Deal teams
Buyout and growth funds that need the people behind a target screened before the LOI is signed — inside the exclusivity window, not after it.
Due Diligence— Private Equity
Private equity due diligence investigations.
Private equity due diligence investigations verify the people behind a deal — management, sellers, founders and co-investors — through litigation, regulatory, sanctions, adverse-media, beneficial-ownership and asset research before LOI or close.
For deal teams, operating partners and deal counsel. Level 1 screening has a 48-hour average turnaround; Level 2 is custom scope for the deals that need more.
- Texas DPS licensed
- Private Investigations Company License #C31261501 Verify →
- 100% veteran & LEO
- Every investigator and analyst a veteran of the U.S. military or law enforcement
- 1,000+
- Reports completed
- Up to 90%
- Faster than industry-standard turnaround
What it is
Underwrite the people, not just the numbers.
The quality of earnings tests the business. Nobody on the deal team is testing the seller.
Financial, legal and commercial diligence rarely ask who the principals really are: the prior suits, the regulatory history, the related-party entities, the co-investor with a sanctions problem. Investigative due diligence answers those questions with sourced findings before they become post-close surprises.
OnTrial runs PE diligence alongside asset searches, background investigations and China & APAC due diligence. It is part of OnTrial's due diligence practice; for how funds engage us, see for private equity firms.
Who this is for
Built for the people who sign the check.
Operating partners
Management you plan to back and the principals of add-on acquisitions joining a portfolio company.
Deal counsel
M&A counsel who want sourced findings on sellers and principals to inform representations, indemnities and disclosure schedules.
Co-investors & family offices
Independent sponsors, co-investors and family offices that want to know who else is at the table before they commit capital alongside them.
What it includes
What an engagement can cover.
Litigation & court records
Civil and criminal filings, judgments, liens and bankruptcies on each principal and entity — including suits by former partners, employees and customers.
Regulatory & licensing history
Regulatory actions, enforcement history, professional-license status and disciplinary records for the people and companies in the deal.
Sanctions, watchlists & PEP
OFAC and global sanctions, watchlist, AML and politically-exposed-person screening on principals, co-investors and beneficial owners.
Adverse media & reputation
Negative press, prior business failures, and online and social-media signals across 700+ platforms — reviewed by an analyst, not passed through as raw hits.
Beneficial ownership
The natural persons who ultimately own or control the target and its counterparties, traced through layered structures, with OFAC 50 Percent Rule analysis. Cross-border targets: see China & APAC due diligence.
Assets & undisclosed interests
Real estate, business interests, related-party entities and cryptocurrency-exchange accounts tied to a principal — the interests a seller did not mention.
Across the deal
Before the LOI, before close, and after.
01
Before the LOI
A Level 1 screen on sellers, founders and key management, so a red flag surfaces before exclusivity, legal spend and lender conversations.
02
Confirmatory, before close
A custom Level 2 engagement for confirmatory work — source inquiries, beneficial-ownership tracing and ground-truth verification of what the seller represented.
03
After close
Board members and add-on acquisition principals, examined to the same standard as the original deal.
Two tiers
Scoped to the deal.
Level 1
Comprehensive Screening
Identity, criminal, civil, watchlist, regulatory, and adverse-media screening with analyst verification. One company plus up to three principals (additional principals can be added). Requires the subject's signed authorization.
48-hour average turnaround
Level 2
Enhanced Business Intelligence
A custom-scope engagement, quoted individually: discreet source inquiries, open-source digital analysis, beneficial-ownership and OFAC 50 Percent Rule analysis, ground-truth verification, and an intelligence briefing.
Custom scope · timeline set at intake
How it works
From names to an IC-ready report.
- 01
Scope
Name the target, the principals and the decision date. A case manager confirms subjects, permissible purpose and tier.
- 02
Sequence for counsel
Findings are timed for deal counsel, so an issue reaches the representations, indemnities and disclosure schedules before signing. Level 1 runs on the subject's signed authorization; Level 2 is scoped as a discreet engagement.
- 03
Investigate
Analysts work the records, registries, sanctions lists and media for every subject, and escalate anything that needs a closer look.
- 04
Deliver
An analyst-verified report through the secure client portal: red-flag summary first, every finding source-cited.
The deliverable: a red-flag summary, findings by subject, and the source behind every one. Documented chain of custody with SHA-256 hashed evidence.
Texas deal teams
Licensed in Texas. Working nationwide.
People risk is highest where the business is the founder.
Founder-led and family-owned companies, and energy-sector businesses built on relationships, leases and partnerships, are deals where the principals are the business. Those are the deals where who the sellers are matters most.
OnTrial is a licensed private investigator in Texas working with Texas-based deal teams, and covers targets anywhere through records research. Field work outside Texas is handled through vetted partners and contractors.
Why the work holds up
Findings an investment committee can rely on.
Every finding sourced. Every report analyst-verified. Permissible purpose confirmed up front.
Every one of our investigators and analysts is a veteran of the U.S. military or law enforcement. Operated and advised by members of the U.S. military, law enforcement and special operations communities, and subject-matter experts in the investigations industry — decades of combined experience.
SOC 2 aligned; FCRA, GLBA, CCPA and California SB 1454 compliant. Client data is never used to train AI. See AI Governance and Data Security.
OnTrial, LLC holds Texas Department of Public Safety Private Investigations Company License #C31261501.
FAQ
Private equity due diligence, explained.
- What is private equity due diligence?
- Private equity due diligence investigations verify the people behind a deal — management, sellers, founders and co-investors — through litigation, regulatory, sanctions, adverse-media, beneficial-ownership and asset research before LOI or close. It complements financial, legal and commercial diligence: those workstreams test the business, and investigative diligence tests the people running and selling it.
- Who does OnTrial investigate in a PE deal?
- Management, sellers, founders and co-investors, plus the entities they own or control. Level 1 covers one company plus up to three principals, and more principals can be added. Beneficial-ownership work identifies the people behind layered or offshore structures.
- Can OnTrial finish before exclusivity ends?
- In most deals, yes. Level 1 — Comprehensive Screening has a 48-hour average turnaround, so sellers, founders and key management can be screened early in the exclusivity window. The clock starts once the subject names, deal details and the subject's signed authorization are in. Confirmatory Level 2 work runs on a timeline agreed at scoping.
- Which tier fits a PE deal?
- Before the LOI, most deal teams start with Level 1 — Comprehensive Screening: Identity, criminal, civil, watchlist, regulatory, and adverse-media screening with analyst verification. One company plus up to three principals (additional principals can be added). Requires the subject's signed authorization. For confirmatory work before close, Level 2 — Enhanced Business Intelligence is scoped to the deal. A custom-scope engagement, quoted individually: discreet source inquiries, open-source digital analysis, beneficial-ownership and OFAC 50 Percent Rule analysis, ground-truth verification, and an intelligence briefing.
- What does the deliverable look like?
- An analyst-verified report delivered through the secure client portal. It leads with a red-flag summary, then sets out findings by subject, each cited to its source, with documented chain of custody and SHA-256 hashed evidence. It is written for an investment committee memo and for deal counsel.
- Does OnTrial work on Texas deals and out-of-state targets?
- Yes. OnTrial, LLC is licensed by the Texas Department of Public Safety as a Private Investigations Company (#C31261501). It works with Texas-based deal teams, and examines founder-led, family-owned and energy-sector businesses. Targets anywhere in the U.S. or abroad are covered through records research, and field work outside Texas is handled through vetted partners and contractors.
- Can diligence test what a seller disclosed about crypto holdings?
- Yes. A Global CryptoScan identifies potential cryptocurrency-exchange and payment-app accounts linked to a seller's known identifiers, so deal counsel can compare them with the disclosure schedules. On-chain cryptocurrency tracing is a separate custom engagement on retainer.
Know who you're buying from.
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