What we do
Separation without the standing start
A carve-out fails in the gap between the SPA and the operating reality of Day-1. We design the TSA to be exited, not extended: Excluded Services disciplined, Reverse TSAs scoped, stranded cost surfaced before it becomes a run-rate.
- Day-1 operating model: designed from the same findings register that priced the deal, not rebuilt from scratch post-close.
- TSA design: scope, economics, service levels and exit milestones, with Service Manager cover across every schedule.
- Excluded Services: the discipline that keeps the TSA from silently absorbing the target operating model.
- Stranded cost: detected and routed to the value plan, not discovered in year two.
What you get
- A Day-1 plan that stands up in 12 weeks
- 100% consents secured before close
- TSA economics with a 10-20% saving against first draft
- A milestone-based exit, typically around 18 months
- One team from diligence through separation
Stranded TSA cost surfaced in one five-week diligence on a €500m target. The price was renegotiated before signing.Source: RCK engagement records, anonymised at client request.
Our approach
Signing to Day-1, on one register
The findings that priced the deal become the separation plan. No handover, no reinterpretation.
Scope
Excluded Services and Reverse TSA scoped during diligence, so the SPA and TSA are drafted from evidence rather than templates.
Stand up
Day-1 operating model, consents, and cutover cadence, run by the same associates who carried the diligence register.
Exit
Milestone-based TSA exit with stranded cost tracked to zero, typically inside 18 months.
In their words
What clients say
It was a pleasure to work with the RCK Managing Partner. Besides being a brilliant negotiator, he is highly skilled in financial analysis and emotional intelligence.
Valorisation & Strategic Business Manager, IRTA
Questions, answered
Frequently asked questions
When should carve-out planning start?
In diligence. Excluded Services, Reverse TSAs and stranded cost are all cheaper to fix before signing, when they are still negotiation levers. If the deal has already signed, the priority is Day-1 readiness and TSA economics.
What does Day-1 readiness actually cover?
People, systems, consents, contracts, data and the operating cadence: everything the business needs to trade safely on the first morning under new ownership. We stand this up in around 12 weeks on a standard separation.
How do you keep TSA costs down?
By designing the TSA to be exited. Scope is disciplined by Excluded Services, economics are benchmarked, service levels are tied to exit milestones, and a Service Manager owns every schedule. That combination typically saves 10 to 20% against the first draft.
Do you run Reverse TSAs?
Yes. Where the seller needs services back from the carved-out business, we scope and price the Reverse TSA in the same discipline, so it does not become an open-ended dependency.
Related services
One team, across the lifecycle
Technology & cyber diligence
Six-workstream diligence that surfaces the risks driving price, indemnity and conditions to closing.
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IntegrationPost-merger integration
Operating-model migration, synergy capture and governance, led by the team that ran the diligence.
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InterimInterim management
A senior operator in the CIO, COO, CFO or programme-director seat for three to eighteen months.
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Scope your engagement
Tell us the deal or the programme, and we will size a partner-led team to it and mobilise within 48 to 72 hours.