Drake Star

Which #KPIs do investors want to see now, what’s the optimal timing for an #exit and how can #founders create the perfect investor pitch?! Gründerszene’s editor Madita Lege sat down with Drake Star Partner Julian Riedlbauer in Berlin recently to talk about what investors and buyers are looking for these days, the decisive KPIs that companies can use to score points, and how to prepare the perfect presentation as a founder. Follow the links below to read the full interview (in two parts, in German), including a number of helpful insights from our years of experience in the field. 👇🏻 ▶️ Part 1: https://lnkd.in/eb8hEsFa ▶️ Part 2: https://lnkd.in/d8Jaxkty  

🚀 Navigating Life with Private Equity: Insights from MSP Industry Pros 🚀 Curious about the impact of Private Equity on Managed Service Providers (MSPs)? Join us next week at IT BY DESIGN’s Build IT Live in Orlando, Florida, where Sam Levy, Partner at Drake Star, will speak on a panel titled “Life with a PE: Good, Bad or Ugly?” alongside other leading #MSP industry pros including Kevin Cook, Glenn Mathis, President of Integris; Jake Spanberger, CEO of Entech; and Jason Erickson, Chief Strategy Officer at Integris. 🎙️ Key Panel Topics: 🔵 PE Dynamics Unveiled: Explore what PE investment means for MSPs, including typical structures and expectations. 🔵 Benefits of PE: Discover how PE can drive growth, foster innovation, and expand market reach. 🔵 Navigating Challenges: Understand potential pitfalls such as cultural shifts, operational changes, and governance issues. 🔵 Real-World Experiences: Gain firsthand insights from MSPs who have undergone PE investment or acquisition, sharing valuable lessons learned. If you're contemplating an acquisition, exploring PE investment, or simply want to learn about the process, this session will provide the insights you need to navigate the complexities of life with Private Equity. 📅 See you in Orlando! #InvestmentBanking #MergersAndAcquisitions #PrivateEquity 

Jim Holzer, Managing Partner at Drake Star, will be attending the PBSA Annual Conference September 8-10 in Boston! We’re excited to connect with peers in the #HumanResources and screening profession. And we’re looking forward to sharing our perspective on M&A within the #ScreeningAndVerification and #HRTech sector as well as key trends shaping the broader industry. Look forward to meeting at the event. #PBSA24 #MergersAndAcquisitions

Meet our Partner Julian Riedlbauer and our Senior Advisor Helmut Kranzmaier at DEALSOURCING 2024! Organized by FINANCE Think Tank Corporate Banking & Finance – Eine Initiative der Targecy GmbH, the event aims to bring together hundreds of experts from the corporate banking & finance community, including investors, lawyers, and experienced M&A advisors like Julian and Helmut. Julian will join a workshop, hosted by IceLake, on “Networking and strengthening: How do you establish yourself as a new financial investor?” to share his perspective and insights. Reach out to the two if you want to connect with them at the conference to learn more about Drake Star. #CorporateFinance #PrivateEquity

💹 📣 #MSP M&A activity surges 4x in 1st Half 2024; Reaches highest level in over 2 years Download Drake Star’s latest MSP Market Report to understand what’s driving the huge increase in M&A activity in the sector. The report outlines the key transactions over the 1st half of 2024, prevailing market dynamics, the most active strategic consolidators, and other important trends. Some of our biggest takeaways include: 🔵 The global managed service market is expected to reach $552 billion by 2032, with IT complexity, cost efficiency, and cybersecurity challenges driving robust demand. 🔵 1st half 2024 saw 235 transactions, a 4x increase vs. 2nd half 2023. 🔵 The larger MSPs continue to consolidate the market and drive M&A activity, with each of the top 10 making at least 2 acquisitions over the prior six months. 🔵 The top 10 most active strategic consolidators in H1 2024 were: The 20 MSP, Evergreen Services Group, Accenture, New Charter Technologies Intelligent Technical Solutions, Onecom Partners, Pavion, Air IT, ConnectUs Corp, Netsurit 🔵 The top 10 most active financial consolidators in H1 2024 were: Seacoast Capital , BGF, FIELDS Group, CenterGate Capital, Apera Asset Management, DWO Ascent, Metropolitan, Spintop Ventures, Wendel 👇 Download the full report in the link in the comments below. Drake Star MSP team: Sam Levy, Ralf Philipp Hofmann, Christophe Morvan, Gaby Silvestris #ManagedServiceProvider #ITServices #DigitalServices #MergersAndAcquisitions 

🌟 Join Us at Bloomberg Power Players: Where Sports, Business, and Technology Converge! 🌟 Drake Star CEO, Gregory Bedrosian, will join some of the leading players in the sports and business world at Bloomberg Power Players on September 5, 2024 in New York City. Featuring industry heavyweights like Alex Rodriguez, Chairman & CEO of A-Rod Corp, David Rubenstein, Co-Founder & Co-Chairman of The Carlyle Group and Owner of The Baltimore Orioles, K. Don Cornwell Co-Founder & CEO Dynasty Equity, Sonali Basak, Anchor & Global Finance Correspondent Bloomberg, Jason Kelly, Chief Correspondent Bloomberg and Host & Executive Producer, “Power Players”, and many others, the event will deliver exclusive perspectives on the innovations and strategies that will continue to disrupt and dominate the world of sports and business. We are excited to share Drake Star’s perspective on the latest trends and key industry dynamics driving interest and activity in Sports Tech M&A and the broader sports investing landscape. Looking forward to seeing so many of our friends and peers and to the lively discussions ahead. #BloombergPowerPlayers #SportsBusiness #SportsTech #MergersAndAcquisitions

We’re excited to have Michael Metzger 🔜 NGSC, Managing Partner at Drake Star speak at the New Global Sport Conference and Esports World Cup Foundation in Riyadh on August 24th and 25th! He’ll be joined by a lineup of incredible speakers and thought leaders from the gaming, esports and sports worlds including Andrew Chen, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, Brian Ward, CEO at Savvy Games Group, Len Blavatnik, Founder of Access Industries and Owner of DAZN, Joe Pompliano, Managing Partner at Pomp Investments and Magnus Carlsen, World Chess Champion. Looking forward to lively discussions around the latest trends shaping sports, esports and gaming and the surrounding M&A and investment landscape dynamics. See you in Riyadh! #EsportsWorldCup #NGSC2024 #gaming #esports #games Team Falcons

📣#HRTech Deal Announcement! Drake Star acted as Exclusive Financial Advisor to GFOS mbH, a leading provider of workforce management software, on the Majority Recapitalization with an affiliated European fund (REF) of The Riverside Company, a leading global technology growth investor. Founded in 1988, GFOS offers an enterprise-grade cloud platform that enables end-to-end digitalization of workforce management processes. More than 3,000 top-tier customers across 30 countries rely on GFOS solutions to digitalize their workforce processes and manage ever increasing complexity.   Katharina Van Meenen-Röhrig, Co-CEO of GFOS, stated: “The investment of such a renowned and successful growth partner is a confirmation of our first-class company and product. Together with Riverside, we will leverage the enormous growth potential of our market even faster, both nationally and internationally. Ralf Hofmann and the entire Drake Star team did an exceptional job in navigating us through this dynamic, highly competitive and very successful process. With their deep understanding of the global HR Tech market and their extensive global reach and network, Drake Star was the perfect partner for us to enter the next phase of growth.” Ignace Dr. Van Meenen, Co-CEO of GFOS, added: “With their high level of commitment, outstanding execution skills and in-depth market knowledge, Drake Star was the perfect partner to help us win such a prestigious global growth investor. The Riverside team has extensive knowledge and strong experience in the enterprise SaaS market coupled with a very impressive HR Tech portfolio.”   Florian Halama, Principal at The Riverside Company, said: “We are very excited to partner with GFOS and its management team. The company has positioned itself as a leader in a highly attractive and dynamic market, based on high-quality software solutions and a strong enterprise customer base. We are very committed to continue to build on this foundation together with Katharina and Ignace to take GFOS to the next level.”   Ralf Philipp Hofmann, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Drake Star: "As a leader in Workforce Management, GFOS is leveraging its strong market reputation and long-standing experience to drive innovation and deliver cutting-edge solutions that improve productivity and efficiency throughout the organization. With its modern cloud-based time & attendance and scheduling solutions, GFOS is setting the standard for mid-market and enterprise customers across all industries. We are thrilled to have supported GFOS’ entrepreneurial leadership team in executing a highly successful process and identifying the ideal partner for the company’s next growth phase."   Drake Star deal team led by Ralf Philipp Hofmann: Pablo I. Lundershausen, Julian Wolf and Jan Sergio C.   For more information on the deal, head over to: https://lnkd.in/dncDU2NF

🚀 Gaming M&A Surge: Third Consecutive Quarter of Growth and Promising Outlook for Remainder of 2024 and into 2025 🎮 #Gaming M&A continues to surge, with activity increasing for the 3rd consecutive quarter. GamesMarkt broke down the Drake Star Q2 2024 Global Gaming Report and spoke to Michael Metzger 🔜 GamesCom, Drake Star Managing Partner, to understand the latest data and insights on key deals, fundraising, public market performance, and a forecast for what’s ahead in the 2nd half of 2024. Highlights include: 🔵 Record-Breaking Deals: #PrivateEquity firms are leading the charge with major acquisitions, including the largest gaming deal of the year to date, EQT Group’s $2.8B acquisition of Keywords Studios. 🔵 Stable Financing Trends: Private financings remain steady, with 180 deals in Q2 and a notable 40% of deals directed towards #blockchain gaming. 🔵 Hottest areas for funding: #AI, Mixed Reality, Platform and Tools. 🔵 Positive Forecast: A broad recovery is anticipated, with continued M&A growth expected through 2025, driven by rising public market valuations and strategic acquisitions. 👇 For an in-depth analysis of these trends and what lies ahead, check out the full article link in comments below. 

📈 Join us in Cologne, Germany, on Tuesday, August 20th, for an insightful panel discussion: "ZIRP Rush: Investing in Today’s Games Market." As the gaming industry evolves, we’re witnessing significant developments in AI adoption, investment trends, mergers & acquisitions, and revenue growth. However, there are also notable challenges, including shifts in hiring and layoffs. How can investors and industry leaders navigate this complex landscape? Don’t miss out on key insights from top industry professionals: 🔵 Michael Metzger 🔜 GamesCom, Managing Partner at Drake Star 🔵 Shanti Bergel 🔜 Gamescom, Managing Director at Transcend. 🔵 Dean Takahashi, Lead Writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat 🔵 David Reitman, Lead, Games at PwC Engage with the experts and gain valuable perspectives on the future of gaming investments! #Gaming #Investing #MergersAndAcquisitions #PrivateEquity #Devcom2024