“AI Transforming the SME M&A Landscape”

Repetitive document requests, incomplete financial data, and indiscriminate proposals to unsuitable buyers have long been cited as problems with ‘small and medium-sized M&A’ that large accounting firms have shied away from.

WMD, led by CEO Greyson, an accountant and lawyer, is redesigning the ‘deal experience’ by replacing these bottlenecks with data and recommendation algorithms.

He stated, “Instead of charging upfront fees, we must know how to select deals with high success potential,” adding, “We're boosting our success rate by integrating company fundamentals, financial metrics, valuation, and buyer preferences into our system.”

WMD is composed of personnel from major law firms and accounting firms such as Kim & Chang Law Office and Samjong Accounting Firm (KPMG). Notably, CEO Greyson and Deputy CEO John, among other executives, hold both KICPA and attorney licenses simultaneously.

While traditional law firms, accounting firms, and general financial advisors (FA) each have distinct strengths, WMD emphasizes a ‘one-stop’ operation where legal, tax, financial, and real estate (linked to appraisal) matters are handled by a single team.

It minimizes rework by establishing a standard financial package and core risk matrix (litigation, collateral, key contracts) early on, and pre-designs negotiation alternatives based on buyer preferences and synergy data.

CEO Greyson stated, “Since the central issues vary per deal, running license-based judgments and data matching on the same track is the only way to achieve both speed and trust.”

WMD's database contains 1 million domestic SME records. This is integrated with our internal system, enabling users to review registration details, affiliates, shareholders, and financials all on a single screen.

WMD has introduced AI to automatically calculate an estimated sale price range based on transaction precedents and financial data, and to progressively disclose information only to verified acquirers.

When a company with sale intent enters the system, a primary quantitative filter assesses financial soundness, with qualitative evaluation supplemented by internal experts.

CEO Greyson stated, “Without this system, we would need 3-4 times our current workforce,” adding, “Communication scattered across emails has also been consolidated onto a closed platform.”

Deal teaser creation is also automated. In the past, the M&A market often involved sending proposals to nearly all 100 companies that submitted offers, akin to a blanket sales approach.

WMD accumulates data on buyer pool experience, financial capacity, and business synergy, prioritizing recommendations of ‘highly likely top candidates’ for incoming deals.

He explained, “The resource structure for a 20 billion won deal and a 300 billion won deal isn't significantly different, making profitability difficult for smaller deals,” adding, “Without standardization and automation, it's hard to sustain a model without upfront fees.”

This standardization and data-driven approach has expanded to ‘restructuring (court-supervised) M&A’. Proceeding under court approval resolves contingent liabilities and enhances price and risk visibility, making it a viable option for acquirers.

WMD applies a restructuring-specific checklist and financial/legal preparation package early on, reducing lead time from teaser distribution to LOI.

The fee structure is success-based with no upfront retainer.

Instead, it gauges market reaction early with non-disclosure teasers and finalizes standard financial packages and key risk tables to minimize rework.

It also links with institutional tracks like valuation cost support (Korea Venture Capital Association) to reduce cost and funding burdens.

WMD plans to expand its overseas presence in the future. It plans to broaden its partner network to Japan, the US, Singapore, the UK, Germany, and more, while providing foreign language matching templates and data standards.

CEO Greyson stated, “Rather than indiscriminate proposals, we will first connect companies with data-matched counterparts, providing small firms with advisory experiences comparable to large corporations.”

He added, “We will steadily build internal metrics and case studies to enable scenarios like Japan, where specialized advisory firms go public.”

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