Is it still considered a searchfund if you already have the target in mind?

searcher profile

March 29, 2019

by a searcher from University of Pennsylvania - The Wharton School in Shanghai, China

There are 2 parties involved (the license holder and the licensee) and I have already started talking with the brand owner.
Once we come to an agreement on the structure of the relationship (license or JV), next step would be to find financing + convince the current licensee to terminate early and sell me the assets.

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commentor profile
Reply by an investor
from University of Notre Dame in Pittsburgh, PA, USA
I would just say if you have a target identified there is no need to offer the "Step-Up" to investors ala the typical search model. You already did the hard work. Having a deal signed up is very strong currency in today's market and there are many groups (like mine) that spend vast amount of marketing dollars and times trying to find these exact situations.. we typical refer to this area (non formal search funds) as independent sponsor if you search that term.
commentor profile
Reply by an investor
from Harvard University in San Francisco, CA, USA
Sounds similar to a self-funded search where you find a business and then raise capital. Certainly not a traditional search fund, but definitely part of the broader category of entrepreneurship through acquisition. You will find that some of the traditional search fund investors are open to investing in these types of deals.
commentor profile
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