Build a holding company worth far more than the businesses inside it.
Whether you're looking for your first acquisition or already own a few, we give you the playbook: how to structure and raise the capital, who to put around you, and how to build a holding company worth far more than the sum of its parts, and far more than you could build on your own or by selling to private equity. Thirty years in the capital markets taught us exactly how.
You know how acquisitions work. You still haven't closed, or you're not sure how to do the next one.
You've listened to the podcasts, read the books, watched hours of videos on buying businesses. Maybe you've paid for a course or joined a mastermind. You know what an LOI is, what SBA 7(a) means and why seller financing matters. And yet the first deal hasn't happened, or the one you closed is taking all your time and the second one feels as far away as the first.
That isn't a knowledge problem. It's the absence of a plan built for your situation by someone who has actually done the transactions: how to structure and fund each deal, who should be around you, and what the business you're assembling could be worth.
Every valuable holding company is built on four levers.
Most acquirers pull one or two of them by instinct. The ones who build real wealth pull all four deliberately, in the right order, with the structures that make each one pay.
Capital
How deals actually get paid for: SBA loans, seller notes, earnouts, rollover equity, stock, special purpose vehicles and investors who back you deal by deal.
Talent
Operators to run what you buy, the seller's key people kept on with equity, and industry veterans who lend credibility with lenders and sellers.
Opportunities
Brokers bring their best deals to buyers who can close. Credibility, financing in place and a clear buy box put you at the front of that line.
Acquisitions
Buying profit at a lower multiple than your holding company is worth, then integrating it so the value shows up. That gap is the engine of every roll-up.
Why holding companies create value faster than the businesses inside them.
Small private companies sell for low multiples of their profit. A larger, well-run platform is valued at a higher one. Every acquisition you make captures part of that gap.
Illustration only. Real multiples depend on size, sector, growth and how well the business is run; overpaying or failing to integrate destroys value just as quickly.
Eight ways to pay for a business. Most first-time buyers know two.
The price of an acquisition is rarely one check. It's assembled from several sources, each paid from a different pocket, so you can buy a business worth far more than the cash you have.
| Tool | How it works | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Cash at closing | From you, your investors or a lender | Sellers value certainty; the more cash, the lower the price they'll accept |
| SBA 7(a) loan | Government-backed bank loan of up to $5 million | Long repayment terms; usually requires a cash injection and a personal guarantee |
| Seller note | The seller is paid part of the price over three to five years | Spreads the cost and keeps the seller invested in a smooth handover |
| Earnout | Extra payment if the business hits targets after closing | Bridges a gap on price and pays only for results |
| Rollover equity | The seller keeps a stake in the business or your holding company | Keeps the seller aligned through the transition |
| Your shares | Part of the price paid in stock | Saves cash; far easier for a seller to accept when the shares have a market price |
| Special purpose vehicle | A separate entity, funded by investors for one deal, that you manage | Buys a business without diluting your holding company or using its balance sheet |
| Deal-by-deal investors | Backers who fund a specific acquisition alongside you | Matches capital to a deal investors can judge on its own numbers |
Two kinds of acquisition entrepreneur.
You're looking for your first acquisition
You've done the research and maybe the course. You need clarity on what kind of business fits you, how to fund it, what lenders and sellers will want to see from you, and how to stop circling and close.
You already own one or more businesses
You've closed, and now you want a real holding company: a capital strategy that doesn't depend on your own cash, an advisory team and board that strengthen every part of it, and a path to a valuation the market rewards.
Either way, you'd rather hire someone who has done the transactions than spend another year figuring out who, what and how. You're ambitious, capable and ready to execute.
We give you the playbook. If you need capital, we prepare you to raise it. As you buy, we advise you. And if it fits, we take your holding company public.
Plan
We assess where you are and give you the structures and sources of capital, how to raise it, the advisory team and board to build, and what your holding company could be worth if you do it right. Four one-on-one sessions, then a written playbook built for your situation.
Get the playbook →Raise
If your deal or holding company needs capital, we prepare you to raise it, whether equity or debt: strategy and terms, investor materials, offering documents, a mock investor meeting and 90 days of support while you run the raise.
Prepare to raise →Grow
We work alongside you as you buy and integrate: reviewing deals and structures, the capital stack for each acquisition, the people to run what you own, and the next add-on.
Grow with us →Go public
Being public strengthens every lever: access to capital, access to talent, opportunities to grow the businesses you buy, and the ability to find, structure and close acquisitions, while creating far more wealth than you could as a private company. We take you through the listing, from the first decision to the first day of trading.
Go public →Every service stands on its own. None requires the next.
The other side of the table.
Most acquisition education comes from people who have bought businesses. Our founder, Joel Arberman, has spent thirty years on the capital side of those transactions: as a fixed income analyst at First Investors Asset Management, as an equity analyst at SunAmerica Asset Management, as an institutionally ranked analyst and partner at Yorkton Securities, and as the founder of companies of his own. He has taken seventeen companies public, several of them his own, and been principal or adviser in eight mergers, acquisitions and sales.
That's the lens you get: how lenders, investors and public markets value what you're building, and how to structure every deal so the holding company is worth more than the businesses inside it.
We're advisers, not brokers. We don't find deals for you, invest in your company or raise money on your behalf. We give you the playbook and the structures, and you execute with us beside you.
Not sure where to start?
Start with the playbook. It tells you which of these you need, if any, and in what order. The first conversation is free.
Meraki Dealmakers is a service of Meraki Partners, LLC.
Meraki Partners, LLC is an advisory firm. It is not a broker-dealer, investment adviser, business broker, law firm or accounting firm, and does not solicit investors or receive compensation based on capital raised. Nothing on this site is an offer to sell securities or legal, tax or investment advice. No outcome is promised.
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