I've heard quality of earnings thrown around a lot when it comes to the question of deal killers. Do you think owners of these small business see search fund buyers as a way out of a potentially dire situation? Said differently...do you think quality of earnings is a problem because most owners are in situations they desperately want out of (so they try to make company earnings seem better than they are)?

Due diligence, if professionally handled, will always outline a lot of aspects and “problems”. Why? A lot of aspects or decisions in companies can be argued, discussed by tax authorities or could be done using other methods, thus producing different outcomes. Fraud set aside; your most important decision is “what are you going to do about it?” No seller fully discloses, no one does, it would take ages and a perfect memory. But it does mean it was on purpose or it’s problematic. On the other hand, full access to all and total transparency is mandatory. Then, you read the due diligence report and you’ll have a feeling if it breaks the deal or not but most of the time it’ll be a lot of aspects leading to deal price renegotiations or seller's warranty terms and level discussions.