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Today’s Rundown

• Survey of 55+ exited search fund CEOs

• Recurring revenue as a driver of financial outcomes

• Sellers’s view of a searcher buying his business

• 4 deal / launch announcements

• 10 new career opportunities

Weekly Highlights

• Endurance Search Partners, a search fund investor, has published the results of its latest survey of 55+ exited North American search fund CEOs:

  • The survey covers 55+ exited North American search-fund CEOs; after exit, 58% keep operating (usually multi-company portfolios), 29% primarily invest, and fewer than 20% choose to run a single company again, with a post-2020 shift away from investing

  • During transitions, 80% stay on at least part-time after investors exit; 56% rolled equity, with an average equity roll of 33%

  • For a second search, nearly half target 10+ year holds, 52% pursue consolidation (build-up/roll-up), and 90% report the second search was easier than the first

  • Among those who became investors, about half raised third-party capital while 48% invest their own

  • 80% back search funds, supporting ~5 searchers per year on average

  • CEOs cite personal growth and control as top benefits, while the main challenges are day-to-day stress, work–life balance, and team management

  • Advice emphasizes reflection, aligning work with personal goals, choosing good people, and thinking long-term

• Yale published a case study on whether recurring revenue really drive financial outcomes in search fund–acquired businesses:

  • The case analyzes 59 fully exited traditional search funds, binning recurring revenue at acquisition into None (29), Low (11), Moderate (9), and High (10), and evaluates outcomes only by MOIC and IRR

  • No statistically significant link appears between recurring revenue percentage and MOIC or IRR, with regression p-values of 0.27 for MOIC and 0.19 for IRR, and median/mean tests also failing to show differences

  • Visuals suggest mild upward patterns but dispersion is large, outliers exist in both zero and high recurring revenue groups, and the null of no relationship cannot be rejected

  • The one robust finding is price, as higher recurring revenue commands higher entry EBITDA multiples (slope 1.61, correlation 0.36, t-stat 2.83, p=0.006), and controlling for entry multiple still leaves no IRR relationship

  • Recurring revenue can still help in practice by easing rookie CEO ramps, attracting investors, and creating value if increased during the hold, even if it does not predict superior MOICs/IRRs at purchase

• Acquiring Minds published a new podcast episode on a seller’s view of a searcher buying his business:

  • Prioritize legacy and people over price: seller avoided strategics likely to cut staff/brand; sale to a searcher kept 100% of employees and the Boston Tree Preservation brand intact

  • Don’t accept “fire-sale” offers, where local competitors pitched ≤~1× annual cash flow; a sticky, well-run service business can earn that by operating ~1–2 more years

  • Make the business buyable before marketing, including migrating to modern systems (Salesforce, QuickBooks, Gusto, e-contracts), adding tele-diagnostics, and empowering long-tenured staff to de-risk transition

  • Validate demand and expect attrition: a Searchfunder teaser drew ~60 prospects; first LOI failed, second closed - run a wide funnel and underwrite execution risk

  • Target ETA-friendly traits with characteristics such as dense local routes (~20 sq mi), thousands of small prepaid accounts (>⅔ winter cash-in), low concentration, strong margins, and a differentiated niche (organic plant health)

Deal / Launch Announcements

• 🇪🇸 Emotion Mobility, a fleet management software, hold by Ibérica Partners, a search fund managed by Gonzalo Carmona and Kieron Chalder, secures strategic growth investment from PSG (link)

• 🇪🇸 Pablo Ferrero Pérez and Albert Marquez-Andreu launched Logos Equity, a sector-agnostic search fund (link)

• 🇳🇱 Philip Tulp and Michaël Bayer launched Fonteyn Bedrijfsopvolging, a sector-agnostic search fund (link)

• 🇧🇷 Ventus Capital Partners announces first closing of US$15 million search fund investment vehicle (link)

Career Opportunities

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

• [PE] Investment Analyst | PER | London (apply)*

• [PE] Investment Intern | Mubadala | London (apply)

• [PE] Investment Intern | Triton | Stockholm (apply)

• [PE Asset] Head of PMO | PER | Berlin (apply)*

_*Headhunter

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