/ Case Studies
Acquisitions Others Miss
Acquisitions Others Miss
A private equity firm focused on residential solar needed to identify disruptive, under-the-radar acquisition targets beyond the obvious search space. The challenge was not simply finding more companies — it was knowing whether they were looking in the right part of the market.
Industry:
Energy / Residential Solar
Focus
Acquisition Targeting
Use Case
Hidden Opportunity Discovery
Context
The firm had already spent months working with external advisors to identify which parts of the residential solar value chain to focus on and which companies might create distinctive returns. But leadership still needed to know whether the search was focused on the right opportunity space.
Decision problem
The issue was not whether acquisition targets existed. It was whether the firm was “fishing in the right pond.” The team needed to understand which value-chain stage had the strongest emerging economic logic, and which companies had the underlying capabilities to change the economics of residential solar.
What Sunasi Clarified
Sunasi mapped the changing economic logic across value-chain stages and identified the hyper-granular capabilities driving current and emerging value. This revealed a stronger acquisition focus than the one recommended by the firm’s existing advisors and surfaced companies outside the obvious residential solar search space.
Insight:The most valuable acquisition targets were not necessarily inside the expected category. Some of the most strategic assets sat outside residential solar, but held capabilities that could change its economics.
Outcome & Impact
- Shifted focus toward a different value-chain stage
- Shortlisted 5 acquisition targets
- 3 targets came from sectors outside residential solar or renewable energy
- 2 shortlisted companies were acquired
- Insights and recommendations delivered within 1 week instead of a months-long advisory process
Industry:
Energy / Residential Solar
Focus
Acquisition Targeting
Use Case
Hidden Opportunity Discovery
Context
The firm had already spent months working with external advisors to identify which parts of the residential solar value chain to focus on and which companies might create distinctive returns. But leadership still needed to know whether the search was focused on the right opportunity space.
Decision problem
The issue was not whether acquisition targets existed. It was whether the firm was “fishing in the right pond.” The team needed to understand which value-chain stage had the strongest emerging economic logic, and which companies had the underlying capabilities to change the economics of residential solar.
What Sunasi Clarified
Sunasi mapped the changing economic logic across value-chain stages and identified the hyper-granular capabilities driving current and emerging value. This revealed a stronger acquisition focus than the one recommended by the firm’s existing advisors and surfaced companies outside the obvious residential solar search space.
Insight:The most valuable acquisition targets were not necessarily inside the expected category. Some of the most strategic assets sat outside residential solar, but held capabilities that could change its economics.
Outcome & Impact
- Shifted focus toward a different value-chain stage
- Shortlisted 5 acquisition targets
- 3 targets came from sectors outside residential solar or renewable energy
- 2 shortlisted companies were acquired
- Insights and recommendations delivered within 1 week instead of a months-long advisory process
Industry:
Energy / Residential Solar
Focus
Acquisition Targeting
Use Case
Hidden Opportunity Discovery
Context
The firm had already spent months working with external advisors to identify which parts of the residential solar value chain to focus on and which companies might create distinctive returns. But leadership still needed to know whether the search was focused on the right opportunity space.
Decision problem
The issue was not whether acquisition targets existed. It was whether the firm was “fishing in the right pond.” The team needed to understand which value-chain stage had the strongest emerging economic logic, and which companies had the underlying capabilities to change the economics of residential solar.
What Sunasi Clarified
Sunasi mapped the changing economic logic across value-chain stages and identified the hyper-granular capabilities driving current and emerging value. This revealed a stronger acquisition focus than the one recommended by the firm’s existing advisors and surfaced companies outside the obvious residential solar search space.
Insight:The most valuable acquisition targets were not necessarily inside the expected category. Some of the most strategic assets sat outside residential solar, but held capabilities that could change its economics.
Outcome & Impact
- Shifted focus toward a different value-chain stage
- Shortlisted 5 acquisition targets
- 3 targets came from sectors outside residential solar or renewable energy
- 2 shortlisted companies were acquired
- Insights and recommendations delivered within 1 week instead of a months-long advisory process