Private Equity Data
Getting to an answer earlier in the funnel
A PE data-driven view, earlier, helps qualify key opportunities
Historically, data was something you got (into) at diligence, not sourcing
Over the past 5-10 years, the volume of externally available data has exploded
Building views with conviction is now possible earlier, with the appropriate tools
We see 5 key groups of data (financials, commercials, ops, ownership and people) that help qualify the right opportunities in or out at an early stage
Building conviction in the absence of PE data
Private markets have historically been opaque, including on their murky investment insight and performance data.
With minimal (or no) reporting requirements compared to publicly listed companies in most regions, investors have long had to make do with whatever they can find. Initial PE investment screening decisions have long been based on (relatively) basic data - any estimates (or rumours) on financial statements or KPIs, without access any private equity database.
That meant data for sourcing was seen as secondary, and primarily limited to top-line financials, while diligence was seen as where you “got under the skin” and into the data.
The missing link: outside-in insights
Over the last decade, the best investors shifted from relying on internal data at diligence to identifying rich, multi-source data streams from screening through to value creation.
That’s because more data is available, expected and required than ever before, due to:
Rising competition and higher valuations mean firms need greater conviction, faster, and so dig deeper into data, earlier
An explosion of data from businesses created new methods to inform company operations and investment decisions
Technological advancements lowered the cost and difficulty of accessing data
More risk management - deeper vetting to avoid downside investment risk
Increasing LP (investor) expectations - LPs want to see more before backing
More firms today blend their own primary research (gathered from conducted surveys or previous investments) with rich third-party sources and lots of vendors to support.
Putting together the PE data to get to an answer (and close a deal)
Given the cost and complexity of a failed process, increasing conviction in a data-driven way as early as possible helps PE firms to build their win rate. The advantage sits with those that can join the dots across disparate datapoints to see the complete picture.
The key pieces of information that we see boost win rates at the sourcing stage are:
Better financial data, or where appropriate, intelligent estimates
Quality commercial and market insights that give a read-across the industry
Employee and operational data to get a feel of their footprint and trajectory
Ownership and valuation analyses to get the first day of work done
The right contact, people and network details, to help build your outreach
All of these datapoints are now available for millions of companies through a comprehensive private equity database, but knowing where and what to focus on can feel like drowning in data. At Gain.pro, we help neatly structure all this data to always answer one question - should you make this investment?
How we do it:
Financial Metrics: Revenue, growth, profit, margins, capital structure - always important, but with digital filings have never been more accessible. By combining this data with analyst insights, you ensure the numbers aren’t just there - but that they make sense. And our revenue / EBITDA estimates help you estimate opportunity instead
Customer & Market Data: Commercial insights often include customer demographics, volumes, business base, NPS scores and market share trends. With our investment analysis across 10 criteria plus hundreds of industry reports you can build a view, fast.
Employee & Operational Data: An indicator of underlying productivity / effectiveness, we track near real-time headcount changes, insights on the operating teams and available operational KPIs to “peek” into business operations.
Ownership & Valuation Data: By tracking historical and current ownership, entry and exit multiples and relevant comparable peers or transactions in one place, we save the hours of research it might take to quickly screen a company in or out otherwise.
Contact & People Data: By providing links to key people (across the C-Suite and Owners / Investors), alongside relevant contact methods, making an outreach decision becomes much more efficient (and painless)
We also increasingly offer other external datasets as well as fund and portfolio performance indicators (IRR, TVPI, DPI) as part of our complete offering for the private markets. Our private equity database streamlines data access, helping you make confident investment decisions.
Why not schedule a demo today to see how our data helps you?
