What I Learned Last Week 10.11.24
Curating the best M&A, SMB, and EtA-related content since 2020.
Hello Friends!
In this week’s issue of What I Learned Last Week:
📰 Articles
🧵 Best of X (Twitter)
🗓️ Events
⚒️ Tools & Resources
💡 How I Can Help
This issue of The Business Inquirer is sponsored by:
Close Your Deal Quickly and Efficiently: M&A Legal Solutions Integrating Automation and Project Management
At Sterrett Law, we’ve developed a streamlined process using cutting-edge automation and project management techniques to maximize speed and efficiency. Using templates and a client-centered collaborative process we’ll keep your deal on track and on time.
Ready to make your next move? Schedule your free consultation today!
📰 Articles
I summarize, so you capitalize.
The SMB M&A Pipeline: Q3 2024
The Q3 2024 SMB M&A Pipeline report from Axial highlights a 30% year-over-year increase in deal flow across seven industries, with notable growth in Business Services, Healthcare, and Consumer Goods. The report analyzes deal volume and pursuit rates, with Technology leading in pursuit rate despite lower deal volume and Industrials showing strong interest in both categories. Contrasts are seen in Healthcare and Food and Hospitality, with high pursuit in Healthcare but low volume and the reverse for Food and Hospitality.
Key insights include:
3,075 deals in Q3 2024, a 30% increase.
Business Services saw the largest growth (53.85%).
Technology led in pursuit rates, while Industrials ranked first in deal volume.
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Global M&A Deal Activity Rises
Global M&A activity in 2024 saw deal value rise 16% year-over-year to $2.3 trillion, despite a 20% drop in the number of deals, the lowest in eight years. This was driven by a 34% increase in "mega deals" (over $10 billion). U.S. deals comprised nearly half of the total, with value up 18%, while European M&A rose 30%. In contrast, Asia-Pacific saw an 8% decline.
Key insights:
Surge in mega deals.
U.S. and European markets dominated.
Technology and energy sectors led.
Private equity-backed deals up 40%.
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Business Owner Profiles - Who Are You?
The blog post from Big Deal Small Business outlines several business owner profiles based on different visions for personal and company goals. These profiles help entrepreneurs align their life ambitions with business strategies, whether they aim for community integration, rapid deal-making, or growth-focused leadership.
Key insights:
Owner identity impacts company strategy.
Alignment between personal, company, and employee visions is essential.
Profiles reflect diverse paths from community involvement to aggressive expansion.
🧵 Best of X (Twitter)
I scroll, so you don’t have to.
Private equity is quietly eyeing the $23 billion funeral home industry, poised to consolidate its 15,000+ fragmented, family-run businesses into the next billion-dollar opportunity…
If you're selling to private equity — ask the right questions upfront about equity rollovers, leverage, control, and your role post-closing…
The perfect Operating Partner is a long-term greedy leader, owning outcomes, embracing discomfort, and prioritizing process over results…
Building a strong bank relationship means educating your lender, asking for credit when you don't need it, and introducing competition to secure the best terms…
🗓️ Events
Annual M&A Institute (Oct 10-11) - Dallas, TX
Rice EtA Conference (Oct 13-14) - Houston, TX
McGuireWoods Independent Sponsor (Oct 15-16) - Dallas, TX
Texas & The South M&A and Business Symposium (Oct 16-18) - Dallas, TX
HBS ETA Conference (Oct 19) - Cambridge, MA
National Summit for Middle Market Funds (Oct 27-29) - Palm Beach, FL
Booth-Kellogg EtA Conference (Nov 4) - Chicago, IL
HoldCo Conference (Mar 31-Apr 3 2025) - Sundance, UT
🎵 Listening: “Tate (how i feel)“ by Fred again… 🎵
How did you like this issue of the newsletter?
⚒️Tools & Resources
I want to share some tools & resources that I have found helpful. Please note that some of these are paid sponsors or affiliates of the newsletter.
PrivSource - PrivSource helps you source deals and connect with transaction partners without ever paying a success fee.
X5 Deals - Proprietary deal sourcing for a great price. They do the outreach and send you relevant, actionable deals directly into your inbox.
Rejigg - Platform that connects searchers/investors directly with owners of off-market small businesses ($200k - $3M EBITDA) considering exits. All deals are sourced by the Rejigg team. Their team adds 15 to 20 new deals each week.
Kumo - 100,000+ deals sourced from thousands of brokers and marketplaces. Plus, AI-powered listings, robust data & analytics, and more.
DealFlowXchange - The premier private capital funding community for raising and deploying capital. Use discount code DUEDILIO for 20% off your lifetime membership.
Sterrett Law - At Sterrett Law, we offer Manhattan and Boston experience at Vermont prices. Specializing in deals under $10 million, we're your go-to partner for navigating the complexities of mergers and acquisitions without the hefty price tag
BizNexus - Marketplace + off-market origination in one platform. The marketplace averages about 10k active listings & pre-CIM opportunities, and the off-market origination focuses on data & multi-channel.
Secret - Say goodbye to overspending on SaaS. With Secret, you get access to up to $1,000,000+ in savings on the best software to run your search, operate, and scale your business.
Search Fund Coalition - community for the Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition ecosystem. Monthly events and meetups for acquisition entrepreneurs.
Deal Sourcing Guide - a comprehensive list of business marketplaces, brokers, deal origination firms, and more.
💡 How I Can Help
Whenever you’re ready, here are a few ways for us to work together…
Schedule 1:1 consulting on deal sourcing, due diligence, M&A ecosystem, newsletters, entrepreneurship, or anything else you’d like to discuss
Promote your brand to business buyers, investors, SMB owners, and other M&A participants by sponsoring this newsletter
Assemble your M&A deal team with DueDilio
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