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The M&A Zing

The M&A Zing

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 M&A Zing: Weekly Insights for SMB M&A, Search Funds, HoldCo Builders and Acquisition Entrepreneurs. Each week we dive-in to topics and challenges that impact SMB Succession, and explore the highs and lows of Searching, Acquiring, Owning, Operating and Exiting small and medium-sized businesses.2025 BizCrunch.co Management & Leadership Ökonomie
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  • S2 Ep20: M&A Zing (S2EP20) - Buy-Side Breakdown: AI Music Creation Platform at ~3.5x Revenue

    S2 Ep20: M&A Zing (S2EP20) - Buy-Side Breakdown: AI Music Creation Platform at ~3.5x Revenue
    Dec 4 2025
    AI Music SaaS: 3M+ Users, 80% Margins, ~£560k Profit — smart bet or burning platform?

    In this Buy-Side Breakdown, we analyse a consumer-led AI music tool listed on Acquire. It reports ~3m users, c.3,700 subscribers, ~$700k TTM revenue and ~80% margins, but growth has stalled around 2% and churn raises questions. We dig into valuation, unit economics, platform risk, and who should actually buy this.

    What you’ll learn:

    • Why a low revenue multiple can be rational for fast-moving AI products
    • How freemium novelty skews funnel metrics and inflates “users”
    • The big risk: owning the model vs being an API skin (and why it matters)
    • LTV/CAC reality with $14 ARPU and ~$95 LTV
    • The credible playbook to shift from DTC novelty to sticky B2B use-cases
    • Who the natural buyer is, and how we’d structure a sensible offer


    Chapters

    [00:13] Welcome + what this episode covers
    [00:45] Today’s target: AI music SaaS on Acquire
    [02:00] Valuation surprise: low revenue multiple
    [02:20] Spotting the company and competitor set
    [02:42] Users, revenue, margins: headline numbers
    [03:19] Why is the multiple so low? Growth has stalled
    [03:41] Plateau, novelty and the freemium trap
    [04:29] Replacing churned users: the DTC treadmill
    [05:15] Novelty vs durable users (App Store déjà vu)
    [07:26] Funding arms race and retention quality
    [08:23] Why sell now? “New venture” and a well-funded rival
    [09:39] Ads, seasonality, and compute tweaks
    [11:15] Do they own the model or rent an API?
    [12:11] Moat signals and the frontend tells
    [13:42] Churn: what does “10% and ↓” actually mean?
    [14:48] Making it stickier: monetising UGC, tightening freemium
    [15:22] B2B niches with real longevity
    [17:30] AI artists, detection, and industry reality
    [19:13] Streaming economics: what plays pay
    [22:28] Touring vs streams when costs fall
    [22:50] Listing “growth levers”: read between the lines
    [24:05] LTV/CAC sanity: beware the averages
    [25:32] Key metrics revealed: subs, ARPU, LTV
    [26:58] Unit economics: gross margin vs cost to serve
    [27:25] Who buys this? Strategic tuck-in
    [28:12] Why a tuck-in makes more sense than solo
    [29:34] If they owned the model, different story
    [30:21] Why sell vs keep: operator incentives
    [30:45] Multiple vs effort: haggling stance
    [31:21] How we’d price and structure it
    [32:00] Vote: Alfie
    [32:53] Vote: Co-host
    [33:39] What would change our minds
    [34:26] Process status on Acquire
    [35:32] Wrap-up and listener CTA
    [35:59] Outro

    Have experience in AI music generation, or B2C SaaS? Leave your thoughts and comments below!


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    36 Min.
  • S2 Ep19: M&A Zing (S2EP19) - Margins & Machines: Buy-Side Breakdown of a 30 year Machining Business

    S2 Ep19: M&A Zing (S2EP19) - Margins & Machines: Buy-Side Breakdown of a 30 year Machining Business
    Nov 20 2025
    Another Buy-Side Breakdown: we unpack a 30-year CNC machining business reporting ~£2.4m turnover and unusually strong margins. This isn’t a fluffy walk-through. We dig into why the balance sheet shows lots of cash but little kit, what that implies for near-term CapEx, how to price customer concentration into the SPA, and where real upside lives with CAD/CAM copilots, cobots and lights-out runs.

    What you’ll learn

    • How “cash-rich, kit-light” balance sheets happen in precision engineering and how to underwrite CapEx properly

    • Simple structure levers for concentration risk (deferral, performance conditions, warranties)

    • Where margins come from: materials mix, repeat production, utilisation, and automation that actually pays back

    • Operator fit: why engineering fluency beats spreadsheet swagger in this category

    • A practical valuation frame for deals like this (illustrative only)

    Deal snapshot (from the listing):
    Age: ~30 years
    Revenue: ~£2.4m
    EBITDA: strong (listing cites ~30% adj.)

    Watch-outs: low book value of fixed assets, likely customer concentration, retiring owner

    Tailwinds: UK reshoring, defence demand, CAD/CAM + cobot ROI

    Who this is for:
    Searchers, ETA operators, holdco builders, and trade buyers eyeing fragmented UK precision engineering. If you’ve ever asked “Where’s the value in a CNC shop?” this episode answers it.

    Timestamps
    [00:00] Intro and ECI Awards notes
    [01:21] Macro mood: cold weather, hot budget, deal appetite
    [03:12] The listing at a glance
    [04:06] Cash vs kit: where are the assets?
    [05:08] Lease vs aged machines, CapEx reality
    [06:09] Materials, sectors, margins
    [07:12] High-value runs and lights-out operations
    [08:25] CAD/CAM copilots and cobots, ROI in practice
    [09:33] Reshoring tailwinds and UK advantages
    [11:12] Talent gaps and apprenticeships
    [12:21] Who buys this: trade vs searchers
    [13:06] Operator fit matters
    [13:46] Valuation and structure
    [15:01] Diligence priorities
    [16:26] Deal-breakers and mitigations
    [17:56] Final vote
    [18:25] Wrap

    Resources & next steps

    Diligence checklist (customers, QoE, kit audit, people, automation, compliance, structure) is in the show notes

    Got CNC/precision experience? Add your take in the comments so buyers can sanity-check assumptions

    Got a spare coat? Give it to someone that needs it: https://wrapupuk.org/

    #CNC #PrecisionEngineering #Manufacturing #Reshoring #MergersAndAcquisitions #SearchFunds #ETA #SME #DealFlow #UKBusiness
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    40 Min.
  • S2 Ep18: M&A Zing (S2EP18) - Beyond “ABC”: The Art and Practice of Good SMB M&A with Andrew Longcore

    S2 Ep18: M&A Zing (S2EP18) - Beyond “ABC”: The Art and Practice of Good SMB M&A with Andrew Longcore
    Nov 13 2025
    This week Gareth is joined by Andrew Longcore - Managing Partner at Business Law Group and Founder of Cecil Sterling & Co. - to unpack what makes a good small-to-mid market deal and how to avoid the traps new acquirers fall into. Andrew’s mission is simple: help entrepreneurs “defeat the unknown” in transactions. We get into buy-side vs sell-side realities, why many SMBs underuse acquisitions for growth, how to balance legal diligence with the human factors, and practical ways to structure deals so both sides win post-close. Highlights include: creative risk-sharing beyond cookie-cutter terms, funding constraints for services businesses, handling seller remorse, assembling the right deal team, and why empathy is a competitive advantage in M&A. If you care about buying well and operating better, this is a sharp, no-fluff playbook from someone who’s seen hundreds of transactions. [00:13] Intro to Andrew [00:49] Founding Business Law Group → launching Cecil Sterling [02:04] Why SMBs matter: community, jobs, and overlooked deals [03:27] “Defeating the unknown” in transactions [04:43] Diligence vs personalities: where the real risks hide [05:37] Why SMB owners underuse M&A for growth [06:38] Freedom, control and buying time via deals [07:39] Don’t underthink post-close: vision before closing [08:53] What “good deal” feels like (both sides win) [10:11] Trust, remorse and structures that actually hold up [11:47] US vs UK/EU risk appetites and financing realities [12:40] People first, numbers second… but don’t skip the numbers [13:58] Empathy as an M&A edge [15:12] Paying for future performance without overpaying today [16:14] New blood, influencer myths and real landmines [17:51] Managing complexity, assembling the right deal team [19:36] Building firms, loneliness of leadership, finding your “Yoda” [21:07] Operating cadence and alignment (EOS) [22:00] Goals for the next 12 months [22:33] How to reach Andrew; closing takeaways Show notes Guest: Andrew Longcore Managing Partner, Business Law Group: https://www.businesslawgr.com/ Founder, Cecil Sterling & Co: https://www.cecilsterling.com/ Focus: SMB buy-side and sell-side transactions, legal and advisory, post-close integration. Topics: risk allocation, seller psychology, services-business funding, creative structures, deal team makeup, EOS after the acquisition. Find Andrew on LinkedIn: / andrewlongcore Host: Gareth Hawkins - CEO BizCrunch: https://www.bizcrunch.co/
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    50 Min.
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