The search fund playbook, ten years on
Deal teams that spend their first meeting on structure rather than price tend to close faster, and the gap widens as the capital stack gets more crowded. The sponsors below all describe the same sequence, in roughly the same order, whatever the sector.
Where the money comes from
Deal teams that spend their first meeting on structure rather than price tend to close faster, and the gap widens as the capital stack gets more crowded. The sponsors below all describe the same sequence, in roughly the same order, whatever the sector.
- A lead cheque, agreed before anything is circulated.
- Two or three co-investors who have seen the sector.
- A debt package sized to the downside case, not the plan.
Priya Raman
Managing Director, Harbourpoint
The structure is the pitch. Everything after it is detail.
What changes on the second deal
Deal teams that spend their first meeting on structure rather than price tend to close faster, and the gap widens as the capital stack gets more crowded. The sponsors below all describe the same sequence, in roughly the same order, whatever the sector.
Timing
Deal teams that spend their first meeting on structure rather than price tend to close faster, and the gap widens as the capital stack gets more crowded. The sponsors below all describe the same sequence, in roughly the same order, whatever the sector.
Terms
Deal teams that spend their first meeting on structure rather than price tend to close faster, and the gap widens as the capital stack gets more crowded. The sponsors below all describe the same sequence, in roughly the same order, whatever the sector.
Deal teams that spend their first meeting on structure rather than price tend to close faster, and the gap widens as the capital stack gets more crowded. The sponsors below all describe the same sequence, in roughly the same order, whatever the sector.
