What's the use of buying a team that doesn't do management right? The only possible reason for wanting to buy a software provider and turn them into an in-house team would be if they were a stellar team, with stellar management.
Ah, but it is quite possible that they are only in the situation they are in because they are so niche and they have to focus on unnecessary new features in a vain attempt to get new business.
If you purchase them, you just focus on bug fixes and features you actually need. The developers might be great, you might find you need to get rid of management dead wood. Or it might be that you get a very nimble team who in all likelihood have been itching to fix bugs for years and yet who haven't been able to due to competing interests in the business.
> The developers might be great, you might find you need to get rid of management dead wood.
In my experience great developers do not stick with mediocre managers, because they quickly find better options. My experience with poor managers is that they are only able to retain middling engineers.
> Or it might be that you get a very nimble team who in all likelihood have been itching to fix bugs for years and yet who haven't been able to due to competing interests in the business.
That would be closer to a win scenario, but I think OP would have had a strong feel about it - from the way they describe there interactions, it doesn't seem to be the case?
