Buyout Diary

Buyout Diary

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The cuts you have to make to run a part-time search.

The honest math nobody publishes: a search needs hours you do not have, so something has to go.
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There is no front door. Here is how I built one anyway.
Three small moves that compound, and the one mistake most searchers make in their first six months.
 • Alexander Kelm
Nine months in. Two deals broke. Here is everything I learned.
Everything I got wrong, everything I would keep, and what is coming next.
 • Alexander Kelm
Stanford’s 2026 Search Fund Primer is out. Three domains where it stops working for Europe.
Investor base, deal structures, operating environment. A structural comparison no one has published systematically anywhere.
 • Alexander Kelm
Why even Bernard Arnault could not turn Tiffany around fast enough
Two record years. Then market share losses to Cartier. The honest version of the $15.8 billion integration.
 • Alexander Kelm
Why financial engineering alone will not generate the returns you need
Operations, tech stack, and finance function. The three durable levers most buyers underuse.
 • Alexander Kelm
LVMH tried to kill the Tiffany deal. Then closed it for $425 million less.
Inside the biggest legal dispute in luxury history and the $425M lesson at the end.
 • Alexander Kelm
How to close your first European acquisition when the equity gap is real
Bank debt, seller financing, subsidies, and a capital partner — how the full stack fits together
 • Alexander Kelm
How Arnault integrated BVLGARI without destroying what made it valuable
The post-acquisition playbook most buyers never build
 • Alexander Kelm
Before the bank opens your file, they have already decided
What European lenders are really thinking in the first meeting, and how to be ready for it
 • Alexander Kelm
Buyout Diary
Buyout Diary
Stories and strategies from the world of small business buyouts, HoldCos, and long-term ownership.
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Buyout Diary

Stories and strategies from the world of small business buyouts, HoldCos, and long-term ownership.
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Buyout Diary

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