M&A Science

• The Secrets to Sourcing Proprietary Deals in Private Equity with Ryan Gable

  Ryan Gable, Managing Partner, BW Forsyth Partners Ryan discusses how his team uses a hybrid private equity model backed by Barry-Wehmiller to execute people-first, long-term acquisitions. With over 55 deals and zero exits, Forsyth has developed a sourcing and integration playbook that challenges traditional PE norms, focusing instead on trust, cultural alignment, and multi-decade value creation. Ryan breaks down how to build relationships that convert to proprietary deal flow, structure rollover equity with flexibility, and align seller incentives for lasting outcomes. Things you will learn: How to source proprietary deals by building trust with founders and prioritizing cultural fit Why Forsyth avoids traditional PE norms like over-leveraging and fixed exit timelines How they structure flexible equity rollovers and provide liquidity without needing to sell Episode Chapters: [00:02:00] From Investment Banking to Building Forsyth with Barry-Wehmiller [00:07:00] Why Barry-Wehmiller Created a New Investment Arm Instead of Scaling Internally [00:10:00] The Hybrid Equity Model: Strategic Backing + PE Agility [00:14:30] Rollover Equity and How Forsyth Structures Flexible Liquidity [00:23:30] From Auction Fatigue to Sourcing Proprietary Deals [00:26:00] How Forsyth Builds Trust With Sellers (And Wins Deals Off-Market) [00:31:00] Why Founders Should Think About Selling Before They’re Ready to Retire [00:41:00] Structuring Earnouts that Sellers Actually Want to Hit [00:49:00] The “Less is More” Approach to Post-Close Integration [00:56:00] The Future of M&A: Return Expectations, Capital Saturation, and Deal Discipline Questions, comments, concerns?Follow Kison Patel for behind-the-scenes insights on modern M&A

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• Why Beacon Created an AI Committee for M&A—and What They’re Testing Next (Part 2) with Harrison Thomas

  Harrison Thomas, Chief Growth Officer at Beacon Specialized Living Services, Inc. In Part 2 of our conversation, we go deep into how Beacon is operationalizing M&A. Harrison reveals how they reduced their request list by over 65%, why they require third parties to use their DealRoom, and how integration now begins before the deal is even signed. He also dives into the organization's AI roadmap, their internal CRM transformation, and the surprising challenges of acquiring non-profit organizations. If you want a behind-the-scenes look at building a scalable, tech-forward M&A machine in healthcare, don’t miss this episode. Things you will learn: How to build a centralized M&A system across CRM, diligence, and integration Why Beacon embeds integration planning before close—and the real cost of waiting What it takes to acquire and integrate nonprofit healthcare organizations Episode Chapters [00:02:30] Using third-party compliance audits and chart reviews in diligence [00:06:00] Evolving the deal process from relationship-building to IOI to close [00:12:00] Reducing diligence requests from 474 to 147 using DealRoom [00:14:00] Enforcing platform accountability for both internal teams and sellers [00:16:00] Managing deal fatigue and broker feedback in seller-heavy processes [00:21:00] Beacon’s shift from siloed M&A to One Beacon integration strategy [00:26:00] Running diligence and integration in parallel, starting pre-close [00:29:30] Valuation risks of integration backlog and how Beacon is addressing it [00:35:00] Centralizing the full M&A lifecycle—from CRM to integration—in one platform [0:41:00] How to approach acquiring nonprofit organizations (and why it’s worth it) _______________ 💡Try FirmRoom for Free This episode is sponsored by FirmRoom.  The World’s Most Intuitive Virtual Data Room With AI Contract Analysis No Per-Page Fees. No B.S. Just Smarter, Faster Deals. Get started with your free trial today at firmroom.com! _______________ Questions, comments, concerns?Follow Kison Patel for behind-the-scenes insights on modern M&A.

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• Why Beacon Created an AI Committee for M&A with Harrison Thomas

  Harrison Thomas, Chief Growth Officer at Beacon Specialized Living Services, Inc. In Part 1 of our conversation with Harrison Thomas, Chief Growth Officer at Beacon Specialized Living Services, we dive into how one of the largest providers of specialized behavioral health services is rethinking M&A using AI. Harrison shares why Beacon created a dedicated AI committee focused on improving every stage of the deal lifecycle—from sourcing to integration—and what tools and pilots they’re exploring right now. If you want a first-hand look at how AI is already changing M&A in healthcare services, this episode is for you. Things you will learn: Why creating an AI committee can accelerate innovation in M&A processes. How AI tools are being piloted to improve diligence, sourcing, and integration planning. Practical challenges and lessons learned when adopting AI in a complex, people-centric industry. ________________________ Sponsored by DealRoom—where M&A chaos meets its match. Still stuck in spreadsheet hell? DealRoom helps corporate development teams take control—streamlining diligence, syncing integration, and eliminating the back-and-forth. 👉 Learn how you can run a repeatable, buyer-led process   _______________ Episode Chapters [00:02:00] Why Beacon formed an AI committee specifically for M&A [00:04:30] Early AI experiments and low-risk pilots to test use cases [00:07:00] How AI is enhancing diligence processes and data analysis [00:09:00] Approaching cultural adoption of AI tools across the deal team [00:11:30] Evaluating vendor solutions vs. building AI tools in-house [00:14:00] Tracking ROI on AI adoption in the M&A process [00:16:00] Ethical considerations and privacy concerns when using AI in healthcare M&A [00:19:00] Overcoming skepticism about AI among senior leadership [00:22:00] Key metrics Beacon is using to measure AI-driven efficiency [00:31:00] Lessons learned on aligning AI strategy with overall M&A goals Questions, comments, concerns?Follow Kison Patel for behind-the-scenes insights on modern M&A.

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• Buyer-Led vs. Seller-Led M&A with Matthew Person

  Mathew Person, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at Quikbase In this episode of the M&A Science Podcast, Kison Patel interviews Mathew Person, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at Quickbase. Mathew brings a unique blend of operator, banker, and corp dev experience, making him a strategic leader in buyer-led M&A. Together, they dive deep into how to proactively structure acquisitions, align internal stakeholders, avoid over-rationalization, and ensure integration success. Things You Will Learn: How to design and align around a box of preference (quant + qual criteria) Tactics for proactively sourcing and assessing cultural fit How to structure your corp dev team for scale and deal velocity ________________________ Sponsored by DealRoom—where M&A chaos meets its match. Still stuck in spreadsheet hell? DealRoom helps corporate development teams take control—streamlining diligence, syncing integration, and eliminating the back-and-forth. 👉 Learn how you can run a repeatable, buyer-led process   _______________ Episode Timestamps [00:01:30] Mathew's unique background: sports operator, banker, corp dev [00:03:30] Quickbase's carveout history and PE backing [00:04:00] What buyer-led M&A means and why it matters [00:05:00] Box of preference: building deal criteria with stakeholders [00:07:30] Market mapping and capability-driven strategy [00:09:30] Scorecards, deal screening, and qualitative diligence [00:15:30] Identifying and quantifying culture fit [00:19:30] Modeling dis-synergies and avoiding over-rationalization [00:23:30] Structuring corp dev teams for stakeholder alignment [00:30:00] Managing negotiations and bid-ask spread with trust [00:33:30] The ROI of being known as a "good home" [00:42:30] Integration success: same team from diligence to execution [00:47:00] Culture as a deal breaker or driver [00:52:30] Why stakeholder consensus is the hardest part of M&A Questions, comments, concerns?Follow Kison Patel for behind-the-scenes insights on modern M&A.

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• From Loom to Trello: How Atlassian Scales Through Smart M&A with Sarah Hughes

  Sarah Hughes, Head of Corporate Development and Product Partnerships, Atlassian Uncover the inside workings of Atlassian’s M&A strategy—from how Sarah’s team sources deals and aligns with product to the importance of relationship-building and a structured, founder-first integration approach. With over seven years of experience leading corporate development at Atlassian, Sarah shares practical lessons on building strategic pipelines, cultivating founder trust, and operationalizing successful integrations across Atlassian's global portfolio Things you will learn: Building long-term relationships with founders, even years before deals happen Aligning product, venture, and partnership decisions under one roof Atlassian’s approach to cultural diligence, integration planning, and transparency post-close _______________ 💡Try FirmRoom for Free This episode is sponsored by FirmRoom.  The World’s Most Intuitive Virtual Data Room With AI Contract Analysis No Per-Page Fees. No B.S. Just Smarter, Faster Deals. Get started with your free trial today at firmroom.com! _______________ Episode Chapters 00:02:00 – Sarah’s path into corporate development via Google and Atlassian 00:04:00 – Strategic rationale behind Trello and Loom acquisitions 00:07:00 – Atlassian’s three M&A strategy pillars: roadmap accelerants, vacuums, and break-glass opportunities 00:09:00 – How corp dev aligns with product: push-pull strategy and joint roadmaps 00:12:30 – Centralizing M&A, ventures, and partnerships under one team 00:15:30 – Using AI to accelerate sourcing, market mapping, and diligence 00:19:00 – Loom case study: a 5-year founder relationship turned acquisition 00:25:00 – Creating co-authored vision docs to align on integration and success metrics 00:33:00 – How Atlassian handles cultural diligence and post-close attrition risk 00:36:00 – Atlassian’s integration approach: open playbooks, IMO structure, and post-close planning 00:42:00 – Where AI is driving efficiency across the deal lifecycle 00:48:30 – Sarah’s advice to corp dev leaders on sourcing, alignment, and outside-in perspective Questions, comments, concerns?Follow Kison Patel for behind-the-scenes insights on modern M&A.

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