815 Independent Sponsor Deals Analyzed
Greg Brown is a Professor of Finance at UNC Kenan-Flagler and Founder of the Institute for Private Capital. On July 15, 2026, he published the first large-scale study of independent sponsor performance, covering 815 deals. Investor-reported transactions generated a 2.86x average gross TVPI and 29.3% gross IRR, outperforming matched non-IS PE deals by 0.73x TVPI and 11.4% IRR on average, with no statistically significant increase in downside risk.
More recent episodes
Skipping $2m EBITDA Deals ("The Messy Middle")
Dan Tamkin of Resurgent Capital Partners shares his barbell strategy for lower-middle market PE deals, avoiding the "messy middle" to maximize returns.
Financing Add-Ons Without New Equity
Sam Turner built Advantos Group into a leading UK facilities maintenance roll-up through disciplined capital management, technology integration, and conservative leverage below 2x EBITDA.
Partner Equity, Not Private Equity
Craig Dupper of Elan Growth Partners champions partner equity over private equity, prioritizing high rollover equity and true partnerships in lower-middle market investing with proven results.