What Private Equity Buyers Really Want in a Business

In this episode Jacob Oros interviews Eric Wicklant of Spaceside Equity, revealing why middle‑market manufacturers between $100 million and $300 million in revenue dominate the firm’s pipeline. The partners look for “corporate orphan” businesses—family‑owned, solo‑founder, or carve‑outs with misaligned ownership that are under‑managed and often over‑indebted. Those structures create clear upside for a private‑equity sponsor that can inject capital and operational expertise. By staying below the $500 million ceiling, Spaceside avoids the bureaucratic inertia that slows decision‑making, ensuring that value‑creation initiatives can be executed quickly and efficiently.

Spaceside’s playbook splits into a ‘fix’ phase and a ‘build’ phase, supported by a 27‑tool value‑creation system—18 tools for operational improvement and nine for growth initiatives such as bolt‑on acquisitions, new product launches, and geographic expansion. Wicklant emphasizes that roughly 20 % of the effort goes into sourcing the right target, while the remaining 80 % is spent reshaping processes, upgrading technology, and aligning management incentives. The firm’s operator‑first culture—partners with former C‑level experience—allows them to work side‑by‑side with portfolio teams, turning under‑performing plants into industry‑standard operations.

The results speak for themselves: the Opta Group deal grew EBITDA from $8 million to $80 million in seven years, a ten‑fold increase achieved largely through organic improvements rather than heavy capital outlays. Wicklant also notes that macro factors like tariff volatility depress multiples, creating buying opportunities for firms willing to navigate uncertainty. For business owners contemplating a sale, the episode stresses early preparation, clear ownership transition plans, and the importance of partnering with investors who can both fix operational gaps and fund future growth. Spaceside’s deep‑value approach mirrors Buffett’s philosophy but targets “scratch‑and‑dent” companies at attractive prices and they will put a new layer of paint on the dents to create value.