sourcing / financing help for IS / search funds

searcher profile

April 04, 2024

by a searcher from Pennsylvania State University in Philadelphia, PA, USA

hey everyone, I am an independent sponsor and I've worked in sourcing for some of the top private equity firms in the country for the last 10 years. To help fund my search, I work with PE firms on certain buyside engagements to source new platforms and add ons on their behalf. Over the last decade, I've built a pretty solid engine of deal flow in the lower middle market. For my search, I like to focus on deals that typically exceed the SBA limits, but are too small for my PE clients. "Tweeners" if you will. These are often perfect deals for Independent Sponsors and search funds. There are always several deals I'm looking at a given time that need a CEO or are not fits for me due to geo, industry, etc.. I'm kicking around the idea of referring deals out on a success fee-basis to people who could use some help sourcing. Once under LOI, I'd also like to help you get it financed. I have built a really good network of funds and family offices who can invest both debt and equity into these "tweeners". Typical check sizes are $5-15m. Oh and no PG! It's a really sweet model that for some reason is not well covered in the search world.

I can't take on a ton of extra work but if I see a good deal that's not a fit for me, I'd like to make 3-4 calls and steer it to a good home. Give me a shout if this sounds cool.

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commentor profile
Reply by a searcher
from Yale University in Atlanta, GA, USA
Shawn, this is really interesting. Agree that this feels like an opportunity that should be available to more searchers with strong deal flow. I floated a comment a few months back asking if this sort of success-based model was in place. I'll DM you to see if you're still exercising this.
commentor profile
Reply by a professional
from Villanova University in West Chester, PA, USA
I've referred ^redacted‌ a few buyers who would be good to work with and he's great to work with. Highly recommend you reach out if this is a good fit for your deal sourcing strategy.
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