Private equity is losing its edge.

Well, quick-flip model may be.

Holding periods are longer. Is this a recession indicator? Inflation? Tariffs? Supply chain? Is this an AI problem?

I don’t know. I don’t know if anyone really knows.

What we do know is that this is the strongest case yet for doubling down on value creation.

In fact, I like the idea of buy-and-build becoming more popular, of institutional capital being used in a precise scope to grow good companies into great businesses, especially when it’s done for lower-middle market industrials.

Tricky.

You need a knowledge foundation (that doesn’t live between the owner’s head and sticky notes).

You need culture management.

You may need new leadership.

What we do know is that the information needed to effectively deploy value creation strategies triples post-close. New reports and detailed analyses need to be created and structured, yesterday, without overwhelming the existing teams and infrastructure.

This could be a 12-month ERP project (not recommended).

Or, it could be a plan to bolster the office of the CFO, which is the information engine behind finance, ops, and board-level reports.