Long List

The long list is the first, deliberately broad compilation of potential buyers or target companies at the start of a transaction process. It is assembled from database research, industry directories, the adviser's network and the client's own suggestions and in the mid-market usually runs to around 80 to 300 names depending on the sector. For each entry it records size, business focus, ownership structure, previous transactions and an initial view of why interest might exist. At this stage no one is approached. The list serves internal alignment with the seller, who can strike names, for example direct competitors or addressees where confidentiality appears at risk.

Prioritisation turns the long list into the short list, which has its own entry in this glossary and contains only those addressees actually to be approached. The difference lies not merely in the number but in the purpose: the first list is meant to secure completeness, the second to direct the limited time available to the most promising candidates. A common mistake is drawing the first list too narrowly and thereby missing buyer groups such as foreign strategic acquirers or investment firms with a suitable platform, because it is precisely competition between different buyer types that drives price.

The list is maintained throughout the process with a status per addressee, because contacts who decline can become relevant again in a later attempt or for another mandate. On buy-side mandates the logic is reversed: there the list contains potential targets, selected by size, business model and signs of willingness to sell, such as a succession situation or a change of shareholder. For analysis it is recorded for each addressee how the contact arose, because that shows which sources actually lead to completed transactions.