Kearney rapidly de-risks platform acquisition with CAST

CAST Highlight and CAST Imaging enabled Kearney to complete a two-week, on-prem code-first technical due diligence, enabling an informed, rapid go-forward plan for Kearney’s client.

Challenge

Kearney’s client, a strategic investor, sought to acquire an AI-driven European HR Tech company.

The target built a bespoke application covering the talent journey – sourcing, matching, onboarding, monitoring, training – and fiercely guarded its source code.

The challenge was assessing platform robustness and integration risks without direct code access or external disclosure.

Solution

Kearney enlisted CAST for a fact-based technology due diligence covering the application’s full codebase. CAST Highlight quantified open-source usage, security, and license exposure, while CAST Imaging mapped the architecture to pinpoint structural risks and integration hurdles.

All analysis were performed on the target’s premises, guaranteeing that source code never left its environment and remained completely confidential, providing clear metrics for the acquirer’s decision making.

Results

From the kick-off to delivery of a 40-page report, the review took only two weeks and required minimal involvement from target staff because CAST’s analysis is automated. Insights showed the platform’s health in the top quartile of all CAST benchmarks, with overall risk rated low.

Immediate issues were itemized, prioritized, and given estimated remediation timelines, enabling an informed, rapid go-forward plan for Kearney’s client.