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𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 | Lena Li Lena Li has joined Croud as Head of Corporate Development. In this premier executive strategy and growth leadership capacity, Lena will assume strategic command over strategic acquisition opportunities, inorganic growth frameworks, M&A integration, and corporate expansion strategy across the U.S. market. As Croud continues to scale its global digital marketing platform, expand its service ecosystem, and execute its international growth trajectory, her visionary M&A steering will be fundamental to identifying value-accretive targets, driving strategic investments, and anchoring the agency's long-term marketplace scale and industry leadership. Lena is an exceptionally accomplished corporate development executive, M&A advisor, and growth strategist, bringing a powerhouse professional legacy built across a decade at the intersection of technology, marketing, media, and data businesses. Prior to joining Croud, Lena spent nearly ten years at Madison Alley Global Ventures, where she progressively advanced through key advisory and leadership roles, directing strategic transactions and growth advisory mandates for high-growth tech and media services enterprises. This comprehensive, decade-long transaction baseline equips Lena with master-level command over M&A deal execution, financial modeling, corporate strategy, due diligence, and market expansion. Her distinct domain intelligence positions her uniquely to eliminate transaction friction, bridge strategic vision with seamless deal execution, and deliver immediate long-term structural value for the premier global digital marketing pioneer. #LeadershipSpotlight #HeadOfCorporateDevelopment #CorporateDevelopment #Croud #DigitalMarketing #MandA #CorporateStrategy #BusinessGrowth #ExecutiveAppointment Vivek Bhattacharya | Mahejabin Naik | Ashfiya Mujahid | Linda Davis | Snehashish Chakkravarty | hafeez Shaikh | Atharva Parab | SkillTech | SKILL AI | Bimalendu Adhikari | Pravin kumar pujari

Some of the best lessons in business come from people who've already made the decisions you're facing. This October, TechExit Toronto brings together founders who've built and sold companies, investors backing Canada's next generation of technology businesses, and operators helping create lasting enterprise value. Hear from leaders including: ➡️ Bryn Jones — PartnerStack (Acquired by AppDirect) ➡️ Michael Hyatt — DataStealth.io & Co-Founder of BlueCat (Acquired by Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC) ➡️ Kazi Ahmed — Carbon6(Acquired by SPS Commerce for $305M CAD) ➡️ John Ruffolo — Maverix Private Equity ➡️ Christen Leinwand (Daniels) — Georgian ➡️ Andrew McLeod — Certn And this is just the beginning. Explore the speaker lineup and see who's joining us in Toronto this October: https://lnkd.in/eGSSpHxG #TechExit #TechExitToronto #CanadianTech #SaaS #Founders #EnterpriseValue #TechLeadership

The easiest part of an acquisition is signing it. The hardest part starts the next morning. Nobody plans for the deal that gets applause on the day and silence three years later. The logic looked sound, the numbers held, the announcement went well. What quietly went wrong was almost always the same thing. The company never really became part of anything. It kept running as it always had, drifting a little` further each quarter, and the value everyone had modelled on a slide never turned up in the field. So I have stopped weighing an acquisition mainly by what it costs to get in. I weigh it against a harder question. A year after we own this business, is everything around it measurably better for its being here? Can one company see more because of it? Can another move faster? If the honest answer is that it simply sits alongside the rest, it was probably the wrong deal, however good the company itself. That discipline costs us real opportunities. It means walking away from profitable, well-run businesses that would add to the total without changing it. But a portfolio that only gets bigger is a different thing from one that gets stronger, and over time, the market learns to tell them apart. The ones worth owning are the ones that leave everything near them better than they found it. They are rare. They are also the only ones that justify the hard part, which is never the buying. It is the integration. #CorporateDevelopment #Strategy #EnergyTechnology

LPX50 Listed Private Equity Index constituent company, Apollo Global Management, Inc. has completed the acquisitions of Emerald and Questex combining the two businesses to create a scaled B2B experiential events and media platform. The combined company will integrate Emerald’s portfolio of trade shows, conferences, consumer events, content and commerce platforms with Questex’s live events, data capabilities and year-round digital communities. As part of the transaction, Emerald has been taken private, with its common stock ceasing trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Emerald shareholders are receiving $5.03 per share in cash. The July 14 completion announcement does not disclose a total transaction value for the combined Emerald and Questex acquisitions or a separate acquisition value for Questex. Apollo plans to support the combined platform in accelerating organic growth, investing in innovation and expanding its portfolio and capabilities. The two businesses will be fully integrated over the coming months, with Paul Miller serving as CEO of the combined company and a newly appointed executive leadership team overseeing its development. The transaction represents a platform consolidation strategy, bringing together two complementary businesses to create greater scale across B2B events, media and digital engagement. The combination provides Apollo with multiple avenues for value creation through integration, organic expansion, portfolio development and investment in technology and innovation, while transforming Emerald from a publicly traded company into a privately owned platform positioned for longer-term strategic development. Apollo Global Management is a global alternative investment firm specialising in private equity, credit and real assets. Established in 1990 and headquartered in New York, Apollo employs an opportunistic, value-oriented investment approach, frequently targeting complex or distressed assets to achieve long-term growth. As of March 31, 2026, Apollo had approximately $1.03 trillion in assets under management (AUM). 🔷 Link to official press release 👉 https://lnkd.in/eUsSSZc7 🔷 Subscribe to Listed Private Equity Barometer published by LPX AG 👉 https://lnkd.in/ex-E8nej Disclaimer: This content is provided for informational purposes and none of the content here should be construed as financial advice or an offer or solicitation for securities. The content is not intended to provide a sufficient basis on which to make an investment decision. The past performance is not indicative of future results.   #privateequity #privatecredit #privatedebt #alternativeinvestments #privatemarkets #PEInsights

Rewriting the Private Equity Playbook For decades, much of private equity in the automotive aftermarket has focused on one thing: buying shops and rolling them together. That creates scale. But scale alone doesn’t create transformation. At Houston Boston Partnership, Auto Hospitality Group, and Autoshop Answers, we’re building something fundamentally different. We’re integrating businesses not just acquiring them. Our playbook begins before a transaction ever closes. It continues during the integration and accelerates long after the acquisition. Instead of handing operators a financial model and hoping for the best, we deliver a proven operating system that has been refined over 40 years: Leadership development Auto Hospitality™ culture Sales and guest experience training AI-powered operational tools Marketing and media systems Recruiting and staffing solutions Back office playbook integration Live KPI dashboards and accountability Inbound/Outbound Call center and customer retention systems Fortune 500 level processes built specifically for independent automotive service The objective isn’t simply to own more locations. The objective is to help every acquired company become more valuable than it was before it joined us. When integration is done correctly, shops can improve revenue, profitability, customer experience, employee engagement, and enterprise value far faster than through ownership alone. Most importantly, we’re not building for a single exit. We’re building organizations that can thrive through multiple ownership cycles, creating value for operators, investors, employees, and customers for years to come. That’s the difference between buying businesses… …and building an operating platform. After more than 40 years in this industry, I believe the future of private equity isn’t just capital. It’s operational excellence. It’s integration. It’s culture. It’s people. That’s how you rewrite the playbook. #HoustonBostonPartnership #AutoHospitalityGroup #AutoShopAnswers #PrivateEquity #Integration #Leadership #AutomotiveAftermarket #BusinessTransformation #OperationalExcellence #EnterpriseValue #Culture #Growth #MergersAndAcquisitions #AutoHospitality

Sometimes, the most interesting part of an earnings call is not what management answers—but what it chooses not to. During Marico's earnings call, analysts asked several questions around the company's ambition to grow from roughly ₹10,000 crore in revenue to ₹20,000 crore by FY30. The discussion covered premiumisation, Foods, digital-first brands, international business and acquisitions. Management explained the strategy clearly: • Expand beyond commodity-led businesses. • Build premium brands. • Invest in new categories. • Pursue acquisitions where they strengthen the portfolio. The direction was clear. The destination was clear. But the roadmap remained intentionally broad. Management never identified which business would become the primary driver of this next phase of growth. Will it be Foods? Premium Personal Care? International markets? Or will the answer be a combination of all of them? That omission caught my attention because it reflects an interesting balance between transparency and strategy. Investors naturally seek certainty—they want to know which business will create the next wave of value. Management, however, has a different challenge. Revealing too much about future priorities can create expectations, reduce strategic flexibility, and provide signals to competitors. Perhaps that's why the conversation remained centred on a diversified portfolio of growth engines rather than a single future champion. For me, this was a reminder that analysing an earnings call isn't only about evaluating the answers. It's also about understanding the questions that remain open. #100DaysWithTVS #Marico #EarningsCall #FMCG The Valuation School Parth Verma

The latest Axial SMB M&A Pipeline (Q2 2026) confirms what many of us are seeing firsthand in the lower middle market: quality businesses continue to attract strong buyer interest. Article: https://lnkd.in/gENUx_FX Here are a few key takeaways from the report: 📈 Record deal flow. More than 3,500 businesses were brought to market during Q2 2026—the highest quarterly volume Axial has recorded. 🏭 Industrials remain the most active sector. For the fourth consecutive quarter, Industrials led both new opportunities and buyer engagement, highlighting continued demand for manufacturing and industrial businesses. 💻 Technology continues to gain momentum. Technology posted the strongest year-over-year growth in businesses coming to market, reflecting buyers' appetite for scalable, recurring-revenue companies. 🚚 Transportation and Healthcare remain in high demand. Buyer interest in these sectors continues to outpace the number of businesses available, creating favorable conditions for well-positioned sellers. So what does this mean for business owners? While headlines often focus on economic uncertainty, there is still a tremendous amount of capital actively seeking quality acquisition opportunities. Strategic buyers, private equity groups, and independent sponsors continue to compete for businesses with strong financial performance, recurring revenue, diversified customer bases, and solid management teams. If you're considering selling your business within the next 1–5 years, don't wait until you're ready to go to market. The businesses that achieve the strongest outcomes are typically those that begin preparing well in advance. Preparation creates options and options create value. If you're curious what your business may be worth in today's market, contact me for a complimentary, confidential business valuation. What trends are you seeing in today's M&A market? 📧 Jluna@vrsanantonio.com | 📞 210-966-4104 Javier Luna | Award-Winning M&A Advisor Business Sales $2M–$50M | 100% Confidential | No Upfront Fees | Free Valuation VR Has Sold More Businesses In The World Than Anyone® #MergersAndAcquisitions #BusinessBroker #BusinessOwner #ExitPlanning #BusinessValuation #PrivateEquity #LowerMiddleMarket #Manufacturing #Healthcare #Technology #Transportation #Entrepreneur #SellYourBusiness #Acquisitions #SMB

Two German software businesses took private capital in early 2025. Collaboration Factory, the Munich company behind the project-management platform cplace, sold a majority to Level Equity in January. Checkmk, the Munich IT-monitoring vendor, took a strategic investment from PSG a month later. Eighteen months on, both are at the point in the hold where the C-suite gets built out. That timing is not a coincidence. There is a predictable lag between a mid-market platform deal and the leadership build-out it triggers. The first year goes on the thesis: integration, the operating model, the early commercial push. The C-suite hiring, the institutional CFO, the COO who can run a bigger business, the commercial leader who can carry the equity story, tends to land twelve to eighteen months after completion, once the sponsor knows exactly which seats the plan actually needs. The constraint in the DACH mid-market right now is supply. The 2024 and early-2025 vintage of platform deals is entering its build-out phase at the same time, and the pool of executives who have scaled a German or Austrian software business through a full PE hold is not deep. Sponsors who wait for the perfect internal signal before starting the search find the market has moved ahead of them. We are mapping the German-speaking software leadership market continuously, and the pattern holds: the businesses that start the leadership conversation early, before the seat is empty, fill it with the right person. The ones that wait fill it with whoever is available. #PrivateEquity #ExecutiveSearch #DACH #Leadership #SaaS #CFO #COO #GrowthEquity #Germany #HMNCapital