Is the Search Fund Acquisition Rate Falling? With Jim Edmunds, Badge Stone & Kent Weaver

My Guests


This week, I’m joined by three of the most experienced and respected investors within the search fund ecosystem to discuss a topic that is understandably of interest to the entire ETA community: That subject is why the acquisition rate among search funds has fallen over the past 10 years, and whether the rate of acquisition is likely to fall further in the years to come.

Across all known search funds since the inception of the model in the 1980s, ~63% of funds have gone on to acquire a company. However, since 2014, the acquisition rate has decreased, hovering around ~57% over the past 10 years. Today’s episode will revolve around the testing of several hypotheses. For example: Is the falling acquisition rate attributable to a greater number of search funds in the market? Is it attributable to email deliverability challenges that have become particularly pronounced over the past 2-3 years? Or is it attributable to something else entirely?

Joining me today are the following 3 people:

  • Jim Edmunds, a Partner at Search Fund Partners, a firm that has been investing in ETA for over 20 years (also a former searcher/CEO)
  • Badge Stone, co-founder of WSC, one of the world’s leading search investors (himself a 2x former searcher and CEO)
  • Kent Weaver, somebody who has invested in over 150 search funds and 80 operating businesses, after also serving as a searcher & CEO himself.

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Is the Search Fund Acquisition Rate Falling? With Jim Edmunds, Badge Stone & Kent Weaver In The Trenches

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Episode Summary with Timestamps

  • [2:15] Introduction of Guests and Episode Structure

  • [7:15] Possible Encroachment by Private Equity Firms

  • [11:58] Impact of Software Deals on Valuation Multiples

  • [20:22] Investor Capacity and Dilution of Searcher Talent

  • [27:49] Dilution of Commitment and Uniformity in Search Themes

  • [52:07] Seller Valuation Expectations and Cost of Capital Differences

  • [1:02:20] Searcher Fatigue and Email Deliverability Challenges

  • [1:13:51] Election Uncertainty and Market Fluctuations

  • [1:16:01] Timing the Market and Emotional Preparedness

  • [1:18:19] Cultural Importance and Reputational Feedback Loop

  • [1:20:53] Closing Remarks and Acknowledgments

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Thanks to our Sponsors

This episode is brought to you by Boulay⁠⁠⁠⁠, the industry standard for Quality of Earnings reports, tax, and small business audit services. Over the past 20 years, Boulay has worked directly with hundreds of search funds from capital raise to exit, currently assisting over 150 funds in the search phase, another 125 in the operating phase. They work with Searchers across the entirety of the ETA journey: They perform financial due diligence and create QofE reports that your investors can rely on, they provide a full suite of tax services both for your search fund and for the acquired company, they perform the annual audits required by most debt and equity investors, and also perform outsourced accounting services, acting as a fractional bookkeeper and controller for those companies whose needs might not necessitate full-time in-house resources.

This episode is brought to you by ⁠⁠⁠⁠Oberle Risk Strategies⁠⁠⁠⁠, the leading insurance brokerage and insurance diligence provider for the search fund community. The company is led by ⁠⁠August Felker⁠⁠ (himself a 2-time successful searcher), and has been trusted by search investors, lenders, searchers and CEOs for over a decade now. Their due diligence offering (which is 100% free of charge) will assess the pros and cons of your target company’s insurance program, including any potential coverage gaps, the pro-forma insurance pricing, and the program structure changes needed for closing. At or shortly after closing, they then execute on all of those findings on your behalf. Oberle has serviced over 900 customers across a decade of operation, including countless searchers and CEOs within the ETA community.


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