Global Insight | May 2026

The Cost of Losing Control: Why Unmanaged Transactions Fail at the Worst Possible Moment

Big transactions are inherently complex. What separates successful outcomes from expensive failures is often not the deal itself. It is the process surrounding it.

The Coordination Problem

Every significant M&A or financing transaction involves a cast of specialists: banks, legal advisers, tax counsel, due diligence teams and auditors. Across borders, the list grows longer. Without someone managing the process from the centre, deals slow down, critical details fall through the cracks and costs mount.

“In M&A, we are always the project manager. All the advisers are there: tax, legal, compliance. We organise those teams and we are responsible for the process. We do exactly the same in project finance.”— Václav Stryhal, Nexia One Corporate Finance

Making the Complex Manageable

Petr Beránek sets out three specific values that a structured advisory process delivers to clients.

The first is predictability. Clients know where they are, what is coming next and when decisions need to be made. The second is attention to detail, catching the things that would otherwise derail a deal because they do not look important until they become critical. The third, and perhaps the most underappreciated, is focus.

“We take care of the entire process so the client can concentrate on running their business. That is the real operational leverage, and it is something clients only fully appreciate after they have experienced it for the first time.”— Petr Beránek, Nexia One Corporate Finance

Competitive Tension and Better Terms

The structured approach delivers direct commercial benefits, particularly in financing mandates, where the process is designed to create genuine competition between lenders.

“We approach eight or nine banks with the same structured process, the same data, the same format for indicative offers. The client ends up with nine comparable bids on the same terms. They can see the spread. They know exactly where there is room to negotiate.”— Václav Stryhal, Nexia One Corporate Finance

Even banks, initially resistant to the rigour of the process, have come to appreciate it. By receiving a complete information memorandum and financial model upfront, they can assess a deal far more quickly and more accurately than when information arrives piecemeal through bilateral conversations.

The Conductor Effect

The metaphor that keeps surfacing in conversation with the Nexia One Corporate Finance team is that of a conductor. A complex transaction requires specialists who know their instruments. But without someone drawing the performance together, the result is noise rather than music.

In cross-border transactions the stakes are higher still. Financial assistance rules differ between jurisdictions. Local security agents may be required to install and enforce security arrangements. Intercompany loan structures need careful design to work across legal systems. These are not the kinds of details that announce themselves.

“There are critical details in complex transactions that are very often overlooked. Not because clients are careless, but because they do not know what they do not know. Our job is to know.”— Petr Beránek, Nexia One Corporate Finance

For businesses approaching significant transactions, domestic or cross-border, the lesson is clear. The process is not the administrative wrapping around the deal. The process is the deal.