State of the Carve-Out Survey
Contribute to one of the industry's most comprehensive surveys on carve-out's and M&A!
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Position / Role
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Industry
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Pharma & Life Sciences
Chemicals & Manufacturing
Transport & Logistics
Construction & Infrastructure
Energy & Renewables
Shipping & Maritime
IT & Technology
Other
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Section 1: Background
Can you briefly describe your role and how you typically engage with carve-out transactions?
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Roughly how many carve-out deals have you been involved in over the last 12–18 months?
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Section 2: Market Trends
How would you describe the current carve-out landscape?
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What are the primary strategic drivers behind carve-out activity today? Feel free to choose several options.
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Portfolio reshaping / focus on core
Divest-to-invest strategy
Activist investor pressure
Underperformance or non-strategic fit
Regulatory or antitrust pressure
ESG or energy transition alignment
Cost reduction or simplification
Post-merger portfolio cleanup
Other
Are you seeing more buy-side interest in carved-out assets? From whom - strategics, PE?
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Have you noticed any industry-specific carve-out activity accelerating or slowing down?
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Yes - activity is accelerating in specific industries
Yes - activity is slowing down in specific industries
Both accelerating and slowing in different sectors
No noticeable change by industry
Not sure / Haven’t observed a pattern
Section 3: Deal Execution & Risk
What are the most underestimated challenges in executing carve-outs today? (Feel free to tick several options off)
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Accurately scoping operational complexity pre-sign
Designing and managing Transitional Service Agreements (TSAs)
Standing up clean, independent IT and digital infrastructure
Aligning leadership and decision-making authority
Underestimating timeline and resource needs
Managing regulatory, legal, or compliance entanglements
Separating culture and people operations effectively
Untangling shared supply chains and vendor contracts
Tracking separation-related costs and financial leakage
Poor Day 1 and Day 100 execution planning
Other
How do sellers typically assess or misjudge operational complexity pre-signing?
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Have you seen deals stall or lose value due to poor separation planning?
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Yes
No
What role do TSAs play - are they becoming more contentious or evolving in structure?
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Becoming more contentious - a growing friction point
Evolving in structure - more creative or tailored than before
Largely unchanged - still standardized and transactional
Depends heavily on deal type and counterparties
Not sure / no strong opinion
From a buyer’s perspective, what are the most common integration blind spots post-close? (Please provide multiple options if needed)
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Overestimating Day 1 readiness
Delayed or unclear organizational design and role clarity
Inconsistent or poorly sequenced internal communications
Integration of IT systems and data flows
Delays in legal entity separation or TSA exit
Overlooked cost synergies or financial leakage
Culture and leadership alignment not addressed early enough
Supply chain, vendor, or operational continuity gaps
Weak or unfocused Day 100 planning
Other
Are digital, IT, or regulatory risks becoming more critical in execution?
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Yes - all three are becoming more critical
Yes - especially digital and IT-related risks
Yes - especially regulatory and compliance risks
Yes - but mostly in specific geographies or sectors
No - they’ve remained relatively stable in impact
Not sure / haven’t observed a strong shift
Section 4: Best Practices & Innovation
Have you seen any sellers or buyers approach carve-outs particularly well recently? What stood out?
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Are there any tools, frameworks, or processes you see gaining traction?
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What’s one innovation or shift in practice you believe will become standard in carve-outs over the next 2–3 years?
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Section 5: Future Outlook
Do you expect carve-out activity to grow, stabilize, or decline into 2026?
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Grow - activity will increase
Stabilize - current pace will hold
Decline - activity will slow down
Varies significantly by industry or geography
Not sure / too early to tell
What do you believe will define “successful” carve-outs in the next wave of deals? (Let us know if you see several of these being relevant)
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Faster and cleaner separation execution
Strong upfront complexity assessment and scoping
Clear TSA strategy with faster exit paths
Effective leadership transition and org design
Stand-up of scalable IT / digital infrastructure
Transparent internal and external communications
Cultural clarity and minimal people disruption
Cost control and early synergy capture
Other
Section 6: Wrap-Up
Is there anything we didn’t cover that you believe is critical to understanding the carve-out market today?
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Would you be open to participating in a roundtable or virtual panel later this year?
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Yes - happy to join and contribute
Maybe - depends on timing and topic, but happy to learn more
No - not interested at this time
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