Congratulations to all the nominees and winners at the Gerald Edelman ETA Awards tonight - especially @PaulQuirk87 who won the @AshtonsLegal sponsored category presented by @CraigFiddaman! @domholland was a fabulously funny host!

With just under 2 weeks left, we still have 3 spots open for those interested in attending our B+B Accelerator. Our participants include CEO's to MBA grads, eager to get their M&A going. I'm excited to see what is in store for this peer group.

Coming soon: We recorded a great, in-person episode with @RJLiddiard about the @EOSWorldwide discovery session he ran at Amber Home Improvements. It was a lot of fun! Stay tuned for this release. Maybe we make it a series 😉

I really enjoyed this conversation with Jordan. During the conversation, we touched on @EOSWorldwide. This got me really excited for an upcoming ep with @RJLiddiard where we will spend the morning with my senior managers at Amber to intro EOS, and then recap everything on the pod

Today I interviewed 4 final candidates (in person) for a replacement manager after a week of initial video interviews with ~12 solid candidates. What an intense week. Such a specific and important skill. Big respect for in-house recruiters and hiring managers.

If you are early in your ETA journey and considering these topics, check out the Buy and Build Accelerator: a collaborative BootCamp built by subject-matter experts to help you acquire the right business quicker while avoiding costly mistakes.

These are common topics I get from new ETA folks when thinking about acquiring a business. It is great to see the thoughtfulness and prudence in acquiring even a £3m+ EV business.

Candle Media has the talent and a compelling brand portfolio, so I am sure it will navigate this challenging period. But it certainly puts perspective around the balancing of sector selection, levels of debt vs equity, deal structuring and paying a fair price.

The company has since struggled as earnings are expected to drop 50% below expectations as the number of streaming services increases and the market becomes more competitive. Also, with consumer wallets feeling the pinch, there has been a notable advertising slowdown.

Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine for $900M, and Moonbug Entertainment (famed for CoComelon and other children's productions) for nearly $3B, among others. It is estimated that the amount of debt used is currently ±$1B.

Their strategy was bold and clear: leverage their industry expertise to create a conglomerate via a series of high-profile acquisitions. The company quickly made headlines with significant purchases:

Tracking the progress of Candle Media and its $2 billion buy-and-build acquisition approach has been pretty sobering. Co-founded by 2 former Disney execs, Candle Media emerged with robust backing from Blackstone, boasting an impressive $2 billion initial investment

It is probably best suited for owners without an immediate need for an exit or where the ultimate acquirer would be someone who would pay a premium that could justify the early "repayment" premium/fee. Check out the republished episode of the @BuyBuildPodcast tomorrow

The impact on cashflow to service the royalty finance is light when compared to a similar sized 5-year term loan, but the duration is much longer

There is no dilution to the owners(s) since it is not equity, and also no impact on control. There is also no refinancing risk given that there is no bullet payment at the end of the term.

- Provider supplies a lump sum of capital over ~30 years with no bullet payment at the end of the term. - This capital is typically "serviced" from cash flow and often a % revenue split. However, if you wish to repay the royalty finance early, you will pay a fee to do that.

Royalty financing is an interesting alternative financing offering for buyouts or equity releases. It mixes certain elements of debt and equity in an attempt to better align with owners. Here are the highlights:

This topic is so important which is why we built it into the upcoming Buy and Build Accelerator.

4. Asset-backed lending is less complex with far more options; however, having an advisor who can shop the deal around will get you the most favourable terms and the fee will pay for itself (also fees are typically lower for asset-backed deals)

3. Structuring deals is an art and some of the examples presented were impressive. A good debt advisor, who knows what each lender is looking for, is invaluable in the current market. Sure it comes at a fee, but if rolled into the debt, it seems like a fair price to pay