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
Solo Sponsor: 5 Deals & 2 Exits
Steven McGrath's journey from family office exec to solo independent sponsor with 5 deals and 2 exits, building companies with zero debt and entrepreneurial grit.
Expand Multiple by Zone-Skipping EBITDA
How Bobby Sheth closed 10 platform deals in 4 years by targeting fixable issues and using conservative structures to navigate business risks and maximize exit value.
The State of SaaS in 2025
Bob Koven shares insights on SaaS maturity in 2025, the shift to profitability over growth, AI as a strategic differentiator, and how the independent sponsor model has evolved to require infrastructure.