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Today’s Rundown

• Printing labels rollup in Italy

• Kingsway raised $15.7 million in private placement

• Learnings about raising a search fund and acquiring a business

• The New York Times on search funds in the US

• 4 deal / launch announcements

• 5 new career opportunities

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Weekly Highlights

• RollUpEurope published a deep dive on Tikedo: the Italian search fund printing labels, deals and serious cash flows:

  • Italy, with 200,000+ SMEs and a strong niche manufacturing base (packaging, textile machinery, food equipment), remains underpenetrated by search funds, making it fertile ground for acquisitions like Tikedo’s roll-up in label printing

  • Vito Giurazza, a 35-year-old ex-JP Morgan banker, launched Maestrale Capital in 2017, acquiring Etichettificio LGL (a €6.4M revenue, €2.4M EBITDA agri-food label supplier) in 2019 after a near-failed search, using €10M equity backed by top investors including Relay Investments and M2O

  • Over 4 years, Vito executed 14 small but profitable bolt-on acquisitions, rebranding the growing group as Tikedo, and focusing on pressure-sensitive labels for food and HPC sectors while retaining local brands and decentralized production

  • In 2023, Tikedo sold 75% to Milan-based White Bridge Investments for €74M equity value (~€93M EV, 9x EBITDA), generating a 7x raw MOIC for initial investors and unlocking an estimated €20M+ carry for Vito in under 4 years

  • Tikedo’s success demonstrates how fragmented, essential B2B niches like label printing can enable high-return roll-ups by centralizing sales/finance while preserving operational flexibility, positioning for pan-European expansion without forced integration

• Kingsway, the only publicly-traded US company employing the search fund model to acquire and build great businesses, announced a $15.7m private placement to accelerate growth:

  • Kingsway raised $15.7 million through the sale of 1,336,264 common shares at $11.75 apiece

  • Revenue and adjusted EBITA for the KSX segment grew by 23% YoY

  • The extended warranty segment is showing signs of recovery with cash sales up 3.7% YoY

  • Consolidated adjusted EBITDA declined by $800,000 compared to the prior year quarter

  • Kingsway appointed two new independent directors, strengthening their corporate governance

• Eric Giesecke, searcher and CEO of acquired Planet DDS, shared his learnings about raising a search fund and acquiring a business:

  • You don’t need prior industry expertise to lead and scale a company successfully; instead, focus on building trust quickly with teams and customers through hands-on engagement and learning the business from the ground up

  • Effective leadership in a search fund or acquisition context requires process optimization, strategic execution, and humility, converting initial skepticism into respect by demonstrating commitment and authenticity

  • Building and preserving company culture during growth requires intentional hiring aligned with values, empowering teams while avoiding unnecessary bureaucracy, ensuring collaboration and accountability as the organization scales

  • Success lies in solving real operational problems rather than chasing trends; Eric prioritized tech that drives measurable improvements in efficiency and patient outcomes while maintaining an open, interoperable platform for sustainable scaling

  • Leading in an industry undergoing consolidation and technological disruption demands aligning people, processes, and platforms while balancing strategic discipline with innovation, focusing on incremental operational improvements (e.g., automating workflows) that compound over time

• The New York Times published an article of acquisitions of a boring businesses in the US:

  • Many 30s–40s “corporate refugees” are leaving traditional jobs to buy small businesses from retiring owners, like Nicole and David Rizzo purchasing Die Cleaning Equipment in Phoenix, seeking autonomy and steady cash flow

  • Buying a profitable business (e.g., a $600K aluminum die-cleaning machine shop or a $1M garage door service) is often safer than starting from scratch, but skipping diligence can lead to issues like missing customer databases or unreliable staff

  • “Boring” niches with recurring demand - like aluminum extruder cleaning, garage door servicing, or maintaining office plants - can offer strong, stable economics despite lacking glamour

  • New owners often encounter post-purchase challenges (a welder quitting mid-build, old vans needing manual shutdown) but can still drive growth by adding simple services like installations or expanding capacity

  • These businesses rarely impress outsiders, but buyers quietly build wealth and freedom while preserving jobs and community ties

Deal / Launch Announcements

• 🇩🇪 Johannes Viehhauser and Maximilian Krause launched Gen2 Capital Partners, a search fund focused on the manufacturing, aerospace, engineering and semiconductor industry (link)

• 🇬🇧 Edward Collas launched Fairmile Partners, a sector-agnostic search fund (link)

• 🇬🇧 Heronshaw, a search fund managed by Edd Salter, announced its acquisition of Scottish Everlastings, a leading artificial floral and home accessories supplier (link)

• 🇪🇸 Orión Capital, a search fund managed by Alejandro A. Peñafiel, announced its acquisition of GSE Composystem and Setroson, which are incorporated into Phoenix Aerospace (link)

Career Opportunities

• [PE] Investment Associate | PER | Hamburg (apply)*

• [PE] Fund Financing (Senior) Associate | PER | London (apply)*

• [PE] Investment Analyst / Associate | Vidia Equity | Muinch (apply)

• [PE] Investment Intern | NGC Nachfolgekapital | Munich (apply)

• [PE-Asset] Managing Director | Altus Partners | Frankfurt (apply)*

_*Headhunter

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