Karim Anani, EY Americas Financial Accounting and Advisory Services Transactions Leader, and Mark Schwartz, Head of IPO and SPAC Capital Markets Advisory, join Winna Brown to explore why SPACs remain highly relevant despite market volatility and regulatory headwinds. Contact Karim: [email protected]  Contact Mark: [email protected]  In 2021, more than 40% of new public companies listed through mergers with SPACs. While SPACs have been around for decades, the boom of the last few years...

[Episode originally published 12/16/2021] Tyler Brewster, Senior Director at EY-Parthenon, joins Winna Brown to reveal the drivers behind PE’s increasing presence in pro sports and explore both the opportunities and risks for investors. Contact Tyler: [email protected]  Private equity (PE) is now undeniably present in the world of professional sports. According to Pitchbook, over the past 18 months, PE firms have taken on passive stakes in professional sports franchises and...

Greg Daco, EY-Parthenon Chief Economist, joins Winna Brown to discuss how macroeconomic factors such as inflation, monetary policy and the labor shortage will impact PE investment decisions and theses. To discover more PE perspectives and insights, visit ey.com/privateequity. These seven gauges will indicate how much PE activity will take place in the coming year: The positioning of a company in its sector Whether the sector is positively or negatively impacted by inflation How much...

Pete Witte, EY Global Private Equity Lead Analyst, explores the key themes and market dynamics from 1Q 2022 that are top of mind for PE investors. PE Pulse is a quarterly report and corresponding podcast miniseries that provides analysis and insights on private equity market activity and trends. Visit https://www.ey.com/pepulse to view this quarter’s summary and infographic.   Five takeaways from 1Q 2022: The macroeconomic environment is top of mind for investors as uncertainty impacts...

Greg Schooley, EY-Parthenon US Value Creation Leader, joins Winna Brown to discuss what tasks PE is outsourcing across business functions such as finance, IT, HR and customer service to create value. The path to successful value creation in private equity (PE) today goes beyond typical levers such as G&A cost-cutting, sales force effectiveness and strategic sourcing. It’s about an approach that leverages digital tools including automation, strategic outsourcing and advanced analytics. ...

Danny Warshay, Executive Director of the Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship at Brown University, explores how the “See, Solve, Scale” entrepreneurial process can help PE investors screen potential investments. Partnering with a private equity (PE) firm has become especially attractive for founders of lower and middle market companies that aim for transformational, sustainable growth. As active and engaged investors, PE brings not only capital, but specialized industry expertise and...

Pam Jackson, CEO of Level20, joins Winna Brown to reveal how mentorship programs can help women build long-term careers in PE.  According to a report that EY teams recently published on diversity, equity and inclusiveness (DEI), the private equity industry’s ability to meet stakeholder demands, access capital, win deals and compete for talent is increasingly contingent on progress against DEI metrics. Talent management has become the number two strategic priority across PE firms of all...

In this episode, Laura Grattan, Managing Director at Crosspoint Capital, and Jeff Vogel, Head of the Software Strategy Group at EY-Parthenon, join Winna Brown to explore how PE firms can position themselves to win tech deals in today’s highly competitive market. Contact Laura: [email protected] Contact Jeff: [email protected] According to the latest EY PE Pulse report, 2021 was the year of the tech deal: 30% of total capital deployed last year was allocated to...

Pete Witte, EY Global Private Equity Lead Analyst, explores the key themes and market dynamics from 4Q 2021 that are top of mind for PE investors. PE Pulse is a quarterly report and corresponding podcast miniseries that provides analysis and insights on private equity market activity and trends. Visit https://www.ey.com/pepulse to view this quarter’s summary and infographic.   Five takeaways from 4Q 2021: 2021 was a year for the record books for private equity (PE) firms, with investment...

In this episode, Nic Humphries, Senior Partner and Executive Chairman of Hg, joins Winna Brown to explore how Hg’s philosophy of curiosity and experimentation has enabled it to become one of the most active technology investors in the world. Contact Nic: [email protected]  As an early adopter of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and analytics, Hg has embraced an investment and organizational philosophy of curiosity and experimentation that has enabled it to become one of the...

In this episode, Tyler Brewster, Senior Director at EY-Parthenon, joins Winna Brown to reveal the drivers behind PE’s increasing presence in pro sports and explore both the opportunities and risks for investors. Contact Tyler: [email protected] Private equity (PE) is now undeniably present in the world of professional sports. According to Pitchbook, over the past 18 months, PE firms have taken on passive stakes in professional sports franchises and leagues after the NBA, MLB...

Tricia Glynn, a Partner at Advent International, shares best practices from Advent’s renowned DEI program and discusses how private equity (PE) firms can build an inclusive culture and incorporate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) into their value creation thesis. Tricia has been a PE investor for over 20 years and currently serves on boards such as Lululemon and Olaplex, and co-leads Advent’s North American Retail, Consumer and Leisure sector team.  To read EY's new report on DEI in PE,...

Entrepreneurs and companies seeking investment may find a family office (FO) a compelling alternative to private equity (PE). According to Preqin, family office deals currently represent 2.5% of total M&A deals, a small share but one that has been steadily increasing since the great financial crisis. The Economist estimates family offices manage assets worth an estimated US$4 trillion, with individual offices averaging $500 million to $1 billion in AUM according to Forbes. Our guest is...

Pete Witte, EY Global Private Equity Lead Analyst, explores the key themes and market dynamics from 3Q 2021 that are top of mind for PE investors. PE Pulse is a quarterly report and corresponding podcast miniseries that provides analysis and insights on private equity market activity and trends. Visit https://www.ey.com/pepulse to view this quarter’s summary and infographic.   Five takeaways from 3Q 2021: Global M&A markets are on their way to a record year, with private equity (PE)...

Hanne Thornam, EY Norway Head of Climate Change and Sustainability Services, joins Winna Brown to share why PE is in a unique position to lead our transition to a low-carbon, circular economy. Contact Hanne: [email protected] As private equity (PE) firms focus on ESG, they must also pivot to a long-term, forward-thinking mindset. For an industry accustomed to using historical data to project the next four to five years, this is no simple task; however, it is an existential one....

Political risk is creating challenges and opportunities for global organizations, including private equity (PE) firms and investors who are increasingly exploring cross-border deals as valuations soar across the US and Europe. On a previous episode, we talked about why PE firms must embed a geostrategy so they are able to recognize unique opportunities and use that strategy to inform their investment decisions. Today, we dive into three specific areas of geopolitical risk that are...

Luke Pais, EY ASEAN Private Equity Leader, explores why Southeast Asia is a vibrant region for PE investors who adeptly navigate local dynamics.   Contact Luke: [email protected] According to the Preqin Investor Survey conducted in November 2020, Southeast Asia is among the top three emerging markets ideal for private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) investment in the next 12 months. The region is welcoming to foreign capital, with entrepreneurs and family conglomerates actively...

Cybersecurity professionals John Nugent, Vice President at Apax and Paul Harragan, Associate Partner at EY-Parthenon, explore how PE can manage cybersecurity risk and why it should be viewed as a value creation lever rather than a cost. Contact Paul Harragan: [email protected]  Cyberattacks happen constantly, and companies display a wide range of preparedness. Private equity (PE), like any other industry, is not immune from this growing threat. 1H2021 saw increase in ransomware...

Pete Witte, EY Global Private Equity Lead Analyst, explores the key themes and market dynamics from 2Q 2021 that are top of mind for PE investors. The PE Pulse is a quarterly report and corresponding podcast miniseries that provides analysis and insights on private equity market activity and trends. Visit https://www.ey.com/pepulse to view the summary and infographic.   5 takeaways from 2Q 2021: Exit activity via M&A and IPO are seeing record levels of activity, which is impacting the...

Lindsey Kiely and Bhakti Nagalla of the EY-Parthenon Consumer Industries and Private Equity practices join Winna Brown to explore the consumer product categories, behaviors and trends investors should keep an eye on. Contact Lindsey: [email protected] Contact Bhakti: [email protected]  The consumer products and retail sectors have certainly been ones to watch. The COVID-19 pandemic both accelerated existing trends and forced the industry to accommodate novel...

Greg Brown, Executive Director at the Institute for Private Capital and Finance Professor at the University of North Carolina (UNC) Kenan-Flagler Business School, joins Winna Brown to discuss what the Institute’s academic research says about PE’s performance and the role private capital plays in the global economy. To get in touch with Greg, email [email protected]  The Institute for Private Capital (IPC) is a non-profit, multi-university research initiative that’s housed at the...

Jeff Vogel, EY-Parthenon US Managing Director and Head of the Software Strategy Group, joins Winna Brown to explore the complexities and key trends shaping the software deal landscape. Visit ey.com to read our latest private equity perspectives. The “software economy” is comprised of companies that sell or license software as well as software-enabled business services companies that differentiate themselves on the basis of their software. Because a software asset is especially complex to...

Tricia Glynn, a Partner at Advent International, shares best practices from Advent’s renowned DEI program and discusses how private equity (PE) firms can build an inclusive culture and incorporate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) into their value creation thesis. Tricia has been a PE investor for over 20 years and currently serves on boards such as Lululemon and Olaplex, and co-leads Advent’s North American Retail, Consumer and Leisure sector team.  For more information on Advent's DEI...

Pete Witte, EY Global Private Equity Lead Analyst, explores the key themes and market dynamics from Q1 2021 that are top of mind for PE investors. The PE Pulse is a quarterly report and corresponding podcast miniseries that provides analysis and insights on private equity market activity and trends. Visit https://www.ey.com/pepulse to view the summary and infographic.   5 takeaways from 1Q 2021: The first quarter of 2021 was a blockbuster quarter for PE deals, and in fact was the highest...

DeJeana Chappell, EY National Workplace Leader and Senior Manager in the EY Corporate Real Estate Practice, describes the focus areas and priorities of a robust workplace reimagination strategy. Contact DeJeana: [email protected]  Visit ey.com to read our latest private equity perspectives. The COVID-19 pandemic has given companies an opportunity to reimagine their real estate and talent strategies and self-disrupt legacy practices, philosophies and ways of working to shape their...