Portant · Structural diligence for mid-market private equity

Underwrite the org assumptions behind your thesis

For mid-market private-equity deal teams: in 72 clock hours, Portant tests your organizational and people-cost assumptions against your data room documents.

No management interviews. No system access. Findings traced to source.

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Who it is for

Built for the people who own the org case

  • Deal teams underwriting headcount and people-cost assumptions pre-close.
  • Operating partners who inherit the structure after close.
  • Investment committees weighing savings or growth plans that depend on capacity.
  • Carve-out buyers reconciling schedules against the org chart.
  • Teams with a fixed decision date and no room for a broad org review.

What you get

Know what holds up before you commit

Assumptions you can underwrite

A decision memo connects structural findings to your investment thesis and the implications the evidence supports.

One consistent org view

A current-state organization view reconciles reporting lines, functions, and entities across the documents you supply.

Headcount and cost reconciled

A reconciliation shows where org charts, compensation schedules, and the operating plan disagree, with cost implications where the data supports them.

Execution risk surfaced

A risk register flags role concentration, management layers, reporting spans, and capacity assumptions that need attention.

Each finding includes a source reference, a confidence level, and any data limitations that affect the conclusion.

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How it works

A focused review. A clear delivery clock.

  1. 01

    Talk through the deal

    Book a call, share your decision date, and confirm which documents exist so we can establish fit.

  2. 02

    Qualify the data pack

    Supply the CIM, dated org charts, position-level headcount and compensation schedule, and operating plan, plus the memo assumptions to test.

  3. 03

    Receive findings in 72 clock hours

    Get the decision memo, org view, headcount and cost reconciliation, and risk register, plus a 60-minute readout with your deal team — all within the 72-hour window.

A completeness screen checks readiness; it is not the full analysis. If the documents cannot support defensible findings, the stress test does not begin.

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Why it is different

Document evidence, not opinion

  • Tests your investment-memo assumptions, not only the seller's narrative.
  • Works from the accepted document pack, so no interviews or system access are required.
  • Every finding carries its source, confidence level, and stated limitations.
  • Fits inside a live deal timeline instead of a broad organizational review.

Who does the work

Built by an operator who lived with the assumptions after close

Sakita Douglas has held three CHRO/CPO roles, including two in PE-backed platforms, and owned an executive-search practice. For more than 20 years she has reconciled organization structures, staffing plans, and people-cost models, then worked through the consequences when the assumptions did not match how the business operated.

Portant brings that operator-side perspective into a focused pre-close review. The work examines roles, functions, reporting structures, and cost assumptions, not the performance of named individuals.

This experience comes from prior operating roles, not completed Portant client engagements.

FAQ

Questions deal teams ask

Is this leadership assessment?
No. Portant tests structure, reporting relationships, headcount, capacity assumptions, and people costs. It does not assess named executives or employees.
Do you need interviews or system access?
No. The work uses the accepted document pack. Where evidence is missing, the findings say so rather than treating unavailable information as verified.
How does the 72-hour timeline work?
The engagement runs for 72 consecutive clock hours, not business days. To avoid weekend delivery, the clock starts only on a Monday or Tuesday, once your complete data pack is received and confirmed. A Monday start means a Thursday delivery; a Tuesday start means a Friday delivery. Complete packs received Wednesday through Sunday are scheduled for the following Monday. You receive your exact start and delivery timestamps in writing before the clock begins, and the 72-hour window covers both delivery of the decision package and the 60-minute readout.
What if our documents are incomplete?
A completeness screen identifies what is missing and whether it prevents the work from starting. Limitations that remain are disclosed with the findings.
Does this replace our operating partner's work?
No. It gives you a focused second read on the organizational and people-cost assumptions supporting the deal case.
How is confidential material handled?
Documents are shared only after an NDA and transfer arrangements are in place. Use position IDs and remove direct employee identifiers before transfer.
What do we get at the end?
A findings set traced to source documents, each with a confidence level and any data limitations that affect the conclusion, plus a 60-minute readout with your deal team.

Next step

What you will have in the first week

Start with a call to confirm fit and the documents you already hold. Once the pack is accepted and a start date confirmed, the 72-hour clock runs from a Monday or Tuesday start to a Thursday or Friday delivery — covering the decision package and the 60-minute readout. You leave knowing which organizational and people-cost assumptions hold up, which do not, and what needs to change in the deal case before you commit.

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