Case Study

Technology due diligence for a private equity acquisition in payments

How Outsized helped Dunedin find and deploy the right technology specialist in a live deal window.

The background

Dunedin, a UK-based private equity fund, was evaluating a significant minority investment in a payment processor. The target operated a proprietary card processing platform serving banks, fintechs, and corporates globally, certified by Visa and MasterCard for credit, debit, and prepaid transactions. The investment thesis rested heavily on the strength of the target’s technology. With ambitious growth plans in play, the deal team needed independent validation of the platform before entering exclusivity. Time was short, the brief was specific, and the wrong choice of specialist would cost the transaction.

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The challenge: What the team needed

What we encountered:

Speed

An indicative bid had already been submitted. The technology due diligence needed to be scoped, staffed, and ready to deploy the moment exclusivity was granted.

Payments-specific depth

Generic technology consultants would not do. The brief required specialists who understood payment processing infrastructure, Visa and MasterCard certification requirements, and the competitive landscape for card scheme operators.

Credibility under scrutiny

The findings would inform the investment committee decision. The specialist needed to stand behind their conclusions in front of experienced PE investors.

The right scope

Beyond finding the right firm, Dunedin needed the DD scope itself structured correctly, covering platform scalability, resilience, security, IT capex, regulatory compliance, and competitive benchmarking, without over-engineering a two-week initial phase.

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***“Having the scope and the shortlist ready before exclusivity meant we could move immediately. That time advantage matters in a competitive process.”***

– Deal team, Dunedin LLP

The solution

Outsized ran a structured sourcing and evaluation process, moving from brief to shortlist rapidly and presenting Dunedin with a clear, evidence-based recommendation.

Building the shortlist – Seven specialist firms were identified and assessed. Four were shortlisted for detailed review, each evaluated against the specific demands of a payments technology due diligence in a private equity context:

A digital financial services firm

Digital financial services technology specialists with sixteen-plus years of experience across American Express, Visa, Mastercard, Barclays, and Worldpay. Deep technical expertise in contactless and mobile payments, with hands-on familiarity across the full transaction value chain.

A payment strategy consulting firm

A global payments strategy consultancy with an established PE track record across Macquarie, Palamon, Charterhouse, CVC, and Growth Capital Partners. Strong on commercial due diligence and market intelligence.

An IT consulting specialist

IT strategy and delivery consultants with prior PE technology due diligence experience. Capable of reviewing architecture, code quality, and QA processes.

A specialist research firm

The Oliver Wyman-affiliated research and advisory firm, with a financial services focus and technology strategy capability.

Structuring the scope

Alongside the shortlist, Outsized developed a detailed due diligence scope structured around Dunedin’s investment hypotheses. The two-week initial phase covered:

Platform assessment

Scalability, resilience, security, and competitive positioning of the Apex processing platform.

Business plan validation

Technology assumptions underpinning forecast volumes, international expansion plans, cloud migration, and SaaS delivery.

IT & regulatory review

IT strategy and delivery consultants with prior PE technology due diligence experience. Capable of reviewing architecture, code quality, and QA processes. Compliance status across PSD2, GDPR, and card scheme certification requirements.

Phase 2 outline

A clear approach and budget for a deeper dive should Dunedin proceed to exclusivity.

A faster path through the critical window

Dunedin received a structured shortlist with the evidence to make a rapid, well-grounded decision. The sourcing and scoping work that would typically take the deal team weeks was compressed, allowing them to stay focused on the broader transaction while Outsized managed the specialist identification process. By having the right technology partner ready at the point of exclusivity, Dunedin could move quickly and with confidence, ensuring the technology investment thesis was robustly tested without adding risk to the deal timeline.

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