Most founders, family owners and corporate sellers approach a private equity buyer only once or twice in a career. Bankers and brokers do it often, but every buyer works a little differently. This guide explains, as plainly as we can, how to bring a company to Caldrion Private Equity: what we look for, what to send, how we review it, what diligence involves and what happens after closing. Our aim is to save everyone time and to make the process as predictable as possible.
Who we are
Caldrion is a single family office and principal investor in New York. We invest only our own permanent capital, with no outside investors and no fixed fund lives. Private equity is one of Caldrion’s six investment pillars and its primary engine for capital appreciation. Decisions are made by a small internal investment committee that meets weekly. We need no outside approvals and no fundraising to close.
That has practical consequences for you. You deal directly with the people who decide. Our proposals are not subject to anyone else’s approval. And because we never need to sell on a timetable, we can be flexible about structure and patient about the transition.
Start with the criteria
Before you contact us, check the company against our published criteria. They are the same on this site and on caldrion.com.
- Revenue: $10M–$100M.
- EBITDA: $2M–$15M, with positive cash flow required.
- Margins: a gross margin above 25% and an EBITDA margin above 10%.
- Geography: North America, meaning the United States and Canada.
- Structure: control or significant minority stakes. In a minority position, we take board representation.
- Transactions: family successions, management buyouts, corporate carve-outs and recapitalizations.
Our criteria page includes a quick fit check. The ranges guide where we spend our time; they are not a promise to invest. If a company is close to the edges of a range for a reason that is easy to explain, tell us the reason.
We concentrate on niche manufacturing and industrial companies, business services, and healthcare services and consumer brands, along with family successions, carve-outs and management buyouts, and buy-and-build platforms in fragmented markets. If a company fits our criteria but not one of these areas, we still want to hear about it.
We do not invest in early-stage companies through private equity; they are the remit of Caldrion Ventures. We do not invest in businesses without positive cash flow or in rescues, and we do not take passive minority stakes without board representation.
What to send
Submit the company through the contact form on this site. The form takes links, not uploads: share a link to non-confidential materials (teaser, deck or data room); we sign NDAs promptly when there is mutual interest.
A complete package includes:
- A link to the teaser. We request the confidential information memorandum under NDA.
- A link to trailing three-year financials: the profit and loss statement and balance sheet.
- An overview of the ownership structure and the transaction goals.
The last item is often the most useful, and the one most often left out. Tell us who owns the company, what the owners want and why now. Are they seeking full liquidity, a partial sale, growth capital, a management transition or a partner for acquisitions? Does the founder want to stay involved? Is there a timetable we should know about? A few honest sentences here help us respond faster and more usefully than any amount of polished marketing.
If you are a founder without an advisor, you do not need a formal teaser to start. A short description of the business, recent financial results and your goals is enough for a first conversation.
How we review a company
When a complete package arrives, our private equity team reviews it against our criteria and focus areas. We aim to give initial feedback within 72 hours of receiving a complete package.
Initial feedback means one of three things. We may tell you the company is not a fit, and why. We may ask a few questions to understand it better. Or we may tell you we are interested and propose next steps. We will not promise a letter of intent or a term sheet by a particular date at this stage, because we will not have earned the right to one yet.
We would rather tell you no quickly than keep you waiting for a maybe. A fast, candid answer is a courtesy to every seller and every advisor.
Common reasons a company is not a fit
To save time on both sides, these are the reasons we most often decline a company at the first review:
- The company is outside our size ranges, or does not yet have positive cash flow.
- Margins fall well below our published criteria, without a clear and credible reason.
- The company is based outside the United States and Canada.
- The opportunity is a passive minority stake without board representation.
- The plan depends on a rescue or on heavy leverage rather than on operating improvement.
- The company is at an early stage, in which case Caldrion Ventures may be the right conversation.
NDA, management meeting and first proposal
If there is mutual interest, we sign an NDA promptly and request the confidential information memorandum and any further information we need to form a view. We will then ask to meet the founders and management, ideally at the business itself. We learn more from an afternoon on a shop floor, at a branch or in a clinic than from many pages of analysis.
In these early conversations, we try to understand the company the way its leaders do: why customers buy, what makes the work difficult, where the business is strongest and where it is most vulnerable, and what the leaders would do with more resources. We will also share how we think about ownership, what we would hope to help with, and what we would not change.
When we are ready to make a proposal, our investment committee approves the terms before we present them. When we sign a letter of intent, we intend to close on those terms.
What diligence involves
Our diligence is confirmatory and focused. We aim to concentrate on what actually matters for the business rather than to produce the largest possible pile of reports.
Typically, diligence covers:
- Financial. Quality of earnings, working capital, capital spending needs, the reliability of reporting and the cash the business actually produces.
- Commercial. Customers, markets, competitive position, pricing and the durability of demand. Where appropriate, and only with the owners’ agreement and at the right moment, conversations with customers.
- Operational. Facilities, equipment, systems, supply chain, safety and the processes that drive quality.
- People. The leadership team, key employees, compensation, culture and succession.
- Legal, tax, environmental and regulatory. Contracts, compliance, licenses, environmental obligations and, in healthcare, reimbursement and regulatory matters.
We use experienced outside advisors where their expertise helps, and we coordinate their work so that management is not overwhelmed. We know that diligence lands on people who still have a business to run, and we try to respect their time.
We communicate openly during diligence. If we find something that concerns us, we tell you promptly and directly, rather than saving it for the end. We do not re-trade at the eleventh hour.
Closing
We close on our own capital. There is no financing condition and no fundraising to close. That gives sellers a degree of certainty that we believe is valuable, especially for founders who have one opportunity to get the transaction right.
After closing
Ownership is where our work begins. In the months after closing, we typically work with management on a shared plan for the business: priorities for the first year, the governance rhythm of the board, reporting improvements and the talent the company will need. For a carve-out, there is also the work of standing up a standalone company: finance, IT, HR, procurement and transition services from the former parent.
We join boards and work alongside management, but management runs the business. Our role is to provide direction, accountability and support, including access to executives and advisors, capital for investment and acquisitions, and experience in professionalizing operations.
For bankers, brokers and advisors
We value business brokers, investment bankers and M&A advisors as extensions of our team. We respect buy-side mandates and standard fee agreements on introduced transactions. When a company is not a fit, we say so quickly and explain why, so you can move on with your process. And when it is a fit, we aim to be the buyer you can recommend to a client with confidence.
For founders considering a sale
If you are early in your thinking, you are welcome to talk with us before you hire an advisor or set a timetable. Many of the best transitions begin years before a sale. A first conversation commits you to nothing, and we will be candid about whether we believe we are the right partner for your company.
For co-investors
From time to time, other investors may invest directly in a company alongside Caldrion. Co-investment always means investing directly in the company, never into a Caldrion vehicle, and Caldrion offers no securities to anyone.
Getting in touch
The fastest way to reach a decision-maker is the contact form on this site. You can also call our New York office at +1 212 390 1700, but initial company submissions should come through the form so that we have what we need to give you a useful answer.
This article reflects Caldrion’s views as of November 2026. It is not an offer of securities or investment advice.