How possible is Corp Dev to PE?

While networking for PE roles, I've realized I may lack some of the required experience (documentation, negotiation...) for analyst/associate positions coming from a coverage background. Since I've had promising interviews with some of my industry client's corp dev teams, I'm considering accepting a corp dev role before more trying outs for PE.

However, I'm curious about future PE prospects coming from corp dev, as I rarely see this path - most corp dev professionals seem to end up in portfolio companies rather than on the investment side (correct me if I'm wrong), and I'm hoping folks can shed some light on this topic.  

11 Comments
 

Pretty straightforward if it's LMM/MM PE and you're coming from an M&A-heavy Corp Dev role in the sector they cover. That's what I did and it wasn't terribly difficult. What took the longest was just finding openings at the right funds. If it's the type of fund that seems to strictly hire from target school/target IB pipelines it's tough to even get an interview but in software for example there were a dozen or so funds that had more background diversity which were better targets.

"If you don't have any enemies in life you have never stood up for anything" - Winston Churchill | "It's a testament to the sheer belligerence of the profession that people would rather argue about the 'risk-adjusted returns' of using inferior tooth cleaning methods." - kellycriterion
 

Not OP but in a similar boat, couple questions.

  • How many interview processes did you go through?
  • Did you get your current seat through a recruiter or networking?
  • How many deals did you close (and what did you do on those deals) to make you a compelling candidate vs. an IB analyst or lateral PE associate?
 
  • 4 PE processes and 2 banking, got 1 offer from each, went with MM PE
  • cold applying through LinkedIn ironically 
  • had sourced 1 deal and it didn't close until after I left (but I still got credit from my seniors), had a couple broken processes too
"If you don't have any enemies in life you have never stood up for anything" - Winston Churchill | "It's a testament to the sheer belligerence of the profession that people would rather argue about the 'risk-adjusted returns' of using inferior tooth cleaning methods." - kellycriterion
 
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Thanks for the insight and great to hear your success story. The industry (gaming/entertainment) I'm looking at right now is not a common area for PE investments, but some of the companies I've interviewed have very strong M&A pipeline/execution team, so I think it could still be a nice experience to have since I'd be more involved in every aspect of making a transaction (makes up for what I lack now). 

Would you say your corp dev experience contributed to an easier transition to PE work? 

 

Didn't see this because you just posted as a comment instead of replying. Gaming & entertainment as in gambling/casinos/live shows, not like video games right? 

CorpDev I was doing very similar work to what I do now in PE except I was paid less, was less stressed, and had much better hours (like 50 most weeks).

"If you don't have any enemies in life you have never stood up for anything" - Winston Churchill | "It's a testament to the sheer belligerence of the profession that people would rather argue about the 'risk-adjusted returns' of using inferior tooth cleaning methods." - kellycriterion
 

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