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

Carving Out an 8x MOIC in 3 Years
Doug Song shares his independent sponsor journey, co-sponsoring strategy, and advice on navigating today's capital landscape for dealmakers.

Quadruple EBITDA in 3.5 Years, Then Exit at 14x
From theater to PE: How Cory Sandrock applies stagecraft principles to build successful businesses, attract partners, and deliver exceptional returns.

Pushed Out by Anchor Investor
Learn how Neal Doshi recovered from a devastating anchor investor betrayal to build a successful acquisition strategy with valuable lessons for independent sponsors.