ma
An exit strategy is a planned path to liquidity for owners and investors — typically a trade sale, sponsor sale, IPO, recap or orderly wind-down — with a thesis for buyer type, timing and value.
An exit strategy answers: to whom, in what form, on what timetable, and why that maximises risk-adjusted proceeds? Invest Europe catalogues PE exits as trade sale, secondary (sponsor-to-sponsor), IPO and, less often, write-off.
Founders need the same menu plus family succession and MBO. “We will see” is not a strategy; it is a residual.
| Route | Who pays | Typical driver |
|---|---|---|
| Trade sale | Strategic buyer | Synergies, capability |
| Sponsor sale | PE buyer | Hold-period end, dual-track |
| IPO | Public market | Scale, brand, multiple |
| Recap / dividend | Lenders + remaining equity | Partial liquidity, no full exit |
| MBO / MBI | Management ± sponsor | Continuity |
Illustration only.
A growth-equity investor owns 35% of a SaaS firm. Exit strategy at entry: trade sale to a vertical strategic in years 4–6 at 8–12x ARR, with IPO as option B if ARR > €40m. Year 5 ARR is €18m; option B is dead; option A requires a process. That is strategy being used, not a slide from the original deck.
Strategy constrains exit planning (the work). A trade-sale strategy that never mapped the 20 logical strategics is a slogan. Dual-track is a strategy only if both tracks are resourced.
PE IC at entry; founder retirement; corporate divestiture (exit of a division).
Markets close. The “strategic premium” can vanish in a down cycle. IPOs are not available to most mid-market companies. Tax and lock-ups can make the elegant route the worse net-proceeds route.
Dazur captures intended exit route as a field next to valuation so investor matching does not pair a 12-year family-office hold with a fund that must exit in 36 months.