In partnership with

❤️ Thanks to everyone who brought our newsletter to the attention of new readers last week. The “share function” can be found at the end of the email. Today’s newsletter counts 714 words and takes about 3.5 minutes to read.

In case you missed out on our last episode, please find it here.

Finally, a powerful CRM—made simple.

Attio is the AI-native CRM built to scale your company from seed stage to category leader. Powerful, flexible, and intuitive to use, Attio is the CRM for the next-generation of teams.

Sync your email and calendar, and Attio instantly builds your CRM—enriching every company, contact, and interaction with actionable insights in seconds.

With Attio, AI isn’t just a feature—it’s the foundation.

• Instantly find and route leads with research agents

• Get real-time AI insights during customer conversations

• Build AI automations for your most complex workflows

• Join fast growing teams like Flatfile, Replicate, Modal, and more.

Start for free today.

Today’s Rundown

• Thoma Bravo’s view on Europe’s fragmented software market

• Nobis Capital’s insights from search to acquisition

• Bloomberg’s view on search funds and their success

• Novastone Capital’s operator-led search program

• 2 deal / launch announcements

• 4 new career opportunities

Database Overview

Get access to our two databases of +350 search funds and +370 search fund investors as a premium subscriber.

• Preview search funds database

• Preview search fund investors database

Weekly Highlights

• Thoma Bravo, a US large-cap software PE firm focused on software, announced its strategic expansion to Europe, highlighting the attractiveness of Europe’s software market:

  • Thoma Bravo has deployed over $14 billion across 16 European software deals over 14 years, including 4 platform and 8 add-on acquisitions since opening its London office in 2023

  • Europe hosts nearly 13,000 software firms with >$10M revenue and about 4,000 with >$50M, yet remains largely untapped by buyout capital

  • European software spending is projected to grow at a 11.5% CAGR through 2028, up from ~9% in 2025

  • Valuations in Europe remain lower than in the U.S., offering strong risk-adjusted returns and an attractive entry point for buy-and-build strategies

  • Only 32% of European organizations run more than half their workloads in the cloud, signaling significant SaaS and cloud adoption runway ahead

• Moonbase Capital published a new episode of their Search Fund Squared episode on from search to acquisition: how Nobis Capital secured Leaseir and began a new chapter:

  • Nobis Capital reviewed hundreds of opportunities and signed 15 LOIs over 2.5 years before acquiring Leaseir

  • The acquisition process took ~18 months from start to close; Leaseir's financial performance exceeded reported figures, requiring an upward price adjustment

  • Leverage used in the acquisition was ~2–2.5x EBITDA, with the remainder funded by equity from nearly 20 investors

  • Strong cash flows post-acquisition allowed for faster-than-expected debt repayment and consideration of future M&A to enhance product offerings

• Bloomberg’s Money Stuff Podcast discusses the emerging trend of search funds and their success in the US:

  • Search funder Dan Schweber sent 3,600 cold emails, led 375 intro calls, and secured 6 signed LOIs to ultimately acquire an HVAC company, demonstrating the high attrition rate and persistence required

  • Schweber’s acquisition required 12 follow-up emails to the seller, reflecting the competition among searchers and the need for high-touch outreach in this saturated niche

  • Of search fund entrepreneurs who sell their acquired businesses, ~25% receive $0, 27% earn <$4M, 28% earn $4M–$10M, and 18% exceed $10M in equity payout

  • Search funds have grown so popular that owners of unglamorous businesses (like HVAC or pest control) now routinely receive hundreds of cold emails from searchers and PE firms

• BizCrunch published a new M&A Zing episode on Novastone Capital's operator-led search with Robin Goldhagen:

  • Novastone Capital Advisers (NCA) receives ~4,000 applications annually from mid-career professionals (~43 years old) and selects only 4–8 per quarter to join its operator-focused search fund program

  • NCA funds the search phase directly, providing a base salary and analyst support from a centralized data and digital team, eliminating the need for candidates to raise their own search budget

  • NCA operates in 12 European countries, typically pairing searchers with local investors to support regional alignment, while also leveraging systematic investors with broader portfolios

  • Searchers benefit from NCA’s global broker and seller database, but still engage in their own outreach; deals are often heavily brokered, which helps manage seller valuation expectations

  • Compared to the U.S., European SMB multiples are lower, and awareness of the search fund model remains limited - especially outside Southern Europe - necessitating ongoing investor education

Deal / Launch Announcements

• 🇮🇹 Carla Abis and Antonio Emanuele launched Big Tower Group, a sector-agnostic search fund (link)

• 🇬🇧 Mentmore Capital Partners, a search fund managed by Xan Lowe and Benjamin Melville, acquired Rowleys of Northwich, a fleet management service provider (link)

Career Opportunities

• [PE] Investment Associate | GIC | London (apply)

• [PE] Investment Intern | Nalka Invest | Stockholm (apply)

• [PE-Asset] (Senior) M&A Manager | Altano Group | DACH (apply)

• [PE-Asset] M&A Manager | IVC Evidensia | DACH (apply)

_*Headhunter

Any suggestions, questions, or criticism? Any topics that should be covered in the future? By answering this email, you’re sliding right into my inbox.