Independently advising on a PE deal

I'm independently advising an extended family member on a deal. We're just getting ready to market it to some PE shops, and it has received interest from a few (2 to be exact) significant small/mid-cap PE funds mentioned on this forum from time to time.

Its more of a venture capital type deal, but the nature of the business is very attractive to PE funds.

My question is for the experienced monkeys... what do you think is a fair fee? I'm inclined to take an equity portion as a fee, so really it is of no expense to either the sponsor or the original principals (except for dilution).

Through some indirect questions one of my MDs mentioned that advisory fees on something like this could be 100bps of capital raised (debt+equity). Which would be pretty good for me. Now there's 2 issues:

1- of the 2 reputable PE shops that have shown interest, I solicited one and the principal solicited the other. So obviously if the principal's PE contact ends up funding the whole thing, I won't be AS responsible (but obviously it is my models, presentation, and expertise that got this into marketable shape) 2- regardless of the sponsor we use, I'm not responsible for the debt raise, the sponsor will be arranging that themselves obviously

So is the 100bp of (debt+equity) fair? What is the proper fee? What should it be a percentage of? How will that vary, if at all depending on the the sponsor providing the equity investment.

Ideally, now is where I can really add value(earn my fee) by bringing in as much PE interest as possible and negotiating for the best terms (better than the principal's PE contact) making my funding source the top choice.

And insight would be much appreciated. Its a relatively decent sized deal, and I know I'm gonna be up against some BSDs, so I don't want to show any sign of naivety... but obviously, I feel like I made a significant contribution to this and I'd like to be fairly compensated for the first deal I close so I want something reasonable structured into the deal.

5 Comments
 
Best Response

So, I have been involved in some very similar situations and here is how my partners and I were able to be paid.

First off you would charge a fee for all of the equity you are directly responsible for. This will be (assuming you want to roll into the deal) 2-3% with a smaller cash portion (call it 100bps).

The second thing you would get paid on would be an acquisition fee (or M&A advisory fee). This should be based on total deal size and would be based on a sliding scale, smaller fee for bigger deal. Assuming you are doing modeling etc, but not legal advise or arranging for deal execution the fee will be smaller. If you were doing everything (ie being a one man investment bank running the process) you could fee comfortable charging as much as 100bps. The less you do the less you can charge. To figure out how much you can charge look at the total fee load of the deal, it shouldn't exceed 5% and think about the amount of work you are doing out of the pile.

PM me if you want more detailed info about how my partners and I have done this.

--There are stupid questions, so think first.
 

Nisi eos odit est qui exercitationem consequatur in. Sit sit eum esse qui. At laborum fugit quo molestiae. Velit odio aut aut delectus vel quas fuga placeat.

Minima repellat et ut adipisci rerum. Praesentium culpa veritatis dicta est quae animi veniam. Sit unde quam dolores suscipit vero libero et.

Ex autem a provident voluptatem cum libero. Doloribus voluptatem natus velit ad similique consectetur sequi et. Ad et delectus nemo numquam.

Doloremque explicabo adipisci animi autem est. Odit ullam quis praesentium magnam nam. Natus asperiores architecto et quaerat repudiandae et officia voluptatum. Reprehenderit inventore dolorum consequatur quam dolore laboriosam. Possimus sit nulla non est soluta natus nihil et.

Career Advancement Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”