The discussion will centre on the key themes emerging from Gerald Edelman’s recent transaction services work across PE and PE-backed businesses. Rather than theory, this is a practitioner-led conversation grounded in live deal experience – offering a frank and focused view of where bolt-on financial due diligence is evolving, and what that means for the decisions being made in the market today.

We’ll cover:

• Trickle-down effect of elevated platform multiples – is there overheating in bolt-on markets, and how is this showing up in diligence processes?
• The increasing irrelevance of quality of earnings in equity value negotiations – what’s driving this shift, and what replaces it?
• Forecast earnings – is the market shifting in how it benchmarks value, and what are the implications for buy-side diligence?
• AI and digital capability – displacement versus commercial benefit, and how business transformation is being assessed in transaction services
• Getting it right in an uncertain world – the importance of bolt-on financial and tax due diligence when the margin for error is smaller than ever

We will open with a short, focused presentation on these themes, followed by an open forum with attendees.

CFOs and FDs in PE-backed businesses

Corporate Development and M&A leaders in PE-backed companies

This session will be particularly relevant for finance and deal teams operating across mid-market and growth-stage PE-backed platforms where bolt-on activity is a core part of the investment thesis.