How do PE teams screen hundreds of companies down to a short list?

When PE teams are sourcing or supporting roll-ups, they often start with hundreds of potential companies.

At a high level:
- What are the key datapoints or filters used to quickly narrow that list to a small set worth deeper work?
- How does this differ between fund-level sourcing vs portfolio company add-on screening?

I’m especially curious which early signals tend to drive fast yes/no decisions before engaging deeper diligence.
 

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