Buying 9-Figure Deals

Renaud Besançon is the founder of Ceres Industries Capital, one of Europe's leading independent sponsor firms. Free from the constraints of traditional funds, Renaud's team targets "non-vanilla" mid-market acquisitions (€20m-€75m EBITDA), often closing them at 30-40% discounts. After 20 years as a sponsor, with a 30-year WIP investor database, Renaud details how he blends "back-to-basics" PE centered on operational value creation with deal-by-deal pioneership in France.

Renaud Besançon's edge in private equity starts with what he doesn't have: a fund. Free from the mandates and rigidity of committed capital, Renaud operates with a deal-by-deal structure that gives him total flexibility in how, when, and what he acquires. While traditional buyout funds are locked into investment charters, Renaud refers to them as "Faustian bargains," where the price of capital is the loss of discretion. This freedom allows Ceres to pursue complex, mispriced, or off-market opportunities that institutional players cannot touch.

That flexibility has translated into scale. While many associate independent sponsors with small deals, Renaud's team routinely executes on mid-market market leaders with EBITDA between €20 million and €75 million. In 2024, Ceres began raising €200m equity for a single transaction. They have acquired businesses posting €500 million in sales and €33 million in EBITDA at just 4x EBITDA, while sector peers trade above 7x.

Behind the capital-raising engine is a homegrown CRM thirty years in the making. Renaud has logged investor profiles since his twenties, curating a spreadsheet of over 1,000 high-net-worth individuals, family offices, and institutional contacts. Each entry includes ticket size, sector interest, and geography. This meticulous preparation allows him to mobilize capital quickly, often within a 3-month window, without the overhead of a traditional fund.

Where traditional PE leans on financial engineering, Ceres drives value through operations. As part of their diligence process, Ceres commissions a psychological report on each key partner or manager, aiming to understand how they behave under stress, how they make decisions, and whether they possess the emotional resilience needed to navigate high-pressure operating environments. Teams are staffed with former CEOs who have led companies through crises and change. They bring real-world experience to the boardroom, focusing on EBITDA growth through strategy, not leverage.

Check today's new episode of the Minds Capital Podcast.

Keep reading

The 3-5-7x MOIC Underwriting Framework

Rick Apple built Upside Growth Partners out of Nashville after starting his career in the finance grind of New York. A Princeton grad turned entrepreneur, he has scaled 12 platforms while raising 5 kids at home. From a breakout children's clothing brand to roofing and beyond, Rick has proven that smart sourcing, deliberate underwriting, and rolled-up sleeves can compound into lasting success.

A Portfolio Marked Up at 10x MOIC

Stenning Schueppert, based in Austin, leads Evolution Strategy Partners, one of the most transparent and high-performing independent sponsors west of the Mississippi. A private equity veteran and zinger machine, Stenning shares refreshing insights on why the independent sponsor model beats traditional funds, how radical alignment drives better outcomes, and the simple math behind his portfolio's 10x MOIC markup.

Combining 2 Platforms to Reach $20m EBITDA

Zack Miller and his high school friend Johnny Lieberman combined their distinct backgrounds to launch Worklyn Partners, a dual platform marrying the VC-style upside of cybersecurity with the proven PE roll-up playbook in managed service providers (MSPs). Backed by $50m in committed capital, they have executed 7 acquisitions, keeping their IT services and cybersecurity businesses operationally separate, preserving the flexibility to merge or exit individually.

View More