Alaco

Firm Overview:
Established in 2002 by experienced industry practitioners, Alaco is a leading business intelligence consultancy, based in London and operating globally. The firm’s principals remain active in case work, supporting an international, multilingual team with backgrounds in law, finance, professional services, government and journalism.

Alaco’s Transactions Advisory practice offers a variety of research and intelligence services in the context of investments, partnerships or other non-contentious commercial matters. This includes compliance-driven mandates in the AML/KYC arena, in-depth reputational due diligence on companies and individuals, and complex strategic intelligence assignments. Clients include some of the world’s leading corporations, investment banks and other financial institutions, with mandates often originating from the general counsel’s office or outside counsel. The firm’s methodology involves a combination of robust open-source research and the gathering of informed insights from its network of sources around the world.

Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD):
Alaco provides due diligence reports to the legal and compliance departments of most major investment banks, other types of financial institutions, and corporations across all sectors. The firm’s EDD reports focus in detail on subjects of interest to the client – typically corporate entities, the principals behind them, and related issues which may impact upon a contemplated transaction or new relationship.

The primary driver of such reports is to assess any financial crime or reputational risk associated with the subject, such as allegations or evidence of bribery or corruption, regulatory censure, political exposure, sanctions contraventions or ESG issues.

These reports typically draw on a combination of open-source research and confidential discussions with relevant sources curated for the assignment.

Recent representative mandates include:
■ For a global commodities house, an in-depth assessment of two corporate services firms offering access to various African governments. Work included open-source research and numerous interviews across East Africa, the UAE, India and Malta
■ For a leading investment bank, a comprehensive report on the government of an Asian country ahead of a sovereign bond issue, including the track record of the Ministry of Finance in terms of resisting improper political interference, and whether there was any realistic prospect of tackling endemic corruption
■ For an international development bank, a report addressing a Chinese state-owned entity’s ability to develop and operate major renewable energy projects outside China. There was a particular emphasis on governance and the manner in which the company had previously dealt with the forced relocation of people
■ For a Swiss private bank, an examination of the source of wealth of a politically connected Central Asian businessman

Strategic Intelligence:
Alaco also is engaged regularly by general and outside counsel to help shed light on opaque situations of strategic importance to its clients. From broad themes such as market entry and competitor positioning, to more granular issues around management and stakeholder dynamics, clients come to Alaco in such situations not only to minimise risk but also to maximise opportunities around transactions and investments. The methodology behind such mandates is weighted heavily towards source intelligence, gathering informed views and insights from a cross-section of human sources familiar with the issues.

In all areas of its Transactions Advisory practice, Alaco brings discretion, sound commercial judgment, and an acute sensitivity to the needs of each particular client and the brief in hand.