In this episode, I’m joined by an experienced operating executive with a decade-long track record of success in the private equity world. Our discussion touched on the differences between operational and advisory roles, acclimating entrepreneurs to the PE experience, and the importance of trusted partnerships.
May 18, 2020 1:22:33 PM — I recently had the opportunity to join Katie Mulligan Editor-in-Chief from Middle Market Growth magazine to discuss why every company in the US needs to reevaluate and consider relaunching their commercial engine. This post is an edited transcript of our interview. You can see the video in its entirety clicking below:
May 14, 2020 3:00:00 PM — “Digital transformation” is a phrase we hear and read about constantly. It’s in countless articles and thought leadership pieces targeted at marketers, CEOs, investors, and other business leaders. It’s a topic that’s brought up in almost every meeting we have with private equity firms as well as at most PE-focused events. It gets used so much that it has become one of those omnipresent buzzwords in danger of losing its meaning, like “Big Data” and “The Cloud”.
May 4, 2020 11:38:28 AM — By now, most if not all Private equity firms have done some level of triage on their portfolios as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. As expected, much of the focus has been on determining which companies are at most risk financially and operationally, and steps have been taken to shore up liquidity and protect supply chains among other things. However, scant attention has been spent on assessing the ability of holdings across the portfolio to restart commercial engines post crisis. This shortcoming jeopardizes the ability to take advantage of what may be transformative growth opportunities in my opinion. It also puts overall fund performance at risk in the long-term.
Mar 16, 2020 1:08:48 PM — Winning the Brand Game Can Supercharge Your M&A Results For acquirers of businesses, either Corporate or Private Equity (PE), it’s not exactly a great time to be buying businesses and placing bets on new frontiers. A recent Price Waterhouse Coopers report found that the uptick in mega-mergers and acquisitions seen in 2019 will continue into the new decade. This means high purchase prices will remain in their stratosphere for the foreseeable future. As a result of high purchase-price multiples and overly ambitious revenue growth plans, the landscape is littered with the remains of deals gone south or sour. In fact, more than half of intended acquisitions fail, and 80 percent fall short of expectations. To protect themselves against failed deals, Corporations and PE have responded to inflated purchase price multiples by doubling down on pre-acquisition and pre-merger due diligence.