Keyturn finds off-market owners, but the money comes from the buyer side: firms and people who must buy companies to hit their plan. This page covers who they are, where to find them, what to send them, and a four-week plan.
of US private equity buyouts are add-ons, meaning platform companies buying smaller companies
search funds tracked by Stanford (2026 edition), with a median purchase price of $16M
independent sponsors with recent deal activity on Axial
deal professionals in ACG, the largest M&A community, across 59 chapters
Start with the ones who buy often and have a budget for finding deals. The meters show deal frequency and willingness to pay a retainer.
A private equity firm owns one “platform” company in an industry, such as HVAC, and buys 5 to 20 smaller ones to grow it. They need a steady flow of owners willing to sell, and that is exactly what you deliver.
A company, often PE-backed, that buys competitors in its own industry: dental groups, IT service providers, accounting firms, landscaping.
Dealmakers without a committed fund. They find a company first, then raise money for it. Finding the deal is their whole business.
Usually one or two MBAs with investor backing, searching for a single company to buy and run. They are highly motivated but work on tight budgets.
Six channels, from most to least effective. Channel 1 can itself be run by agents, the same way Keyturn finds owners.
Every add-on is announced in a press release: “X Capital’s platform acquires Y.” A firm that did one recently will do another. This is the best signal there is.
"add-on acquisition" HVAC in the last 24 months. Pull the platform, the PE firm and the deal lead. The result is a list of about 50 active buyers in one industry.Every firm lists its portfolio companies. Filter for platforms in your industry and find the business development lead at each one.
Business Development or M&A.A lower mid-market deal network. Its public pages list independent sponsors and firms with recent deals, filtered by city.
Searchfunder is the main online network. Stanford GSB publishes the search fund study every two years.
ACG has a San Francisco chapter with regular events. DealMAX attendees account for about a third of US PE deals.
Acquisition lenders (including SBA lenders), M&A lawyers and financial-diligence firms speak to buyers every week.
Here is an example funnel for one industry. The numbers are illustrative assumptions, but they show how few buyers you need.
Three buyers at $10 to 15k a month is $30 to 45k a month, plus success fees in the six figures each when their deals close.
Send proof, not a pitch. Lead with a free sample of real owners in their own industry and region.
Hi [first name],
I saw [platform] closed its add-on in [city] in [month]. Congratulations.
We use AI agents to find off-market owners before they list. For Texas HVAC we found 312 owners showing retirement signals. Attached are 10 of them, researched and scored, at no cost.
If they’re useful, we can put 2 or 3 conversations with owners who are open to selling on your calendar every week.
Worth 15 minutes?
[Your name] · Keyturn
10-owners-texas-hvac.pdfSources: Cherry Bekaert PE report (PitchBook data: add-ons are 73% of buyouts) · Stanford GSB search fund study (862 funds, $16M median price) · Axial independent sponsors (2,123 with recent activity) · Axial, Los Angeles sponsors · ACG DealMAX and ACG (100k+ members, 59 chapters, about a third of US PE deals) · Searchfunder · McKinsey via Fortune: $5T of boomer businesses. The funnel, pricing and plan are illustrative targets.