The Most Valuable Asset in a Portfolio Company Isn't Growth. It's Continuity.
I've integrated 12 acquisitions at a $2 billion PE portfolio company. The ones that delivered high returns had one thing in common: continuity throughout the chaos.
There's a pattern in PE-backed acquisitions: projected revenue shows up, but projected EBITDA doesn't.
Why? Because firms underwrite growth but lose money when continuity breaks: in systems, in people, or both.
Continuity isn't about resisting change. It's about preserving what enables value creation during transition: the infrastructure that produces reliable insights and the people who can act on them.
Continuity in Process: Build Infrastructure That Enables Better Decision Making
Portfolio companies spend a lot of time answering questions from the sponsors. CFOs burning 40+ hours a month on reporting can't focus on strategic planning or driving efficiency.
The solution is better infrastructure.
When you build systems that deliver insights efficiently, everyone wins:
Automated EBITDA-to-cash bridge showing exactly where cash is going
Working capital trends separating organic performance from acquired activity
Consolidated CapEx and lease schedules producing audit-ready rollforwards
These systems create financial discipline that scales. When your systems give you fast, accurate answers, PE gets what they need AND the management team can focus on creating value.
Continuity in People: Preserving Institutional Knowledge, Relationships, and Trust
Leadership transitions happen in PE-backed companies. Sometimes you need to upgrade talent to professionalize the organization. The problem isn't replacing people when necessary. The problem is losing institutional knowledge and trust in the process, especially during integration or in the 12 months before exit.
During diligence, buyers evaluate not only the forecast, but whether the management team can defend it. Teams that answer with specifics, industry nuance, and impact quantified in investor language build buyer confidence. And buyer confidence translates directly to valuation.
Post-acquisition, value creation depends on having leaders who translate operations into board level impact and maintain the relationships that keep the business running - customer partnerships, supplier terms, cross functional trust. When those people leave, the PE sponsor loses the 'why' behind the numbers, not just the 'what.'
The companies that deliver preserve both: the infrastructure that scales with the business and the people who serve as the institutional glue for operational continuity.
Era Advisory helps PE-backed companies build financial infrastructure and preserve institutional knowledge during M&A transitions and exit preparation.
If you're integrating an acquisition or preparing for exit within 12-18 months, let's talk.