The library
Research on deal origination and target screening.
Explore how acquisition processes work, where company data comes from, and how to evaluate research for your mandate. Long-form guides and newer articles are grouped by topic below; each links to its sources and explains the limits of the evidence.
Read the latest origination articles →Browse the reference catalog: playbooks, methods, data sources →
Origination and outreach
How proprietary deal flow works and how to contact owners properly.
- Guide · Origination3,345 words · updated 2026-09-17
Proprietary deal flow and the evidence on auctions
What the research says about negotiated sales and auctions, early access to sellers, and how buyers build relationships with targets before a sale process.
- Guide · Contact3,092 words · updated 2026-09-17
Acquisition outreach: compliance, deliverability, and approvals
Contacting business owners: email and privacy requirements, sender identification and authentication, delivery, and client approval before any outreach.
Screening and market mapping
Turning a thesis into criteria, a target universe and comparable size estimates.
- Guide · Judgement2,737 words · updated 2026-09-17
Building consistent acquisition screening criteria
Turn an acquisition thesis into a written screening rubric: disqualifying conditions, scoring rules, missing information, and how to test the results.
- Guide · Coverage2,877 words · updated 2026-09-17
Mapping a fragmented industry from public data
Define the market for an acquisition thesis, build a target universe from industry codes, registers and public sources, and measure how much it covers.
- Articlepublished 2026-09-22
NAICS-SIC Crosswalk for Private Equity Screening
A 2026 protocol for mapping SIC to NAICS without changing a private equity mandate, with vintage controls, ambiguity rules, an audit-workbook schema, and coverage calculations.
- Articlepublished 2026-09-19
How to Estimate Private Company Revenue for M&A
A 2026 guide to estimating private company revenue for M&A screens, with an evidence ladder, metric translations, proxy ranges, and threshold rules.
Company identity and entity resolution
Establishing which legal entity a record is, and keeping one record per company.
- Articlepublished 2026-09-22
How to Find the Legal Entity Behind a Brand Name
A 2026 field guide to resolving a brand, DBA, trademark, domain, or storefront to the correct legal entity, with official registry links, a crosswalk template, and review rules.
- Articlepublished 2026-09-22
How to Identify the Same Company Across State Registrations
A 2026 evidence-based guide to domestic and foreign registrations, canonical entity keys, filing-image review, and cross-state deduplication metrics.
- Articlepublished 2026-09-20
Best Entity Identifier for Private Equity Target Records
A 2026 field-level policy for PE target identity, covering jurisdiction-qualified registry IDs, LEI and CIK crosswalks, matching thresholds, and reversible merge logs.
- Articlepublished 2026-09-20
Business Entity Search by State: 50-State Matrix
A 2026 verification matrix for official business registries in all 50 states, including searchable fields, filing images, certificates, fees, and an acquisition-research evidence workflow.
- Articlepublished 2026-09-22
How to Use LEI Level 2 Data to Verify Corporate Parents
A 2026 field guide to LEI Level 2 parent verification, covering accounting-consolidation scope, validation fields, exception codes, freshness calculations, and escalation evidence.
Ownership and control
Who owns a company today, and what the public record can and cannot prove.
- Guide · Ownership2,967 words · updated 2026-09-17
Ownership and succession in the lower middle market
Sources for ownership and succession research, with a clear distinction between population trends and company-specific evidence.
- Articlepublished 2026-09-22
How to Find Out if a Company Is Private Equity Backed
A 2026 evidence protocol for verifying PE ownership using entity resolution, closing records, sponsor portfolios, transaction chains, and five decision statuses.
- Articlepublished 2026-09-21
How to Find Who Owns an LLC: State Evidence Matrix
A 2026 evidence matrix for all 50 states and DC, with role definitions, filing-image access, a confidence rubric, and a due diligence workflow for LLC ownership research.
- Articlepublished 2026-09-22
How to Verify Employee Ownership Using Form 5500
A 2026 guide to verifying employee ownership with Form 5500, including codes 2O, 2P and 2Q, entity matching, percentage evidence and PE screening rules.
Public filings and data sources
What registries, federal filings and commercial databases actually establish.
- Guide · Data2,921 words · updated 2026-09-17
Sources of acquisition target data and their limits
A field guide to registries, filings, company websites and commercial databases: what each source can establish, where its coverage ends, and its conflicts.
- Articlepublished 2026-09-18
Private Equity & Company Data Providers Compared (2026)
Private company data providers for PE deal sourcing compared: PitchBook, SourceScrub, Grata, PrivCo and Docket, with a field scorecard and cost model.
- Articlepublished 2026-09-19
What Does a Form D Filing Reveal About a Company?
A 2026 field guide to Form D evidence, including issuer identity, offering amount versus amount sold, amendments, revenue bands, and corroboration steps.
- Articlepublished 2026-09-22
Form 5500 Headcount Estimates: A Reconciliation Guide
A 2026 guide to estimating private-company headcount from Form 5500 active participants, with field definitions, filing-lag controls, a reconciliation worksheet, and pass, fail, or pending tests.
- Articlepublished 2026-09-22
UCC Lien Search for Private Equity: Proof and Gaps
A 2026 PE origination guide to UCC lien searches, covering filing-office choice, debtor-name variants, filing lifecycle, triage logic, and a reproducible evidence worksheet.
Evidence quality and research operations
Retaining sources, auditing batches, keeping records fresh and evaluating agents.
- Guide · Method2,627 words · updated 2026-09-17
Evidence standards for acquisition research
Evidence standards for company research, drawn from auditing and archival practice: retained sources, supporting excerpts, conflicts and research history.
- Guide · Technology2,530 words · updated 2026-09-17
Evaluating AI research agents
How to assess AI research agents: grounding, structured answers, source attribution, separate review, and comparison with human-reviewed examples.
- Articlepublished 2026-09-22
How Many Records Should You Sample for an Audit?
A 2026 audit sampling worksheet for target-research batches, with exact zero-defect sample sizes, acceptance numbers, field-risk controls, and accept, expand, remediate, or reject rules.
- Articlepublished 2026-09-22
CRM vs. Research Database vs. Evidence Store Guide
A 2026 field-ownership guide for private equity origination, covering authoritative systems, event contracts, reconciliation metrics, and vendor-exit tests.
- Articlepublished 2026-09-22
Acquisition Target Research Update Frequency in 2026
A 2026 field-level guide to acquisition target research freshness, including four timestamp definitions, an eight-field SLA matrix, event triggers, and a review-load model.
- Articlepublished 2026-09-19
AI Research Agent Benchmark for Acquisition Target Research
A 2026 framework for benchmarking AI acquisition-research agents with frozen cases, evidence metrics, repeated runs, confidence intervals, costs, and release gates.
Reference
Definitions of the terms used across the library.
Other recent research
Newly published articles not yet filed under a topic.
- Articlepublished 2026-11-02
H-1B Filings in Private Equity Research: A 2026 Protocol
How private equity analysts can read H-1B Labor Condition Application records in 2026: which facts they corroborate, which inferences fail, plus a field table and worksheet.
- Articlepublished 2026-11-02
Child Care Center Ownership Data: A Site-to-Operator Protocol
How to map child care center ownership data from state licensing files in 2026: California and Texas source inventories, site-to-operator reconciliation fields, coverage math and a blind-sample test for vendor maps.
- Articlepublished 2026-11-02
Federal Subaward Data for Private Equity Market Maps
How to use federal subaward data in private equity market maps in 2026: SAM.gov API and USAspending fields, the $30,000 vs $40,000 threshold, duplicate handling, and a fictional worked example.
- Articlepublished 2026-11-02
NHTSA Manufacturer ID vs Brand: Target Identity Worksheet
Explainer on NHTSA manufacturer ID vs brand for 2026: Part 566 and MID fields, WMI and multi-stage builders, 23,174 API manufacturer records vs 12,417 makes, and a decision table.
- Articlepublished 2026-11-02
OSHA 300A Data for Industrial Target Screening: What It Shows
How to read OSHA 300A data for industrial target screening in 2026: who must submit, establishment matching, TCR and DART formulas, BLS benchmarks, and four screen outcomes.
- Articlepublished 2026-11-01
PHMSA Hazmat Registration Lookup for PE Target Screening
A 2026 guide to PHMSA hazmat registration lookup for private equity: distinguish registrants, carriers and shippers, reconcile USDOT identities, and retain access exceptions and unresolved entity matches.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-31
FCC Form 499 Filer Database: Map Filers, Brands, Affiliates
How to read the FCC Form 499 filer database in 2026: 499 Filer ID vs FRN vs 498 ID, DBA and affiliate names, BDC common-control names, a join worksheet and a fictional three-record example.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-31
How to Tell if a Company Is a Freight Broker or Carrier
2026 guide to classifying a company as freight broker, carrier or both from FMCSA authority: USDOT vs MC/FF/MX numbers, SAFER vs L&I vs Motus, a status grid, and a worksheet.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-31
EIA-860 Owner vs Operator: A Power Asset Crosswalk for PE
EIA-860 owner vs operator explained for 2026: Schedule 4 owner shares, the absence rule, annual vs monthly vintages, registry-based entity resolution and a reconciliation table schema for PE.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-31
CLIA Lab Lookup for PE Target Maps: Certificate to Operator
Explainer on CLIA lab lookup for PE target maps: search CMS QCOR, read certificate types, and resolve sites to operators with a 2026 crosswalk template, rubric and 301,284-lab CMS counts.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-31
Wage and Hour Due Diligence for Private Equity: DOL Hits
A 2026 guide to matching employers in WHD records, reading findings and dollar fields, comparing federal and state sources, and escalating acquisition diligence with a fictional worksheet.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-30
Form 990 Schedule R Taxable Related Organizations: PE Guide
A 2026 guide to Schedule R taxable affiliates for PE research, covering control tests, reported percentages, filing lag, current operator checks, and a field-to-claim ownership worksheet.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
NYC Contract Awards vs. Payments: A PE Screening Worksheet
A 2026 NYC contract awards vs payments guide for PE teams: navigate PASSPort and Checkbook, reconcile vendor identities and amount types, and document municipal exposure with a record-level worksheet.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
Why Roll-Ups Fail: Research on Serial Acquirers
What studies of frequent acquirers and 1990s roll-up IPOs show, why no single roll-up failure rate exists, and a screen for testing roll-up fit.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
Why Small Private Companies Sell for Lower Multiples
Why EBITDA and SDE multiples rise with company size, what BizBuySell, IBBA and Pepperdine data can and cannot show, and a checklist for reading any range.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
Recapitalization Explained: Minority vs Majority Recaps
What a recapitalization changes, how minority, majority and dividend recaps differ, what research says about leverage, and questions for counsel.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
Sell-Side M&A Process: Stages and Timing for Buyers
A buyer's walk through a banker-run sale: teaser, NDA, CIM, IOI, management meetings, LOI, diligence, signing and closing, with evidence and a timeline.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
How to Choose a Platform Company for a Buy-and-Build
Platform company selection criteria for a buy-and-build: what to test before diligence, what BCG, Bain and survey evidence show, and a weighted scorecard.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
Seller Notes and Rollover Equity: How Owners Stay In
Seller notes vs rollover equity: mechanics, ranking, tax outline (IRC 453, 351, 721), SBA 7(a) limits, a downside case and an owner worksheet.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
Reading 'Background of the Merger' in Merger Proxies
How to find and read the Background of the Merger section in a DEFM14A, build a sale-process fact sheet, and reconcile counts, with a real 2026 example.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
SEC EDGAR Full-Text Search: Find Private Companies
How to use SEC EDGAR full-text search to find private companies named in public filings: query syntax, 8-K and exhibit rules, fair access and evidence.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
Thesis-Driven Origination: From Thesis to Target List
How to turn a private equity investment thesis into a target list: testable criteria, data sources, a NAICS universe, sampling and an exclusion log.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
IRS SOI Statistics: S Corporations and Partnerships
What IRS Statistics of Income publishes on S corporations and partnerships, the latest TY2023 counts, and how to use them to bracket a target universe.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
How to Evaluate Private Company Data Vendors: A Checklist
14 questions to ask private company data vendors on coverage, sourcing, verification dates, entity matching and licensing, plus a sample-test design.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
Decision Hygiene for Deal Teams: Less Noise and Bias in IC
A screening-to-IC protocol for deal teams: independent scoring, anchored rubrics, reference classes, pre-mortems and decision logs, with sourced limits.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
Search Fund Model: Structure, Timeline and Stanford Data
How the search fund model works: four phases, funded vs self-funded search, what Stanford and IESE studies report on returns, and the caveats behind them.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
SDE vs EBITDA: Normalizing Owner Pay in Valuation
SDE vs EBITDA on one fictional company: how owner pay is added back, the market-wage replacement step, why multiples differ and how SBA lenders test it.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
SBA 7(a) Loans to Buy a Business: Rules That Shape a Deal
How SBA SOP 50 10 8.1 shapes 7(a) business acquisitions: deal categories, 10% equity injection, standby seller notes, QoE at $3M, DSC and seller rules.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
PitchBook Alternatives: Sourcing Vendors Compared by Job
A factual comparison of PitchBook alternatives for private-company sourcing, drawn only from each vendor's own pages as read on 28 October 2026.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
Measuring Industry Fragmentation: HHI, CR4 and Census Data
How to show an industry is fragmented with HHI and concentration ratios: the arithmetic, Merger Guidelines thresholds, Census tables and their limits.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
Quality of Earnings Report: What a QoE Covers and Omits
What a quality of earnings (QoE) report examines, how add-backs are tested, why it is not an audit, and a fictional EBITDA bridge with reviewer calls.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
Outreach to Business Owners: What First Contact Must Do
What a first message to a business owner about an acquisition must establish, with an annotated sample letter and the CAN-SPAM, TSR and TCPA rule text.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
Owner Dependence and Key-Person Risk in Founder-Run Firms
How to spot owner dependence in a founder-run target from public evidence, what CEO research shows, the licence-qualifier trap, and transition structures.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
Indemnification, Escrows and R&W Insurance in Private Deals
How baskets, caps, survival periods, escrows and R&W insurance allocate post-closing risk, with SRS Acquiom and Aon data and a fictional worked example.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
No-Shop and Exclusivity Clauses in Letters of Intent
What an LOI exclusivity period or no-shop restricts, three real clauses from SEC filings compared, what SIGA v. PharmAthene means, and a review checklist.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
Net Working Capital Pegs: How Price Adjustments Work
How a net working capital peg, collar and true-up move the price, using two public SEC purchase agreements and Delaware's Chicago Bridge ruling.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
Disqualifier Meaning: Knockout Criteria in Deal Screening
What a disqualifier means in acquisition screening, and how to write knockout criteria with a testable rule, a named source, a check order and unknowns.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
HSR Act and Private Equity Roll-Ups: Antitrust Basics
2026 HSR thresholds and fees, the status of the vacated 2025 HSR form, Guideline 8 on serial acquisitions, and what roll-up teams should record.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
Independent Sponsor Model: How Deal-by-Deal Capital Works
What an independent sponsor is, how deal-by-deal equity is raised, and what two surveys show on closing fees, management fees and carry.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
Family Business Succession: What the Evidence Says
Family business succession research: where the 30%/13% survival claim comes from, inherited-control studies, counter-evidence and sourcing implications.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
Record Linkage for Company Names: Fellegi-Sunter Explained
How probabilistic record linkage matches company records: blocking, comparison vectors, m and u probabilities, match weights and clerical review.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
Business Owner Wealth and Retirement: What the SCF Shows
What the Fed's 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances says about private business equity: ownership rates, median vs mean value, owner age, and its limits.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
ESOP vs Private Equity Sale: The Alternative Buyer
ESOP or sponsor sale? NCEO counts of ESOPs from Form 5500 data, the IRS definition, Section 1042 conditions as written, and what it means for outreach.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
Earnouts in Acquisitions: Structure, Evidence, Disputes
How earnouts in private acquisitions are structured, what the Cain, Denis and Denis study found, how buyers account for them, and where disputes start.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
Data Provenance for Deal Research: Using the W3C PROV Model
What data provenance means, how the W3C PROV model links entities, activities and agents, and a minimal provenance record for one company fact.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
Fed Small Business Credit Survey: What Employer Firms Report
A guide to the Fed's Small Business Credit Survey: sample design, 2025 financing, debt and cost findings, and what they can and cannot say about targets.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
Confidential Information Memorandum (CIM): How to Read One
What a confidential information memorandum contains, where it sits in an M&A sale process, and how buyers test each section against independent records.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
EBITDA Add-Backs: Which Adjustments Hold Up in Diligence
Which EBITDA add-backs survive diligence: four adjustment families, SEC non-GAAP tests as a yardstick, the evidence each needs and a test sheet.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
Cohen's Kappa for Acquisition Screening Reviewer Agreement
Measure inter-rater reliability in acquisition screening with Cohen's kappa: a worked pass/fail example, interpretation bands and the prevalence trap.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
Customer Concentration: How to Screen a Private Target Early
How to screen a private target for customer concentration before diligence: the 10% disclosure rule, what research shows, public clues and a worksheet.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
Census Annual Business Survey: Owner Data, Tables and API
What the Census Annual Business Survey says about owners, including owner age by sector and state, how to pull ABS tables and API data, and its limits.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
How Long Do Businesses Last? BLS Survival Data Explained
What BLS establishment survival data show: about half of new establishments reach five years, a third reach ten, and what that means for screening by age.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
Carve-Out Acquisitions: Finding and Evaluating Divestitures
How buyers spot carve-out candidates in SEC filings (segments, 8-K items, held-for-sale, Exhibit 21) and price stand-alone costs, TSAs and stranded costs.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
Buy-and-Build Economics: Multiple Arbitrage and Its Limits
How multiple arbitrage works in a buy-and-build: an illustrative value bridge, a flat-exit sensitivity table, and the limits the evidence leaves open.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
Private Company Valuation Methods and Rev. Rul. 59-60
Business valuation methods for private companies: income, market and asset approaches, the eight Rev. Rul. 59-60 factors, and an evidence worksheet.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
Public Comps for Private Deals: Reading ASC 805 Disclosures
Where acquisition price data lives in 10-Ks and 8-Ks: ASC 805 footnotes, Reg S-X 3-05 significance tests, EDGAR full-text search and a sourced comp row.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
Business Brokers and M&A Intermediaries: Market Structure
Who sells sub-$50M businesses: broker tiers, the Exchange Act M&A broker exemption, and what BizBuySell and IBBA Market Pulse data do and do not show.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
Baby Boomer Business Owners Retiring: What the Data Shows
A fact-check of the silver tsunami claim using Census owner-age tables for 2018 to 2023: who is counted, what is modelled, and why age is not intent.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
Corporate Transparency Act and BOI Data: What Buyers Can Use
As of Oct 28, 2026, US companies are exempt from FinCEN BOI reporting and the database is non-public. Where buyers can find owner evidence instead.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
Auditing AI-Generated Company Research: A Review Checklist
A reviewer's checklist for AI-generated company research, mapped to NIST AI 600-1: classify claims, verify citations and quotes, sample by risk, sign off.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
Add-On Acquisition Sourcing: Finding Bolt-On Targets
A method for sourcing bolt-on acquisitions: derive criteria from the platform, map the market from licence registries, resolve entities, apply knockouts.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
IOI vs LOI in Private Deals: Binding Terms and Timing
IOI vs LOI for private company acquisitions: what each states, which LOI terms bind, Delaware's SIGA good-faith rule, HSR timing and a pre-send checklist.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
PACER Party Name Search: Company Litigation Due Diligence
How to run a PACER party name search on a company, tell a federal case hit from a name collision, and plan 2026 fees ($0.10 per page, $0.12 from 2027) with a fictional adjudication worksheet.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-29
Asset Sale vs Stock Sale vs 338(h)(10): Structure Basics
A statute-and-form walk-through of stock sales, asset sales under Section 1060 and 338(h)(10) elections for S corporations, with a question worksheet.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-28
SAM.gov Exclusions Screening: Match, Scope, and Date
A 2026 SAM.gov exclusions screening protocol for private equity teams: verify entity matches, interpret scope and dates, retain a printable evidence worksheet, and escalate unresolved procurement questions.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-27
How to Verify ISO Certification Claim in a PE Screen
A 2026 protocol to verify an ISO certification claim for industrial PE screens: IAF CertSearch use, issuer checks, scope and expiry, ISO 9001:2026 dates, a worksheet and a status decision matrix.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-27
How to Verify Who Owns a Domain With RDAP (2026 Guide)
A 2026 guide to verifying who owns a domain with RDAP: field-by-field interpretation, redaction and ccTLD rules, register cross-checks, a worksheet, and a 7.6% WHOIS/RDAP inconsistency benchmark.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-27
How to Verify Debtor Identity in PACER: Triage Worksheet
A 2026 PE research protocol for matching PACER bankruptcy hits to legal entities, separating affiliates, checking case stages, and recording accepted, rejected or unresolved results in a debtor-match worksheet.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-27
Patent Ownership Due Diligence: USPTO Assignment Worksheet
Patent ownership due diligence guide for 2026: a USPTO assignment worksheet keyed by patent number, document-type inference table, elapsed-day flags, lien checks and four screen outcomes.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-27
NLRB Election Records for Private Equity Target Screening
A 2026 diligence guide to NLRB election records in PE target screens: resolve the legal employer, read RC cases by unit and site, separate tallies from certification, and handle ULP charges.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-27
Prompt Injection Attacks on AI Research Agents: A PE Test Suite
Prompt injection attacks on AI research agents, tested safely: six fictional fixtures, six failure classes, exact-binomial bounds and release gates for PE teams, as of October 2026.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-27
Conflicting Data Sources on a Private Equity Target Ledger
A field-level claim ledger for resolving conflicting data sources on a private equity target in 2026: six dispositions, a conflict-class cross-tab, second-review gates, a fictional worked example and a schema.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-27
Private Equity Origination Approval Packet and Suppression Check
How a private equity origination approval packet and suppression check work for one owner contact in 2026: identity, mandate evidence, pre-send questions, approval, expiry and audit ratios.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-24
USDA Organic Integrity Database Company Search: PE Guide
A 2026 guide to USDA Organic Integrity Database company searches: map Handling operations to legal entities, separate sites from mailing addresses, verify parent links, and calculate extract-level research yield.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-23
How to Find Out Who Owns an Alcohol Brand: TTB Guide
A 2026 guide for PE analysts linking TTB COLAs, permittee exports and state entities, with an editable evidence table, ownership limits and a distinct-permittee calculation.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-22
PACA License Search: Vetting PE Produce Distributor Maps
A 2026 guide to PACA license search for private-equity produce distributor research, covering legal names, branch reconciliation, no-hit follow-up, a reusable crosswalk and evidence limits.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-21
OFAC Screening in Private Equity Due Diligence: Name Hits
A 2026 escalation worksheet for OFAC screening in private equity due diligence, covering entity identifiers, name-match conflicts, ownership graphs, and the evidence counsel needs before a decision.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-20
OIG LEIE Screening for Private Equity Healthcare Due Diligence
How private equity healthcare teams use the OIG LEIE in 2026: resolve the legal entity, verify EIN or SSN matches, compare state Medicaid lists and SAM, and escalate with a documented worksheet.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-20
FDD Item 19 Financial Performance Representations Guide
A 2026 research guide to FDD Item 19 financial performance representations: a claim matrix, reporting and attainment fraction formulas, a fictional selection-bias example, and reconciliation with Items 20 and 21.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-20
FAA Part 135 Operator List: A PE Target Mapping Guide
How to use the FAA Part 135 operator list in 2026: separate brand, legal certificate holder and authorized aircraft, build a crosswalk, size the denominator, and log weekly deltas.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-20
FSIS Establishment Number Lookup: Company Mapping Guide
How to turn an FSIS establishment number into a company: 2026 MPI directory fields, HACCP size limits, state-inspected gaps and a crosswalk template with evidence statuses.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-20
CMS Home Health Cost Report Data: A CCN-Level PE Screen
How to screen Medicare home health agencies with CMS cost report data at CCN level: PUF versus HCRIS, 2026 release dates, amendment status, 180/365/400-day annualization and a Medicare-only versus platform revenue test.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-19
Insurance Agency License Lookup for PE Target Research
A 2026 insurance agency license lookup protocol for PE research: verify legal entities, state authority, responsible producers and appointments, with source routes and a coverage worksheet.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-18
Certificate of Need Data: Applications, Approvals, and Sites
A 2026 guide to certificate of need data for healthcare acquisition research, with state source routes, an application-to-operation worksheet, and separate proposed, approved, and operating capacity counts.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-18
EPA ECHO Violations in PE Target Screening: Escalation Matrix
EPA ECHO violations in private equity target screening: a 2026 evidence ladder, escalation matrix and reconciliation worksheet covering 5- and 10-year ECHO windows, SNC vs HPV flags and data lags up to 3 months.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-17
Job Postings vs. Headcount Growth: A PE Evidence Protocol
A 2026 evidence protocol for PE teams using job postings: distinguish ads from hires, resolve employers, document duplicates, and corroborate capability, location, and headcount claims.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-16
Technographic Data for Private Equity: Validation Protocol
A 2026 validation protocol for technographic data in private equity: test website signals, measure precision and unknowns, and compare dataset costs with a reproducible mandate-specific scorecard.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-15
Wayback Machine Due Diligence: A Website Evidence Protocol
A 2026 protocol for Wayback Machine due diligence: distinguish capture dates, inspect archived assets, preserve evidence, and adjudicate historical company claims for private equity research.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-15
SAM.gov UEI and CAGE Code Lookup: Resolving Legal Names
A 2026 guide for private-equity teams resolving SAM.gov contractors: UEI versus CAGE scope, legal names and DBAs, state-registry corroboration, USAspending joins, and evidence limits.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-14
Google Maps Data for Private Equity Deal Sourcing: Resolution
A 2026 protocol for turning Google Maps discovery into acquisition research: classify profiles, verify establishments and operators, preserve ownership uncertainty, and measure resolution without overstating market coverage.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-13
PPP Loan Data Due Diligence: Target Evidence and Limits
A 2026 protocol for using PPP loan data in acquisition research: verify borrower identity, reconcile loan and forgiveness fields, and separate historical employee inputs from current company evidence.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-13
Contractor License Lookup by State: PE Mapping in 2026
A 2026 contractor license lookup by state report for PE teams, with official routes for 50 states and D.C., checked field limits, bulk-data options, and a license-to-legal-entity evidence protocol.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-13
NMLS Consumer Access Mortgage Company Search for PE
A 2026 guide to NMLS Consumer Access mortgage company search for PE teams: distinguish company and branch IDs, interpret state license rows, reconcile legal entities, and document ownership gaps and reuse limits.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-13
CBP vs QCEW vs SUSB: Firm or Establishment Market Sizing
A 2026 decision worksheet for private equity market sizing: compare firm and establishment definitions, release years, NAICS vintages and coverage ranges across CBP, QCEW and SUSB.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-13
NPPES Data for Healthcare Market Mapping and Resolution
A 2026 guide to NPPES data for healthcare market mapping, with Type 1 and Type 2 rules, a provider-resolution worksheet, update controls, and explicit limits on organization and ownership matching.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-13
Bill of Lading Data for Due Diligence: A PE Evidence Guide
A 2026 guide to bill of lading data for due diligence: match industrial acquisition targets, test supplier claims, quantify observed shipments and document confidentiality, coverage and identity gaps.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-13
FDA Manufacturer Registration Database: M&A Source Matrix
A 2026 source matrix for FDA manufacturer registration research, covering drug and device searches, food and cosmetic access limits, facility-to-company matching, and PE acquisition due diligence.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-11
SBA Size Standards vs Lower Middle Market: A PE Guide
A 2026 guide for PE teams separating SBA size standards from lower-middle-market screens, with NAICS thresholds, revenue and EBITDA mandate comparisons, affiliation review triggers, and a two-layer worksheet.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-08
WARN Notices by State: An Acquisition Research Matrix
A 2026 guide to WARN notices by state for private equity research: 50 official source routes, archive and download caveats, an event schema, amendment controls, and facility-to-company matching.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-07
FDD Item 20: What PE Can Infer About Franchise Systems
A 2026 guide to FDD Item 20 for private equity research, with an item-by-item extraction template, state filing-access matrix, outlet-movement bridge, and strict limits on ownership and growth inferences.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-06
Trademark Ownership History: Brand Assignments in M&A
A 2026 guide for private equity teams tracing trademark ownership history through USPTO assignments, registry IDs and corporate evidence, with a chain table, decision matrix and conflict rules.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-05
Private Equity Research Handoff Checklist: Evidence and Gaps
A 2026 private equity research handoff checklist covering identity, mandate results, source-to-claim evidence, review status and owned open questions, with a manifest and machine-readable schema.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-04
CMS PECOS Ownership Data: Finding the Ultimate Owner
A 2026 guide to CMS PECOS ownership data: reconcile NPI and CCN identities, reported owners, parent flags and CHOW events with a provider-type source matrix and an auditable ownership worksheet.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-03
FMCSA Company Snapshot for Trucking Target Screens
A 2026 guide to using the FMCSA Company Snapshot in trucking acquisition screens, with USDOT and authority checks, fleet-field limits, safety windows, and a source-linked triage worksheet.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-02
SEC Exhibit 21 Subsidiaries: A PE Mapping Guide
A 2026 field guide to SEC Exhibit 21 subsidiary lists for PE origination: read the omission rule, retain filing dates and footnotes, verify legal entities, and track unresolved family links.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-01
Private Equity Deal Origination Pipeline Stages and Metrics
A 2026 guide to private equity origination stages, from target identification through deal-team handoff, with entry and exit criteria, event-ledger fields, denominator rules, and a fictional cohort dashboard.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-01
How to Find Who Owns an RIA Using Form ADV in 2026
A 2026 PE origination protocol for matching the correct RIA record, decoding Form ADV Schedules A, B, and C, reconciling state registries, and documenting ownership uncertainty.
- Articlepublished 2026-10-01
How to Reconcile EPA and OSHA Records for Target Mapping
A 2026 protocol for joining EPA FRS facilities to OSHA inspection establishments in acquisition maps, with a source-field crosswalk, match rules, fictional examples, and a reconciliation worksheet.
- Articlepublished 2026-09-28
Company Name Change vs Conversion vs Merger: A Guide
A 2026 guide for PE research teams tracking entity continuity through name amendments, conversions, mergers, and brand transfers, with an event ledger, decision tree, and duplicate-quality metrics.
- Articlepublished 2026-09-27
How to Re-Screen Targets When Investment Criteria Change
A 2026 operating guide to re-screening acquisition targets after a mandate change, with version rules, impact analysis, a 500-record transition ledger, and comparability checks.
- Articlepublished 2026-09-26
How to Know When a Private Equity Target Universe Is Complete
A 2026 PE research guide to source yield, list overlap, Chapman sensitivity estimates, identity matching, and a cost-aware stopping rule when no defensible firm-count denominator exists.
- Articlepublished 2026-09-25
SAM.gov to USAspending: Contractor Identity Crosswalk
A 2026 field guide for matching SAM.gov entities to USAspending recipients and awards using UEIs, legal names, parent profiles, dated evidence, and deduplicated obligation calculations.
- Articlepublished 2026-09-24
Business Entity Status Meaning: A Buyer Triage Protocol
A 2026 private equity guide to business entity status meaning, with state definitions, a status crosswalk, decision tree, contradiction log, and a review-rate formula for target screening.
- Articlepublished 2026-09-23
Build vs. Buy Private Equity Deal Origination Research
A 2026 decision guide for private equity teams comparing internal build, purchased software, managed research, and hybrid delivery through five-year cost, evidence portability, and a controlled pilot.