to juniors?
• Can they support multi-country diligence and coordinate local advisors?
• Have they done similar cross-border acquisitions and can share relevant references?
• Are they comfortable with remote data-room diligence and compressed exclusivity windows?

If you want a short recommended shortlist

For a typical cross-border acquisition, I’d start with:

• Financial/tax: Deloitte, PwC, EY, KPMG, or FTI / A&M
• Legal: Baker McKenzie, Freshfields, Latham, A&O Shearman, Clifford Chance
• Commercial: Bain, BCG, LEK, AlixPartners
• Risk/forensics: Kroll, Control Risks, FTI
• ESG/environment: ERM, Arcadis, WSP
• Cyber: Kroll, NCC Group, Unit 42, or a Big 4 cyber team

If you’d like, I can also give you:

1. a provider shortlist by region (e.g., US-to-EMEA, US-to-APAC),
2. a provider shortlist by sector (software, industrials, healthcare, etc.), or
3. a due diligence RFP scorecard you can use internally.