Summer Internship Help: Ocean Park vs. True North M&A

Background:
I am a junior at a non target liberal arts school in the Midwest, double majoring in Accounting and Finance. I am currently interning at a local PE firm and working on deal flow with an investment group. My long term goal is to move into the ETA (Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition) space or Evergreen Private Equity.
I am fortunate to have two offers for this summer and would love some input on which might be the better launchpad.

Option 1: Ocean Park (Investment Banking)
• Focus: Very specialized in Food, Ag, and Renewables.
• Pros: Deep industry expertise and a very strong reputation in their specific niche. The technical training seems rigorous.
• Cons: Very niche. I am slightly worried about pigeonholing myself too early if I decide I want to look at other industries later. Also not looking for anyone full time, so I would just be there for 10 weeks.

Option 2: True North M&A
• Focus: Lower Middle Market (LMM) M&A.
• Pros: High volume of deals in the LMM space. Since I want to eventually pursue ETA, seeing how these smaller, founder led businesses are sold feels very relevant. Looking for an intern to come on full time after the internship.
• Cons: Might lack the "brand name" or "prestige" compared to more specialized boutiques when it comes to recruiting for mega fund PE or top tier IB later.

The Dilemma:
I value the specialized knowledge of Ocean Park, but the LMM exposure at True North feels very aligned with my interest in buying and operating small businesses one day.

1. Which firm provides better technical modeling experience for a summer analyst?
2. Does the niche focus of Ocean Park help or hurt for generalist PE recruiting later?
3. For someone interested in ETA, is LMM M&A experience more valuable than "prestigious" boutique experience?

Appreciate any insights from those who have worked at either or in the LMM space in general.

1 Comments
 

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