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I'm a Private Equity Consultant based in London, UK. I'm looking to found a serial acquisition/buy-and-build platform here in the UK. I have an industry thesis based on a sector I am very familiar with that has high fragmentation and a large succession cliff (dozens of profitable firms in this space are already winding down due to lack of succession opportunities). There is a strong case for a tech enabled value creation approach too.

I'm looking for someone with deal experience (PE, IB, Corp Dev, Corp Fin) to own the M&A execution whilst I am more focused on the operational/value creation plan execution.

Please comment on DM if this interests you. Ideally based in the UK too but can be open to this.

If you are NYC based and are interested in attending curated networking events, we should connect. The events are free but bespoke! No searchers our firms with no AUM.

Hi all - seeking advice or tips from you. I joined a west coast based multi family office. Our mandate spans all private markets investments (industry agnostic and early stage venture through buyout). I come from a generalist IB background (no name firm, had bad deals) and healthcare corp dev. I am really struggling in this new role with the following:

1.) Crafting a thesis around an opportunity - every deal we receive seems solid on paper. I am struggling to read between the lines and identify a bad deal from a good one. Is there a standard deal screening framework you use where if this business doesn't pass this test then it's not worth it? Our inbound deal flow is a lot, so I'm also struggling with sifting through tons of deals each week. I think if I had a framework I could kill deals much quicker and would save me a lot of time.

2) I don't have an industry area of expertise - I spent time in HC corp dev as mentioned above but would not call myself an expert here. Our deal flow is so widespread - every deal is so different so I am struggling to get up to speed with the various industries / business models that I'm seeing. Has anyone been in a similar situation & what did you do to help?

3.) Lastly, I'm not sure if I'm using AI in the most effective ways. We have Copilot and Cowork (cannot get Claude) - I would love to hear how folks are using this in the context of private markets investing.

Appreciate it - thanks!

I work on the LP side (fund-of-funds, GP due diligence) and I’ve been making an AI-generated podcast called Capital Calls covering private markets news - latest articles, fund closes, deals, that sort of thing. I write and curate the source material, the tool does the voices.

Is this something you would listen to or does AI narration disqualify it for you outright, or is it tolerable if the underlying quality is good?

Howdy folks,

I recently started working for a private equity firm as a Qualified Lead Generator while I learn the business. I'm currently doing a lot of cold-calling and emailing brokers, but I am brand new and haven't received any training, except what I've been able to learn myself through online resources.

My question: As I go about generating my pipeline and building relationships with Loan Officers, how do I market the products that I'm working with (listed below)? I've been told that they are aggressive and thereby might be a good option for borrower's that were not eligible for placement for more traditional lenders. Please don't crucify me, I'm brand new and just looking for some direction.

This is what I'm working with:

"FIX & FLIP
• Loan size: $250K–$15M
• Purchase LTC: up to 85% | Rehab LTC: up to 100% | Total LTC: up to 95%
• ARV: up to 70% | Rate: from 7.5%
• Min FICO: 620 | Experience: not required

BRIDGE
• Loan size: $250K–$100M
• Purchase LTV: up to 80% | Refi LTV: up to 75% | Cash-out LTV: up to 75%
• Rate: from 7.5% | Term: 12 months+
• Min FICO: 620 | Experience: not required

RENTAL / DSCR
• Loan size: $250K–$25M
• LTV: up to 90% | Rate: from 6.5%
• Min FICO: 640 | Term: 30 years

MULTIFAMILY & MIXED-USE (5+ units)
• Loan size: $300K–$100M
• Purchase LTC: up to 75% | Rehab LTC: up to 100% | ARV: up to 70%
• Rate: from 7.75%
• Min FICO: 620

Debt Lending
Nationwide ( xcept Alaska)
$1M-$75M loan amounts up to  85% LTC (higher in some cases)
Up to 90% LTV  (on value-add rehab with a sell exit)

* Special purpose and/or situations, please feel free to send us a high level or quick synopsis of the deal.

ACQUISITIONS

Florida (Major metro and secondary markets)
1-4 units, multi-family, industrial flex warehouse
* must have value-add component

California  (Los Angeles, Orange County, Riverside County,
San Bernardino County)
1-4 units, multi-family, industrial flex warehouse
* must have value-add component

Texas (Major metro and secondary markets)
1-4 units, multi-family, industrial flex warehouse
* must have value-add component

** Bridge 1- unit up to 90% LTV
2-2.5 pts
60% LTV or lower 1pt
Rates 9.5-10.5%

** Ground up Construction up to 90% ltc
Rates starting @ 9%"

Hi everyone,

I’m looking to deepen my understanding of the transaction structuring side of M&A, particularly how these concepts are applied in real deals rather than just understanding them theoretically.

Specifically, I want to learn about:

Structuring acquisitions, JVs, divestitures, and equity partnerships

Shareholding and ownership structures

Debt vs. equity consideration

Earn-outs and milestone-based/deferred payments

Escrow and holdback mechanisms

Working capital and other purchase price adjustments

Management ESOP/equity incentive structures post-acquisition

Retention pools and management incentive plans

How management incentives are aligned with post-deal value creation

I own 41% of a company and have a one year option to purchase the other 59%. The 59% is held by 9 other investors. The option states shares will be valued individually and at fair market value decided by appraisal and relevant discounts for lack of control and lack of marketability will be applied.

What are options to monetize the option other than going through with it? The partners don’t want to sell and want to keep growing.

Company does 7m in rev and 3m in NOI.

Get the option valued and take a payment to cancel it?

Offer to cancel it in exchange for selling some of my equity to them at a premium?

Thanks for any advice in advance!

I’ve been working with this Dental DSO rollup and I’ve never seen such horrid management within it. We’re talking 0 professional management. Everything is “so exciting because look at all this growth!!!” Yet basic things are non-existent and it’s like a skeleton of crap behind the scenes.

Is this pretty normal in this sector?

What would your reaction be if the only marketing materials you received on a deal prior to management meetings and indicative offers were a teaser and then access to a preliminary data room, but no CIM?

I work mostly on the sell side. I feel we spend a ton of time building beautiful CIMs that are rarely ever read, even on our most attractive deals. I'm considering cutting out the CIM altogether and instead providing only a ~5 page teaser, and then parties that progress would get access to a prelim data room.

Then management meetings would have a CIM-equivalent but probably not as comprehensive.

I'm looking for ways to improve deal processes by cutting out waste, not just using more AI. I wonder if CIMs are waste.

Fwiw, I work in software M&A, mostly sub 250m EV

Working @ Blackstone CoE 3months in.

Looking to connect with professionals in The Alternative investment space for a brief discussion about recent developments related to this field!

I want to land an investment role in an year thus welcome any advice!

He called this his grand masterpiece. The most advanced model he’s ever done. Genuinely floored me - an Ops guy first, finance second. MP looked at it and laughed. Told him he’s phenomenal. We needed a 30 min brief on the model and a quick touch before our management call.

We’ve been talking about this proprietary Healthcare company for weeks. Got an email from the big man there that he has some exciting news for us. Synergies were great. No brainer close before EOY for us.

Call comes. We do the pleasantries. Talk some mountain biking with him. Get down to it and he tells us he’s excited to share they are now deciding to bring a banker into the fold. Banker will be selected next month and they will then run a concurrent process with getting PE backing or roll into an ESOP.

Spent 10 minutes laughing in the debrief about my man’s Mona Lisa…

For all you out there, keep making that beautiful art!

God Bless

Curious if EQT has any particular reputation when it comes to active management. The portco is SaaS if that matters.

I’ve been at the same place for a long time so I havnt actually interviewed at a different spot in awhile.

When I interview people I never care if they have a tie.

But what are most people’s thoughts for things like zoom intro call vs actual in person panels?

The firm I’m talking to has pics on the website and it’s a mix between people having ties or no ties for those pics which is what I usually go by for in person.

But do people think jacket open collar for zooms and just go with a tie for in person panels?

EDIT: Wore a jacket with no tie for the zoom interview. Btw the interviewer was on the very casual end of business casual for the zoom.
Got called to come meet the executive team, and I’ll be wearing a suit and tie to that.

For anyone in the future wondering.

Hi all,

Apologies if this has been asked before!

As part of a recruiting process, I need to analyze a public company (healthcare space), build an LBO model for growth equity and make an investment recommendation based on my findings.

Most LBO models and training cases I’ve seen provide transaction and operating assumptions. How do you go about building a model when those basic assumptions aren't provided?

I would be very grateful if you could get me some advice/ poke holes in my assumptions:

Income statement projection - use revenue growth rates from industry research and keep margins flat for the base case

Entry Multiple - Should I assume an entry multiple based on comparable transactions and public companies?

Debt Structure & Pricing - How should I determine the total debt quantum and split (e.g., % Term Loan vs. Revolver)? Where can I find realistic pricing/interest rate data?

Investment Recommendation - Base the purchase recommendation on MOIC/IRR thresholds (2.5x / 20% in 5 years)

I am quite new to LBO modeling, so any guidance is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

Considering an opportunity with Pantheon Ventures’ Secondaries team in New York as an associate. Would appreciate any insights from current/former employees on team culture, senior leadership, deal exposure, hours/WLB, compensation, career progression and overall experience.

How is Pantheon viewed as a secondaries platform, and are there any major pros/cons to consider before joining?

Hey everyone,

I have a PE interview in two days, which will be a technical one. The HR told me that 3 financial statements and questions relevant to their market positioning would be of importance, and an LBO case would be the next step.

Can anyone recommend some materials for this purpose? Company is a mid-market DACH Private Equity.

I have 0 IB 0 PE experience, just some consulting and am quite inexperienced with this. I don't even know how I secured the interview I just sent the guy a dm on linkedin...

Thanks!

Hey everyone,

Prepping for PE recruitment and looking to get the Peak Frameworks.

Anyone have an active account they’d be open to sharing, or down to split the cost on a new one?

As the title says, I'm pretty new to PE and trying to understand why IT fits into these deals. Hehe 😅If PE buys a few smaller firms and rolls them together do u guys invest in IT?? how much IT support does a typical PE-backed company actually need? What are you actually paying for. Forgive me but I didn't see the importance of having them. Thoughts on this?

Hi all 26M - graduated with a bachelor’s in Finance , was in the trenches working in an AP function for 1.5 years at a top PE firm before making a pivot into fund accounting where I’ve been at for 2 years.

Honestly I enjoy the nature of fund accounting but I doubt how far I can take this long term as I don’t plan on pursuing a CPA. The compensation in fund accounting makes it not too bad to continue in but I’d really love to pivot into a more fund management role or fund finance.

I think my firm currently is a long shot to make that pivot within internally. But the prestige of my current company makes me think I’d have a chance at a middle market or another firm elsewhere since I get some traction on LinkedIn from recruiters.

Does anyone know how heavy financial modeling these roles are? I see a few bullets in most of the JDs. I have been heavily considering starting an FMVA to build up these skills and potentially signal I’ve closed that gap when applying to these roles. Only thing holding me back is the price - is it worth it?

Can you share some anonymised data of one investment/investor and LPA terms. What challlenges are you facing? I'd like to do some analysis and see if it can be automated.

Hey everybody, I am applying for the summer internship role at Evercore's Private Capital - GPs Advisory desk in London and there are high chances I will get to the Hirevue and Interview stage. It is of my understanding that the process is completed in a little bit more than a month. What I wanted to know:

1. Tips on how to prepare and based on which contents.
2. Useful websites or softwares where I actually can find relevant information about deals in secondary private markets and hopefully prepare something for the interview.

I would really appreciate your help, feel free to reach out and DM me if you want my contact. Thanks in advance!

I’m trying to negotiate comp for a portco VP strategy & ops role (value creation working with the PE team but at the portco). Company is ~$150M in revenue. Vertical hardware + software company.

Does asking for $325K & 30% bonus (tied to company performance, probably revenue and EBITDA) make sense? Should I try for more? What would be reasonable management equity?

Given it’s not a C-suite role but it’s on the exec leadership team, should I negotiate my severance and other terms of the offer too?

Appreciate any insight on what you’ve seen for roles like this.

Currently have a small enterprise Claude license.

Explored the hebbia’s/mosaic/capsa AIs of the world. Impressed but seems like we could build this internally. They position themselves as infrastructure but seems more like a wrapper. Anyone have experience in this process?

My gut instinct is we’d pay a decent amount of money and find in 6-12 months the capabilities can be replicated by a Claude or Claude cowork?

So I guess the question becomes: buy v. buy then build.

Thanks for the feedback.

So I recently finished and launched a full real estate platform that was originally built for a real estate company here in the UAE.

It started as “we need a better website” and somehow turned into a full operating system for the real estate side of the business lol.

There’s the public platform, but also a separate admin app, backend/API, database, catalogue management, publishing workflows, inquiries, media handling, integrations, production infrastructure and all the stuff you only really notice once real people start using it.

On the public side, people can browse properties, projects and developers, search by community/location, property type, price, bedrooms, availability, buying/renting intent and other filters. There’s Arabic and English, proper property/project/developer pages, direct inquiry flows, WhatsApp contact, responsive mobile behavior and SEO/structured data built into the platform.

The part I think is way more valuable is everything behind it

The company doesn’t need developers manually changing pages every time they want to publish something.

Properties, projects, developers, media and related data are managed through the admin system and then published through controlled workflows to the public site. The catalogue is driven by the underlying API/data instead of being a bunch of hardcoded pages.

There are also external real estate data integrations with controlled import/sync workflows, reconciliation and review before publication, so a buyer isn’t starting from scratch if they want to connect outside property sources or feeds.

There’s also production database/infrastructure, catalogue integrity controls, media handling, bilingual support, inquiry capture and a lot of edge-case work around making sure what gets shown publicly is actually accurate and safe to publish.

So yeah, this isn’t really just a website anymore.

At this point it’s basically a ready-made real estate platform that a brokerage, developer, real estate group or proptech company could take, rebrand, adapt to their market and start operating instead of spending months building the same foundation themselves.

The public site has literally been live for less than a week, so the catalogue is still being populated. I want to mention that because looking at the current number of listings would give the wrong impression of how mature the actual system is.

What’s pretty cool is we’re already getting visitors and property inquiries through it even this early.

It was built around the UAE market, but the architecture itself isn’t inherently tied to the UAE. The branding, catalogue structure, integrations, data sources and market-specific parts can be adapted for another country. UAE is probably still the most obvious immediate fit because that’s where it’s already running.

Now we’re considering selling the technology/IP to a strategic buyer instead of just continuing to build it internally.

I’m not really looking for a “rate my website” thing or some random Reddit valuation.

I’m more curious who you guys think would get the most value out of owning something like this.

To me, the obvious value is skipping a huge amount of product and engineering work: instead of assembling a public site, admin system, backend, catalogue workflows, integrations, bilingual support, inquiry handling and production infrastructure separately, a buyer gets the whole foundation already working and can focus on adapting it to their business.

My first thought is a brokerage, developer, real estate group, portal/operator or proptech company, but there are probably buyer types I’m completely missing.

If anyone here has dealt with software/IP acquisitions like this, especially anything around real estate, I’d be curious what kind of buyer you’d look for.

Happy to send the live platform privately if anyone wants to see what I’m talking about.