Lack of Capital, Frothy Multiples, and the Growing Pains of Modern Search

As 2025 comes to a close, I wanted to make one final blog post for the year summarizing (in my view) the current state of search. The search community continues to grow, family offices continue to pile into the space, graduating MBA's anxiously await launching their new website, and ETA conferences are selling out. Yet, in my opinion, searchers and their investors are experiencing growing pains as the modern search model grows and expands. Increased valuations, uncertainty around raising sufficient debt and equity, and subscale assets are all contributing to a high hurdle to successfully close a transaction. In our latest blog post, I wanted to openly discuss some of the challenges that search is encountering and offer up tips to successfully close your next post-LOI opportunity. Have a happy, healthy holiday and I'm looking forward to continued dialogue and collaboration in 2026! Latest Blog Post: Lack of Capital, Frothy Multiples, and the Growing Pains of Modern Search https://www.riverstonereporting.com/post/lack-of-capital-frothy-multiples-and-the-growing-pains-of-modern-search Prior Blog Posts with tips for searchers (both traditional and self-funded): Sourcing Tips for Searchers https://www.riverstonereporting.com/post/sourcing-tips-for-searchers The Gap Equity Problem in Search https://www.riverstonereporting.com/post/the-gap-equity-problem-in-search