The Situation

A mid-market private equity sponsor acquired a global HR technology and payroll services business from a large international parent.

The separation was complex. Over 100 transition service agreements governed payroll operations, benefits administration, IT infrastructure, facilities and corporate functions. Exit timelines ranged from 30 days to 18 months, each with its own dependencies, cost implications and replacement requirements.

The management team faced additional pressure. Several had joined after the acquisition closed and were operating under private equity ownership for the first time, learning a new governance model while simultaneously unpicking a decade of operational entanglement with their former parent.

The sponsor faced a familiar tension: the need for visibility into separation progress without getting pulled into day-to-day execution. They needed confidence that someone was owning the outcome, not just coordinating activities.

Our Approach

Post-close, we took ownership of the separation through to TSA exit. A dedicated separation lead served as a single point of accountability between sponsor and management team.

A weekly delivery drumbeat kept every workstream moving: reviews, cross-functional calls, third-party sessions, steering committee - same time, every week. A digital platform tracked progress against plan, flagged risks and gave the sponsor visibility without requiring status calls. Friday updates delivered a clear picture of what was on track, what was at risk and what needed attention.

Inside the portfolio company, we drove functional leaders to own their workstreams rather than delegate upward. That meant building standalone capability ahead of TSA exit dates, holding third parties to the timeline and navigating the inevitable mid-flight challenges without derailing the programme.

When a critical workstream involving proprietary customer-facing technology fell behind mid-programme, we drove intensive focus across multiple teams to recover the timeline before it could impact operations.

The relationship with the seller required careful management. Progress demanded pressure; the ongoing commercial relationship demanded respect. We maintained both, escalating when necessary without damaging the channels required to get work done.

The Results

Fifty of the 100-plus TSAs exited ahead of schedule. The remainder exited on time. Total TSA fees and replacement costs came in $20M under budget. The separation completed with no customer-facing disruption. The management team maintained focus on running the business throughout.

The sponsor was able to stay out of day-to-day separation and focus on value creation and deal flow.