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M&A deal sourcing tracker

Logs, categorizes, and summarizes inbound and proactive M&A deal opportunities into a structured pipeline organized by stage, strategic theme, and priority tier, then produces a pipeline summary with stage counts, tier…

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Purpose

Convert a messy stream of inbound and proactively sourced acquisition targets into a structured, decision-ready pipeline — categorized by deal stage, strategic theme, and priority tier — with a summary view that shows what's advancing, what's stalled, and what needs action next. Solves the corp dev problem of losing track of opportunities across spreadsheets, emails, and banker intros.

When to Use

Invoke this skill when the user asks to:

  • Log or triage a new inbound deal, teaser, or CIM into the pipeline
  • Categorize acquisition targets by strategic fit or theme
  • Build or update a deal pipeline tracker
  • Prepare for a pipeline review or corp dev committee meeting
  • Reprioritize sourcing efforts across a list of targets
  • Identify stalled deals or gaps in the funnel

Inputs Required

Before starting, collect:

  • Deal list: The targets to track — company names, plus whatever is known (source, sector, revenue/EBITDA, contact status)
  • Strategic themes: The acquisition thesis buckets (e.g., geographic expansion, product adjacency, talent acquisition, market consolidation)
  • Deal source: How each came in — inbound (banker, broker, founder), proactive outreach, or referral
  • Current stage per deal: Where each opportunity sits today (if known)
  • Priority signals: Strategic fit strength, deal size, urgency, or sponsor interest
  • Existing tracker: Any prior pipeline data to merge or update against

If stage or priority tier is not provided, infer from the available signals and flag the inference so the analyst can confirm.

Instructions

Step 1: Normalize and Enrich Each Deal

For every target, build a consistent record with these fields:

  • Company: Target name
  • Source: Inbound (banker/broker/founder) / Proactive / Referral — name the originator if known
  • Sector/sub-sector: Standardize to a consistent taxonomy across the list
  • Size indicator: Revenue, EBITDA, or headcount — whichever is available
  • Date entered pipeline: For staleness tracking
  • Last activity: Most recent touchpoint or milestone

Fill gaps with "Unknown" rather than guessing hard numbers; only infer soft fields (stage, tier).

Step 2: Assign Deal Stage

Map each deal to one stage in the standard corp dev funnel:

  1. Identified — On the radar, no contact yet
  2. Contacted — Outreach made, awaiting response
  3. Engaged — Two-way dialogue, NDA in discussion
  4. Diligence — Materials received (teaser/CIM), active evaluation
  5. LOI/Term Sheet — Formal offer stage
  6. Closing — Signed, in confirmatory diligence or legal
  7. Passed/Dead — Declined, lost, or paused — record the reason

State the stage rationale in one phrase per deal when inferred.

Step 3: Tag Strategic Theme

Assign each deal to one primary strategic theme (from the user's provided buckets) and, where relevant, one secondary theme. Every deal must map to at least one theme — if a target fits none, flag it as "Off-thesis" so the analyst can decide whether to cut it.

Step 4: Assign Priority Tier

Score each deal into one of three tiers using strategic fit, size, and momentum:

  • Tier 1 (Pursue actively) — Strong thesis fit, right size, live momentum or clear urgency
  • Tier 2 (Nurture) — Good fit but early, uncertain, or blocked on one factor
  • Tier 3 (Monitor) — Weak current fit or timing off; keep warm, no active resourcing

Give a one-line justification per tier assignment tied to the specific signals.

Step 5: Flag Action Items and Stale Deals

  • Next action per Tier 1 and Tier 2 deal — a concrete, owner-ready step (e.g., "Send NDA," "Request updated financials," "Schedule management call")
  • Stale flag for any deal with no activity in 30+ days that isn't Passed/Dead — mark it and recommend re-engage or reclassify

Step 6: Build the Pipeline Summary

Roll the tracker up into a management view:

  • Count of deals by stage (funnel snapshot)
  • Distribution across priority tiers
  • Deal count per strategic theme (shows thesis coverage and gaps)
  • Top 5 deals to advance this period, with next actions
  • Stale/at-risk deals requiring attention
  • One-paragraph read on pipeline health — where it's thin, where it's crowded, and what to source more of

Output Format

  • Structure: A master tracker table (one row per deal), followed by the pipeline summary section
  • Length: Scales with deal count; summary section 300–450 words
  • Format: Markdown table for the tracker; structured lists and mini-counts for the summary
  • Sections: Master Tracker Table → Stage Funnel Snapshot → Tier Distribution → Theme Coverage → Top 5 to Advance → Stale/At-Risk Deals → Pipeline Health Read
  • Tone: Corp dev analyst — precise, decision-oriented, no filler; every flag ties to a signal or action

Quality Checklist

Before delivering output, verify:

  • [ ] Every deal has a stage, at least one strategic theme, and a priority tier
  • [ ] Any inferred stage or tier is explicitly flagged for analyst confirmation
  • [ ] Off-thesis deals are surfaced rather than silently dropped
  • [ ] Every Tier 1 and Tier 2 deal has a concrete next action with an implied owner
  • [ ] Stale deals (30+ days no activity, not Passed/Dead) are flagged
  • [ ] The summary includes actual counts by stage, tier, and theme — not vague descriptions

Notes

  • The funnel snapshot is the fastest tell for a pipeline problem: a wide top with an empty middle means sourcing is working but qualification or engagement isn't
  • Theme coverage gaps are a sourcing signal — if a core thesis bucket has zero live deals, that's a prompt to redirect outreach
  • Keep Passed/Dead deals in the record with reasons; re-approach patterns emerge over time and dead reasons inform future qualification
  • When merging against an existing tracker, preserve prior "date entered" values so staleness math stays accurate

How to use this skill

This file is a Claude Code skill in Anthropic's standard format — markdown with YAML frontmatter at the top.

Installing in Claude Code:

  • ~/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md — auto-loads in every session anywhere on your machine (recommended for skills you'll use across multiple projects)
  • <your-project>/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md — auto-loads only when working in that project (recommended for project-specific skills)

Restart Claude Code or open a new session to register.

Using in Claude.ai, ChatGPT, Gemini, or other AI tools:

  1. Drag this file into a new chat, or copy and paste its contents
  2. Send your task or request as your next message — the AI will apply the skill where it fits

For Claude Code skill details: https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code/skills