❤️ 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 808 words and takes about 3.5 minutes to read.

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

Today’s Rundown

• Numbers behind the search period

• From investment banking to launching search fund

• Perspective of a search fund investor of Europe

• 3 deal / launch announcements (2 exit!)

• 7 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

• Carlo Salizzoni, Managing Director of search fund Resilient Capital, shared numbers behind the search period:

  • The typical funnel of search funds, that manage to acquire a business, look the following:

    • Pipeline universe = 1,509

    • Initial contact = 1,042

    • Response received = 189

    • Positive contact established = 64

    • NDA signed = 36

    • Screening submitted = 8

    • Screening started = 8

    • Initial analysis = 4

    • Offer preparation = 3

    • Key terms negotiation = 2 (=0,13%)

• HoldCo Builders published a new episode with Luca Hany, founder of search fund Amboro Capital, on how he left investment banking to build a search fund:

  • Luca launched a solo traditional search fund targeting SME succession in Switzerland and southern Germany, after conducting ~100 validation conversations, completing an MBA at INSEAD, and leveraging 6 years of investment banking/M&A experience

  • He raised capital in Summer 2024, self-funding ~10% of the cap table

  • Fundraising focused on addressing skepticism about Switzerland as a viable ETA market by highlighting that 99% of Swiss companies are SMEs and that GDP ranks top 20 globally

  • His sourcing strategy involves sending ~500 personalized physical letters (vs. brokers), targeting businesses in fragmented, tailwind-driven niches like TIC, HVAC, clean rooms, and healthcare services, with a focus on firms with CHF 1.5–5M in EBITDA

  • Swiss private company opacity (no public financial data) and cultural factors (risk aversion, closed ecosystems) create barriers - but also barriers to entry - for ETA

  • Debt financing is favorable with 3–3.5% interest and up to 60% LTV, while valuations typically range from 4–7x EBITDA

  • Hani’s key challenges include maintaining origination momentum and balancing the timing of pulling the trigger on a deal; flexibility is high (willing to co-own temporarily with sellers), but with a strict requirement for eventual majority control

• Juan Cuesta, Managing Director at search fund investor ONEtoONE Asset Management, shared his unique vantage point on how entrepreneurial investing is evolving in Europe:

  • Juan Cuesta, with 32 years in private equity and 6 in search fund investing, co-founded ONEtoONE Asset Management in 2022

  • The firm manages €35M, has backed ~50 searchers, completed ~10 deals, and targets 15–20 total investments 

  • The fund emphasizes hands-on support and searcher alignment, noting that search funds success relies heavily on the individual, with ideal profiles being experienced duos that combine deal and operating skills

  • They particularly value older candidates with M&A or PE background

  • Spain has ~60 active searchers but limited deal capacity

  • Italy is currently more attractive with fewer (~12) quality searchers

  • France poses challenges due to intermediation and competition from small-cap PE and family offices, which push valuations up

  • The team's quick exit from Crop Salsa returned strong results in under 3 years by combining growth, rapid debt paydown, and multiple expansion, though they typically target a 5–6 year holding period

  • Cuesta expects search funds IRRs to normalize in the 20s (not 30s) going forward

  • He warns that current high valuations and underperforming acquisitions may force capital out of the market, stressing that success hinges on rigorous due diligence and avoiding forced acquisitions

Deal / Launch Announcements

• 🇪🇸 Asta Capital, a search fund managed by Miguel Arias and Lorenzo Dávila, announced the exit of Logiscenter, a provider of automatic identification and data capture equipment, to Levata, a global IT services and technology products distributor (link)

• 🇪🇸 Namencis Capital, a search fund managed by Santiago Navarro-Rubio Poole, announced the exit of ENEB, an online business school with a presence in more than 40 countries and over 100,000 students (link)

• 🇺🇸 Entrepreneurial Capital announced the launch of their $11m fund of search funds, focused on self-funded searchers (link)

Career Opportunities

• [PE] Investment Associate | Golding Capital Partners | Munich (apply)

• [PE] Private Equity Analyst / Associate | PeakSeek | Paris (apply)*

• [PE] M&A Analyst/Junior Associate | PPR Ventures | Berlin (contact [email protected])

• [PE] Investment Intern | Altor Equity Partners | Zurich (apply)

• [PE] Investment Intern | IBEX Wachstumspartner | Munich (apply)

• [PE] Growth Equity Intern | DTCP | Berlin (apply)

• [PE-Asset] Strategic & M&A Intern | Maritime & Healthcare Group | Berlin (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.