After an acquisition, make the seller’s role explicit on Day 1. If the transition is vague, tension builds. If the seller stays in functional or emotional control, your clarity and performance slip.

Expect conflict when the seller remains “customer-facing” or informally approves pricing, hiring, or priorities. Employees default to the old boss, decisions get disputed, and leadership blurs. In these cases, move ownership fast: reassign accounts, publish decision rights, and narrow the seller’s lane.

In more successful cases, give the outgoing owner a well-defined consulting or advisory role, focusing on specific domains such as international sales, maintaining connections or relationships, or helping in transition planning—but not daily operational control. This preserves institutional knowledge while ensuring you, the new owner, are fully in charge.

Negotiate earn-outs carefully. Overly demanding terms or unrealistic targets can provoke disagreement later. Push the calculation of targets at least 12 months post-closing to gain control of the organization before potential disagreements arise. Sellers usually resist EBITDA-based targets, as costs can be inflated by the new owner. Conversely revenue-based targets ignore cost structure. A balanced option can be gross profit. The keys are transparency, achievable milestones, and aligned incentives.

The human side matters. Attachment, loyalty, and legacy are real. Treat the seller with respect while anchoring authority with you.

In practice, aim to quickly anchor authority with you: publish org chart and signature limits, run a 60–90–120d client handoff (joint calls, warm handoffs, buyer-led QBRs), capture the knowledge in a shared playbook, align key staff with modest rollover, and tighten governance. Codify all of this in writing.

Nordic buy-out deal value reached its highest level since Q2 2022 in Q2 2025, lifted by strong growth in Norway (+35%), Finland (+20%), and Sweden (+7%), even though Denmark declined. This suggests that in the Nordics, PE is selectively recovering in core buy-out markets, with opportunity for funds and searchers.

Completed Fundraise:

Italy-based Albatross Partners, founded by Briano Castelli, Juan Pablo Meneses, and Peter Kelly, has raised nearly €700k from international and Italian investors, to acquire a high-potential Italian business in a growing B2B sector. Their goal is to complete an initial transaction with an EV upwards of €15M.

Transactions:

Spain-based Acacia Capital has acquired 100% of Letʼs Health, a healthcare marketing and communications company founded in 2007 by Javier Soria. The company reported c.a. €5M revenue with a +30% EBITDA-Margin in 2023.

Spain-based Terra Firma Capital, founded by Marc Giné, has acquired Catalan Termotur and Airnou to build an HVAC roll-up. The combined group generates ~€10m in sales.

Tim Ludvig shares lessons from backing 60+ companies and later becoming a disciplined buyer himself. He explains how search funds work, what makes a resilient “easy to run, hard to breakˮ business, the profile of a great first-time CEO, and why singles and doubles compound into winning outcomes.

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