Research &amp; Insights

August 25, 20269 min read

The Questions You'll Get

Private equity diligence gets specific once a sponsor establishes that a founder is genuinely interested in transacting. This guide explains the questions reagent founders should expect—from reproducibility and manufacturing to IP, customer concentration, automation, and growth—and what each question is really testing.

Isomorphic Labs Raises $2.1 Billion: What It Means for AI Drug Discovery Valuations

Isomorphic Labs, the AI drug discovery company spun out of Google DeepMind, raised $2.1B in a Series B led by Thrive Capital, with sovereign capital from MGX, Temasek, and the UK Sovereign AI Fund joining alongside Alphabet's GV and CapitalG. Total capital raised is now ~$2.7B with no drug yet dosed in humans. The investor composition signals a reframing of AI drug discovery from speculative biotech to AI infrastructure, with implications for valuations across the sector. We unpack the cross-pollination of investors across OpenAI, Anthropic, and Isomorphic, the two distinct buying motions (foundation model spinouts vs. milestone-heavy pharma deals), and what Isomorphic's clinical timeline now means for the entire $90B+ AI-life-sciences deal landscape.

May 12, 20269 min read

Healthcare Services

Partner-to-Acquire: How Roche's PathAI Deal Is Quietly Becoming the Default Playbook for Healthcare AI M&A

Roche's $1.05B acquisition of PathAI in May 2026 was a five-year partner-to-acquire arc, not a 90-day diligence sprint. Medtronic/CathWorks followed the same playbook. The pattern is now the default structure for healthcare AI M&A: strategic acquirers underwrite assets through commercial partnerships, co-development, and minority investments — then convert to ownership once the technology and revenue are de-risked. The hidden risk for founders is structural: standard partnership terms (ROFRs, exclusivity, change-of-control consent, information rights) routinely lock companies into a single bidder before anyone realizes an exit conversation is underway. The same dynamic now extends down-market to lower middle market healthcare companies partnered with health systems, payer organizations, and lab consolidators.

May 12, 202610 min read

April 22, 202613 min read

The Quiet Omic: Why Metabolomics M&A Has Avoided the Platform Trap

Metabolomics is larger and more clinically embedded than proteomics — lipid panels, newborn screening, inborn errors of metabolism, therapeutic drug monitoring — yet it has never produced a Seer-style platform crisis. This Part II of the Omics Series unpacks why: chemical heterogeneity, multiple legitimate detection technologies (LC-MS, GC-MS, NMR), and fragmented clinical adoption made venture-scale platform consolidation structurally impossible. Instead, the M&A pattern (Bruker–Biocrates, Waters–BD, Metabolon, Nightingale) has been the slower, steadier kind that creates value: large analytical instrument companies acquiring profitable, application-specific reagent and service businesses with sticky workflow integration. The framework that explains metabolomics also explains where buy-and-build returns will come from across the rest of the omics map.

The Hidden Engine of Life Sciences: Why the Reagent Industry Is One of the Best M&A Opportunities You've Never Heard Of

The U.S. reagent industry is a $20B market that is highly fragmented, structurally profitable, and actively consolidating. With 60–80% gross margins, recurring revenue, low capital intensity, and high customer switching costs, it has the financial profile that PE and strategic acquirers pay premium multiples for — yet most of the companies in this space are founder-operated and have never spoken to an investment banker. This sector report unpacks the business model, six trends reshaping the market, recent transactions (Thermo Fisher/Olink, Illumina/SomaLogic, Bruker/PreOmics), and what drives valuation in a private reagent company.

April 19, 20268 min read

April 19, 202614 min read

Seer, Inc. (SEER): Breakthrough Technology, Broken Commercialization, and a Live Acquisition Proposal

Seer, Inc. (NASDAQ: SEER) is one of those rare companies where the technology is genuinely world-class — Proteograph's nanoparticle-based deep proteomics platform, validated alongside Olink in the 100,000-person PRECISE-SG100K Singapore cohort — and the stock is still down 96%+ from its 2020 IPO, trading below cash. This Part II of the Omics Series unpacks what Proteograph does, why it matters as a complement to Olink/Thermo Fisher, the Radoff-JEC Group activist campaign and poison pill battle, the March 2026 patent ruling against Bruker, and why the activist case and strategic logic both point to the same conclusion: Seer is worth more as an acquisition than as a standalone public company.

April 19, 202622 min read

Proteomics: The Omics Series — Part I

Proteomics is one of the fastest-growing segments in the life sciences tools market — $28–36B globally in 2024, projected to reach $58–145B by 2030–2034 at 12–15% CAGR. This Part I of the Omics Series covers the full landscape: the technology stack (mass spec, affinity platforms, spatial proteomics, AI bioinformatics), the key players (Thermo Fisher, Danaher, Bruker, Agilent, Olink, SomaLogic, Standard BioTools), the M&A wave (Thermo/Olink $3.1B, Danaher/Abcam $5.7B), the hot 2025 topics (population-scale plasma proteomics, single-cell, GLP-1 research, RUO-to-IVD translation), and what makes a private proteomics company command premium multiples.

The Relationship Web: AI + Life Sciences

An interactive network visualization mapping every major deal, partnership, and acquisition at the intersection of AI and life sciences — Anthropic, OpenAI, Google/DeepMind, Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, Roche, and 30+ more. Click any node to explore connections. Click any edge for deal details. $90B+ across 50 transactions, 2018–2026.

April 5, 2026Interactive

March 20, 202612 min read

SaaS Is Just Recurring Revenue. AI Broke the Rest.

Strip away the mythology and what made SaaS companies worth 10–20x revenue was one thing: predictable, recurring subscription revenue with near-zero marginal cost. That model is now breaking. This piece examines the FactSet paradox, the margin problem nobody wants to talk about, and why the most valuable SaaS companies were never really software companies — they were data-and-distribution companies all along.

The Rise of the AI-Native Rollup

OpenAI and Anthropic are going to private equity to solve the enterprise AI adoption problem. Rollup operators have a more elegant solution: buy the company and deploy AI yourself. Over $3 billion has been deployed into AI-native rollup strategies in the past 18 months — in HOA management, accounting, legal, insurance, and managed IT. This piece explains the financial mechanics and why the thesis is working.

March 16, 20267 min read

March 10, 202615 min read

The Race to Own Clinical Development Intelligence

A new category of AI-driven tools has emerged to answer the most consequential question in drug development: will this drug succeed? This article maps the competitive landscape across five categories — PTRS prediction, trial design, clinical data platforms, pharma intelligence databases, and real-world evidence — explains why consolidation is accelerating, and identifies where the white space sits.

Clinical Laboratories

The Clinical Laboratory M&A Landscape

The U.S. clinical laboratory market is a $96B sector informing 70% of medical decisions yet representing only 3% of healthcare spending. Five structural forces — hospital outreach divestiture, post-COVID shakeout, PAMA reimbursement pressure, workforce scarcity, and specialty testing growth — are accelerating consolidation. This report covers segment valuations, the Big Three acquirers, key value drivers, and a preparation roadmap for lab owners.

March 7, 202614 min read

Clinical Laboratories

The Laboratory Reagent Landscape: What Independent Lab Owners Need to Understand

The reagent market is one of the most consequential and least discussed operational realities in independent lab M&A. This article covers the razor-razorblade model, the Big Four's market control, pain points like volume commitments and platform lock-in, and how reagent contracts directly affect valuation in a sale process.

March 5, 20269 min read

Clinical Laboratories

How AI Is Reshaping the Clinical Laboratory Industry (And What It Means for Lab Owners)

AI is transforming clinical laboratories across pathology, diagnostics, and workflow automation. This article examines where AI is creating real value, how it's becoming a valuation driver in lab M&A, and profiles the startup ecosystem reshaping the industry — from PathAI and Tempus to revenue cycle AI tools with direct EBITDA impact.

March 3, 202610 min read

Construction & AEC

AEC M&A: The 2025–2027 Window

Construction M&A hit a record 562 transactions in 2025, up 18% YoY, with PE buyers overtaking strategics for the first time. Infrastructure spending, labor scarcity, PE capital deployment, and boomer retirements are converging to create the most favorable M&A window in a decade.

March 1, 202612 min read

February 25, 20268 min read

Construction & AEC

Selling Your Construction Business: What Contractors Need to Know Before Going to Market

The construction industry is in the middle of a generational ownership transition. PE platforms, regional consolidators, and national contractors are actively acquiring in the lower middle market. This guide covers what buyers look for, how construction businesses are valued, and common mistakes owners make when selling.

February 20, 20267 min read

Collision Repair

How to Sell a Body Shop: The MSO Buyer Landscape Explained

The collision repair industry is mid-consolidation. National consolidators, regional MSOs, and PE-backed platforms are actively acquiring independent shops. This guide explains the buyer landscape, what acquirers look for including DRP relationships and cycle time, and how shop owners can position themselves for a successful sale.

February 15, 20267 min read

Aviation Services

Selling an FBO: Valuation, Buyers, and What Acquirers Actually Want

Fixed Base Operators occupy a unique position in the lower middle market. They are asset-intensive, location-dependent businesses with real barriers to entry and meaningful recurring revenue. This guide covers the FBO consolidation landscape, what buyers evaluate including lease terms, fuel economics, and hangar capacity, and how to navigate a sale.

February 10, 20267 min read

Healthcare Services

Selling a Healthcare Services Business: What Owners Need to Know

Healthcare services is one of the most active M&A sectors in the lower middle market. Dental practices, behavioral health groups, home health agencies, and specialty care providers are being acquired at a rapid pace. This guide covers the regulatory environment, what buyers evaluate, valuation ranges, and common mistakes owners make.

February 5, 20267 min read

Specialty Contractors

M&A for Specialty Contractors: HVAC, Fire Protection, Electrical, and Plumbing

Specialty contracting businesses have become one of the most sought-after acquisition categories in the lower middle market. PE has discovered these businesses for their recurring service revenue, essential services demand, and fragmented markets. This guide covers the buyer landscape, valuation drivers, and what owners need to know.

January 30, 20266 min read

Business Services

How to Sell a Staffing or HR Services Firm in the Lower Middle Market

Business services and staffing firms generate predictable, recurring revenue, require minimal capital investment, and scale through people rather than assets. This guide covers valuation drivers including client concentration, revenue predictability, and key-person risk, along with structural deal considerations unique to services firms.

January 25, 20266 min read

Environmental Services

Environmental Services M&A: Who Is Buying and What They Pay

Environmental services businesses sit at the intersection of regulatory necessity and growing demand for environmental accountability. This guide covers the buyer universe including PE-backed platforms and engineering conglomerates, what buyers evaluate, valuation ranges, and the unique considerations around government contracts and technical staff retention.

Transportation & Logistics

Selling a Niche Trucking or Logistics Business: What Owners Need to Know

PE-backed platforms, publicly traded carriers, and logistics holding companies are acquiring lower middle market operators at an increasing pace, particularly in niches where specialization creates pricing power. This guide covers the specialty carrier landscape, what buyers evaluate including CSA scores and fleet quality, and current valuation ranges.

January 20, 20266 min read

January 15, 20266 min read

What Is the Lower Middle Market? Why $1-10M EBITDA Is the Most Overlooked Deal Size

There are approximately 200,000 privately held businesses in the United States generating between $1M and $10M in EBITDA. They employ tens of millions of workers. Yet this market is served primarily by generalist business brokers. This article explains why the lower middle market is different, how PE is reshaping it, and what good advisory looks like.