European Operator-Investor Exploring US Search Fund Deals
March 17, 2026
by an investor from Universiteit Antwerpen in Willebroek, België
Hi all,
We’re new here and trying to understand how this ecosystem really works in practice.
We’re a Belgium-based investment firm (Haerens & Partners). Over the past years we’ve built and scaled multiple SME businesses, with a strong focus on EBITDA growth, operational improvement and preparing companies for exit. We have a solid track record in doing this hands-on.
In our own deals, we typically take control and drive value creation ourselves. That said, we’re now looking at whether it makes sense to also allocate capital into US-based search fund deals as investors.
If any searchers are open to having a European partner as a co-investor — feel free to reach out directly.
Happy to connect.
Friso
Haerens Partners
from University of Pennsylvania in Washington, DC, USA
from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Portland, OR, USA