AI and technology

• 71% of PE firms have adopted AI, only 18% show an advantage
• Productivity is up but EBIT has barely moved
• AI plan lines need named owners tied to P&L levers
• Proprietary data drives valuation, efficiency alone does not
• Manufacturing and industrial services lead AI demand three to one
• Antidote and White Sage launch AI-native buyout models
• 59% of UK firms use back-office modernization, against 43% globally

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Talent and leadership

• PE uses one CFO title for four different jobs
• 75% of PE-backed CFOs miss the full hold period
• Leaders are judged on adaptability and measurable value creation
• Draft and develop is replacing hire and hope
• Regional roles increasingly need operators, not growth leaders
• Sponsors keep underperforming CEOs too long
• AI deployment left 60% of job descriptions wrong at one company

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Operating model and execution

• The operating model should come before the value creation plan
• A 2.5x return now needs roughly 12% annual EBITDA growth
• 41% cite capacity constraints as the top barrier to value creation
• Only 26% assess pricing or commercial excellence in most diligences
• The median deal-to-operator ratio is three to one
• One manufacturer beat its EBITDA plan with negative $0.4M free cash flow
• Finance should close in seven days within the first 18 months

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Returns and market data

• A drop from 12x to 10x erased 42% of equity
• A 2.5x return is a 20% IRR over five years, 14% over seven
• Leverage and multiples drove 59% of 2010 to 2022 buyout returns
• Higher rates shift focus from EBITDA to cash conversion
• Median time to close reached 274 days in 2026
• Upper and lower quartile managers differ by 19.2 percentage points
• 83% name consistent financial data as the top exit lever

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Deals and buy-and-build

• Add-ons made up 72.9% of US buyouts in 2025
• Platforms with over five add-ons show 200bps margin expansion against 120bps
• Buy-and-build scales only when integration removes complexity
• Adelis sold its Scandinavian platform and bought PLENTICON the next day
• Apollo gave Questex the CEO seat in its Emerald combination
• Sequence Holdings and Long Lake lead $7.7B and $6.3B take-privates
• Procure IT and Accelerate Partners team up on technology spend visibility

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Thanks to Lee McCabe, Mark Jansen, Paul Stansik, Shaun Kelley, Sergio Ermacora, Dave Wang, Dominic Cara, Tom Subaric, Barry Toren, Praneet Gill, Srin Subra, Brad Wolfe, Philipp Kraft, Dan Cremons, Mike Panah, Aaron G., Jon Lensing, Shannon Talbot, Viraj Bindra, James White, Harry Turner, Matt Pencek, John D. Nimesheim, Markus Lahrkamp, Elizabeth Gooch, Nada Usina, Wayne Marhelski, Lars Arrfors, Reid Lappin, Robin Crumby, Adam King, Greg Head, Zara Sandouk, Rich Hempel, Matthew Johnston, Will Schryver, Yurii Filipchuk, Chris Barber, Paul Press, Nicola Ebmeyer, Dr. Sascha Haggenmueller, Scott Engler, Frank Selbeck, Jack Syred, Dr. Marc P. Bielitza and everyone else who contributed insights to this edition. Find the full list of posts and voices on LinkedIn: