Inspirit Capital and PCB Partners acquires Palladium Digital Group.

Inspirit Capital, with PCB Partners co-founders Ben Doltis and Tim Farazmand are pleased to announce the acquisition of Palladium Digital Group, a leading digital and strategic consulting firm.

Operating from London and New York, Palladium supports private equity investors and their portfolio businesses to define, design and implement digital capabilities. The group also provides strategic consultancy services to a range of European and North American corporate clients through its White Space Strategy division. Recently ranked in the Financial Times 2025 list of the UK’s leading management consultancies, Palladium is also developing a market-leading position in helping businesses understand and realise the practical benefits of artificial intelligence technologies.

Inspirit Capital is a London-based investment firm that specialise in corporate carve outs, managing capital on behalf of a blue-chip institutional investor base. PCB Partners is a London-based investment bank advising on M&A deals exclusively in the digital ecosystem.

Will Stamp, Partner at Inspirit Capital, commented:

“Palladium has built a market-leading position in recent years and we are delighted to be partnering with James, Mark and the wider Palladium team to deliver the next phase of growth. This transaction also aligns with Inspirit’s expertise in delivering complex corporate carve-outs.”

Ben Doltis, CEO and Co-founder at PCB, commented:

“We are thrilled to be co-investing alongside Inspirit Capital in Palladium. As technology continues to reshape industries, Palladium’s expertise in leveraging data and AI-driven solutions positions it perfectly for accelerated growth. I am excited to back such a first-class management team as they lead the company into its next chapter.”

James Prebble, CEO and Co-founder at Palladium Digital Group, commented:

“We are delighted to welcome PCB Partners and Inspirit Capital as our new investment partners. Their support marks an exciting new chapter for Palladium as we accelerate our expansion in the US and continue to build on our leadership in digital and technology advisory for the private equity sector. With their backing, we are well positioned to capitalise on the significant growth opportunities in AI and data-driven value creation for our private equity clients and their portfolios. We have built strong foundations for Palladiums continued growth in the sector, and we look forward to this next phase of growth alongside PCB Partners and Inspirit Capital.”

Mark Lewis, COO at Palladium Digital Group, commented: 

“We are thrilled to embark on the next chapter of Palladium’s journey with Inspirit Capital and PCB Partners. Their investment is a significant milestone in our ambition to become the leading tech, data, and AI consultancy for the private equity sector. Palladium’s unique blend of transaction advisory and value creation services, especially our hands-on approach to implementation and realising value through technology, data, and AI, positions us at the forefront of a rapidly evolving market. Together with our new partners, we  will be able to accelerate our growth, deepen our impact with private equity firms and their portfolio companies, and continue delivering transformative results. We are excited to scale, innovate, and prepare for this new phase.”

PCB announces partnership with Qodea to supercharge European M&A strategy.

17 January 2025

PCB, a leading mergers and acquisitions advisory firm specialising in disruptive technologies and digital transformation, has been appointed to support Qodea in executing an ambitious M&A strategy across multiple regions.

Backed by Marlin Equity Partners, Qodea, Europe’s largest dedicated Google Cloud digital transformation partner, has partnered with the firm to accelerate its growth. Execution of this strategy will reinforce Qodea’s market leading capability and status as expert engineers and deliverers of Google Cloud technology. In addition, PCB’s co-founder, Ben Doltis, will join Qodea’s Board.

Selling Your Business? Watch Out For The Post-Exit Blues

The last 6.5 years building PCB Partners in what was a new category for me personally, in an already mature M&A marketplace; through emotional intelligence, determination, exceptional Partners and talent in our firm, has taken us from the challenger/ disruptor to leading the way in Corporate Finance.. I spoke with Forbes this week about how we work with Entrepreneurs on pre and post exit and it was made a little more special to have Daniel Fox and the Trilogy International Jamie Bernstein and Ivan Jackson Founders participate, who’s business we sold earlier in the month to Korn Ferry.

Click to read the full article and hear more from PCB: Selling Your Business? Watch Out For The Post-Exit Blues

How To Make A Successful Business Exit?

If you want to exit or to know how it works…

You can read the insights in Forbes story with knowledge from Ben Doltis Co-founder of Corporate Finance firm PCB Partners and featuring how to buy a business insights from the talented Gabriele Cipparrone of Apax Partners.

Do you want to sell your company?

Click to read the full article and hear more from PCB: https://lnkd.in/eBkg5yrR

The (other) tech sector attracting “premium” valuations.

PCB’s Founder Ben Doltis speaks this week with the Financial Times, speaking on CEO’s, the importance of their senior teams, and current valuations for “healthy” businesses in technology, he commented:

“While much of the investment market is focused on the investment opportunities surrounding Artificial Intelligence (AI), areas such as data mining, and data analytics are also attracting “premium valuations” when professional services companies providing those services are sold.”

Read full Financial Times article here: The (other) tech sector attracting “premium” valuations – FTAdviser

23 January 2023

PCB Partners are delighted that Co-Founder Ben Doltis interviewed with Forbes to tell them what we are all about…

Read a copy of it here.

The decision to buy or sell a company is a high stakes decision, whichever side of the deal you are on. And post deal euphoria for those involved is understandable. But the real test of the wisdom and value of any transaction usually takes some years to be tested and proven. This is especially true of businesses in the client service industry. The race to achieve market leading scale and extend capabilities in a complex, fast changing marketplace where hitherto discrete services domains are converging has only heightened the risks involved. The dramatic acceleration in M&A activity especially over the last 3 years has resulted in a ‘seller’s’ market with valuations at unprecedented levels and in many places a shortage of businesses and assets to be acquired. So- called platform acquisitions which an acquirer can use as a foundation for the acquisition of additional capabilities are harder to find. Increasingly the search is for smaller less mature organisations. These organisations are by definition earlier in their organisation life cycle and typically still dependent to a significant degree on the vision, drive and values of the founding entrepreneur. In times past, acquirers could mitigate risk by making as much as half of the purchase price contingent on future performance but in today’s seller’s market this is rarely the case. Sellers are guaranteed all or virtually all the acquisition price up front provided they simply stick around for a few years. As a fast growing M&A advisor PCB Partners philosophy and design is ideally suited to this marketplace. The senior team combines successful entrepreneurs like Ben Doltis, who built and sold his own companies to the ManpowerGroup in 2013 and Andrew Bloch who similarly built and sold his own marketing services firm to Enero, together with PCB’s industry experts with a wealth of experience in strategy and organisation development as well as private equity and corporate finance.

Describing an M&A advisor as ‘the entrepreneur’s friend’ seems at first to be a contradiction in terms, but it is not. PCB’s goal is to discover through its network of industry relationships, fast growing high potential organisations early on their S Curve of development. Often these companies are approaching an inflection point but have not yet made the decision to be acquired. And though small now, they may contain the seeds in people, IP and ideas that will propel the next generation of success in 5 to 7 years.

These companies are ideal targets particularly for companies that have made the execution of programmatic M&A a core part of their strategy and as a result become true masters of identifying negotiating and integrating acquisitions. However, as the disparity in scale between the acquirer and target continues to increase, so the fear of loss of identity and degrees of freedom to develop in the future also increases.

At PCB, we have learnt that being trusted by the selling entrepreneurs, being able to identify with their hopes and fears, genuinely considering ‘parenting’ fit and at times being able to step into negotiations to circumvent ‘stalls’ is a valuable service to our buy side clients and to the sellers as well. The reality is that, although ultimately every transaction finishes with a negotiation of terms, acquisitions that stand the test of time and create real economic value need to create a win-win dynamic.  Today’s valuations are increasingly hard to justify on simple growth projections of the acquired company. They require a bet on additional possibilities that are not yet visible or fully understood but which will emerge once the companies are combined under common ownership. Shared vision, momentum, agility and a culture of mutuality and possibility are the ingredients needed for the longer term.

Companies spend trillions of dollars a year on acquisitions. And in truth many of them don’t come close to the returns expected, though this is usually only visible externally in the case of large acquisitions that fail, but acquisitions that don’t work out distract from other priorities, absorb resources that would be better deployed on the next growth curve and can dilute rather than reinforce differentiation.

Acting with a foot in both camps, whilst it takes great care, can be what makes the difference.

The 2022 edition of the Spear’s Magazine Spear’s 500 is here — PCB Partners are delighted that Co-Founder Ben Doltis is included in the indispensable guide to the top private client advisers, wealth managers, lawyers and service providers for HNW individuals.

Read a copy of it here.

PCB PARTNERS NAMED AS FINALIST FOR BOUTIQUE INVESTMENT BANKING FIRM OF THE YEAR IN 20TH ANNUAL M&A ADVISOR AWARDS.

PCB Partners, global M&A advisory firm with a focus on serving digital and consulting businesses, has been named as a finalist for Boutique Investment Banking Firm of the Year for the 20th Annual M&A Advisor Awards by The M&A Advisor.

PCB Partners CEO Ben Doltis said: “After a terrific year of growth for our global business and the delivery of exceptional client outcomes, we’re proud to be recognized as an award finalist by the M&A Advisor.” PCB Partners Global Operations Leader Ramone Param added “The PCB team works at the highest levels within the digital and consulting sectors, with real experience of building and selling their own companies and a deep understanding of how to build value in this market effectively. This recognition reflects our global team’s commitment to industry-leading results for our clients through a year marked by significant uncertainty and accelerating transformation.”

The M&A Advisor was founded in 1998 to publish insights and intelligence on M&A, serving the world’s leading investment banking, financing and restructuring professionals. The M&A Advisor has been honouring excellence in deal making and bestowing recognition on top professionals and firms for two decades.

Roger Aguinaldo, Founder of The M&A Advisor said: “Given the backdrop of uncertainty, and the tremendous activity over the past year, these award finalists represent the finest deals and professionals within the M&A industry …. This period continues to be ripe with challenges, but also abundant with M&A activity. These professionals were able to navigate through a global pandemic, a distracting Presidential election and administration turnover, and a volatile economic turmoil, all the while executing transactions representing several hundred billions of dollars of enterprise value.”

About PCB Partners (www.pcbpartners.co.uk)

PCB Partners provides buy-side and sell-side services, with a focus on disruptive technologies, digital transformation, management consulting and creative marketing services businesses. Ben Doltis founded PCB Partners with one-time LDC Managing Director, Tim Farazmand in 2018. The leadership have built a world class team of some 20 people, from diverse backgrounds. In order to achieve their objectives, it was important for PCB to hire outside of traditional M&A staff and attract entrepreneurs who had first-hand experience of buying and selling their own companies.  These have included Tim Breene (ex-Founder Accenture Interactive) and Ramone Param (ex-PwC and Equiteq North America) in North America; Brett Newland (ex-Accenture Security COO), Peter Jacobs (former PwC senior partner), Adriana Roman-Holly (ex-Ciesco and Pall Mall Capital), Mark Casement (PwC), and advisor Andrew Bloch (Founder of Frank PR) in the UK;  Animesh Parihar (ex-Head of Global Delivery at Finastra) in India, Sunnie De Grow (PwC Corporate Development) in Shanghai, Matthew Melhuish (Founder of BMF and former Enero CEO) in Australia and advisor Erez Benovich in Israel. The firm have also invested in a dedicated research team with strong relationships with academia and industry associations. In a short space of time PCB Partners has created a new kind of M&A Advisory Firm recognized by major corporates and private equity investors in the technology and consulting space.

This follows the publication of an article based on this thought piece by consultancy.uk.

Tim Breene is a thought leader, author and business mentor whose leadership and experience has forever changed the world of technology, digital media and consulting. In a series of articles, he will be exploring how business leaders can effectively navigate the rapidly changing marketplace. Tim was the Founder and first CEO of Accenture Interactive. Following his recent retirement as CEO of World Relief, Tim joined PCB Partners as Senior Advisor to support the leadership team with its global expansion.

We live in a time when we are awash with new management theories seeking to explain the keys to success and to future proofing your organization in a rapidly changing marketplace. Whether it’s Reid Hoffmann’s theory of “blitzscaling” or Brian Robertson’s thinking on “Holacracy” to institutionalize agile working, it seems there is always a new theory to apply to help us scale our businesses in the rapidly transforming economy. Sadly, if there is one thing we can be certain of, it is that predicting the future is, at best, an imprecise science. We live in a world that is VUCA – volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. The links between the past, the present and the future are not tidy – we’re always in the middle of a new revolution.

As business leaders we‘re touched by the major developments happening around us now – the trend to hyper-specialization; the M&A fueled race to dominant scale; the acceleration of digital transformation and growth fueled by the Covid experience of virtual working; networking as the new norm; the power of data – to name just a few. At the same time, we are looking ahead and asking hard questions so that we’re positioned for the future, as well as for our success today.

When I first conceived of what became Accenture Interactive, it was because I recognized that traditional advertising agencies did not have either the culture or the technology expertise to respond to a content rich, data-informed multichannel universe. Client IT shops, steeped in ‘waterfall’ development processes could not respond with the agility that CMOs would need in an increasingly digital world. It was what Paul Nunes and I described in our book “Jumping the S-Curve” labelled a BEMI – a big enough market insight – to propel a journey to leadership today in digital marketing and advertising. The insight informed several early acquisitions for Accenture Interactive, extending its capabilities into new domains, and setting in motion a process of discovery and invention as we consciously sought out talent beyond the edge of Accenture’s traditional culture via non-traditional partnerships. All the while, reflecting on the right balance between separation from, and integration with, Accenture’s core delivery model. The detail of the vision and model were adjusted in the light of successes, failures and the evolving external environment. When we finally formalized the launch of Accenture Interactive in 2009, it was after 4 years of experimentation and storming to discover ‘the pattern that worked’.

The current race for scale, which has resulted in dramatic increases in acquisition activity over the last year – with more than 1,000 digital commerce transactions in the first half of 2021, an increase of more than 40% compared to just 3 years ago – is set to remain because maximizing network effects will continue to matter and aggressive growth in the current market carries a premium over efficiency.  But sooner or later, large fast-growing organizations will have to grapple with changing workforce expectations, and some of the cultural and organizational pressures arising from this rush to scale. The winners will be those who think beyond the immediate challenges of acquiring the assets and people needed to stay competitive today. These winners are thoughtful about creating the culture and organization that will enable them to continue changing ahead of the curve.

That’s because the only thing we know for certain is that we cannot ever truly predict the future. When the next seismic shock comes, the organizations with the best, most engaged and committed talent will be the winners.

PCB Partners is an entrepreneurial global M&A advisory firm serving digital and consulting businesses. If you would like to discuss your acquisition strategy, preparing your business for a sale or business strategy. Please get in touch.