There's been an uptick in the # of rollups pitched over the last 6 months.
However, the deal-by-deal PE ecosystem is evolving away from only doing straight one-deal, lower-middle-market, organic LBOs.
Two drivers:
1) More track record & talent
There's been an influx of experienced PE talent who have the experience, training, and rolodex to execute larger, hairier, and/or less proven theses. Where a newly hatched MBA searcher in 2011 faced uphill battles persuading intermediaries, investors & sellers about anything, the 39yo PE veterans coming out of top middle-market shops already have the track record, playbook & capital network to execute more ambitious undertakings.
2) Improved access to capital
The bar is higher to raise capital for what you're going to do with a platform vs. a business where you're pitching the historical financials. However, more capital providers are embracing the deal-by-deal allure (direct investing, possibility of outsized returns, GP-LP alignment, etc.) and therefore pushing the ecosystem further out on the risk-reward spectrum. More capital also means more to deploy, which is hand-in-glove with ambitious serial acquirers with multi-year draws.
