Customer concentration is one of the most common deal killers in M&A. The logic is simple: when one customer makes up a large percentage of your revenue, your business becomes inherently risky. What happens if that customer leaves? For buyers, that risk can be a hard pass.
When faced with high customer concentration, the typical advice is: “Go get more customers!” Sounds simple, right? But anyone who’s tried knows it’s far from easy.
The Vicious Cycle of Customer Concentration
Here’s the reality: reducing customer concentration organically is like trying to escape quicksand. You throw your best people at it, prioritizing new customer acquisition. But what happens when your biggest customer calls? You drop everything to answer. They’re your bread and butter, after all. Over time, they can feel like a black hole, pulling in your energy, time, and resources.
Ironically, when you do a great job for that major customer, what happens? They reward you with more work—further increasing your concentration. Meanwhile, the new customers you manage to bring in are often small and fickle, moving on before they can make a meaningful dent in your concentration problem.
I’ve heard it time and time again:
“I’ve tried reducing customer concentration, but it’s not working.”
I hear you. It’s not for a lack of effort—it’s just the nature of the beast.
The Deal-Killing Limits of Customer Concentration
I’ve seen deals die on the table because of customer concentration. Typically, buyers get skittish when one customer accounts for more than 20-30% of your revenue. Beyond that threshold, the risk outweighs the reward, and they walk away.
Here’s a real example: I worked on a deal with a printing company. None of their individual customers exceeded 20% of their revenue—a great sign, right? But after digging into diligence, we discovered that a group of customers, all part of the same business network, collectively accounted for 37% of their revenue. While technically independent, the group’s decisions were closely tied together. If one customer in the group was unhappy, it could cascade to the rest, amplifying the risk.
Deals That Defy the Odds
That said, deals can get done even with high customer concentration—but it’s rare and comes with conditions. I’ve been part of an acquisition where the target company had over 50% of its revenue tied to a single customer. Why did we proceed? Because the customer was just as reliant on the target business as the target was on them. In fact, that customer derived 45% of their own revenue from our product.
This type of mutual dependency can mitigate risk. However, it complicates diligence, because you’re effectively assessing two companies—the target and its major customer. Their financial stability, business plan, and relationship with the target all come under scrutiny.
In this case, the path to safety was clear: post-acquisition, we identified other companies to acquire, deliberately diluting our customer concentration risk. Strategic M&A became the solution.
Fixing Customer Concentration: The M&A Playbook
When organic growth fails to reduce concentration, M&A can be the lifeline. Here’s why:
1. Acquire Complementary Businesses
Seek out other companies with their own concentration issues—they’re often undervalued because of it. By merging, the combined entity will have a diversified customer base, instantly reducing concentration risk.
2. Turn Weakness into Strength
A business once deemed unsellable due to concentration suddenly becomes attractive post-merger. Combined, you’ve created a more balanced, resilient revenue base, boosting the valuation for everyone involved.
3. Leverage Scale to Dilute
The larger the combined business, the smaller the impact of any single customer on overall revenue. Scale not only mitigates risk but also unlocks synergies that make the deal even more lucrative.
Turning a Deal Killer into a Value Driver
Customer concentration may feel like a weight around your neck, but it doesn’t have to kill your deal. While the organic path can be long and grueling, strategic M&A offers a faster, more effective solution. The key is to approach the problem head-on, assess the risks, and find creative ways to balance your customer portfolio.
In some cases, concentration can even work in your favor—if you know how to turn the tables. Whether it’s by leveraging mutual dependency or merging strategically, there’s always a way forward. After all, the biggest challenges in business often lead to the most rewarding opportunities.
So, if you’re stuck in the customer concentration trap, don’t lose hope—strategic thinking and the right partners can turn a deal killer into a deal maker.
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