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An M&A advisor is the person or firm retained to run or support a transaction — the named professional on the engagement letter — as distinct from the generic service line called M&A advisory.
M&A advisory is the service catalogue. An M&A advisor is the specific boutique, bulge-bracket team, or independent who signs the mandate and whose reputation is on the process letter.
They are not the corporate lawyer (documents, risk allocation), not the auditor (historical accounts), not the QoE provider (earnings quality), and not the valuer issuing an IVS-compliant opinion — unless those roles are explicitly combined, which is rare and conflict-sensitive.
Illustration only.
A founder interviews three advisors. Firm A quotes the lowest success fee but has never sold a regulated healthcare asset. Firm B knows the 15 most logical strategic buyers and will staff a director on the file. Firm C is a global bank whose coverage officer will not attend management presentations. The “best advisor” is B for this file — fee second.
Choose advisors for process-market fit: sector, ticket size, geography, and whether you need sell-side auction craft or buy-side origination. A famous brand on a €8m EBITDA sale can be the wrong principal-agent match.
Any process where the other side is professional. Repeat PE buyers sometimes run thin advisor models; first-time sellers almost never should.
Titles are unregulated in many jurisdictions. Anyone can say “M&A advisor.” Look at closed deals, references, and the engagement letter’s scope (who introduces, who negotiates, who is paid on abort).
Dazur gives the advisor (and the principal) a single structured company file. The advisor’s judgement still prices the market; the file stops the deal being rebuilt in six different Excel books.