The essential institutional reference for any European searcher, providing market data, biennial studies and resources specifically calibrated to international search fund practice.
The IESE International Search Fund Center was established in 2011 by IESE Business School in Barcelona in collaboration with Stanford Graduate School of Business. It tracks and publishes biennial research on international search funds across more than 40 countries, making it the authoritative source of data on search fund activity and performance outside the US and Canada. IESE is the institution most closely associated with the growth of search funds in Europe and hosts the biennial International Search Fund Conference, the premier networking event for the European search fund community.
What it covers
- Biennial international search fund study tracking over 320 search funds across 40 countries including deal multiples, capital structures, acquisition characteristics and return data for European transactions
- European market context and benchmarks on deal sizes, financing structures and acquisition multiples specific to Spain, France, Germany, the UK and other European markets
- Research papers and case studies on European search fund transactions and operational challenges
- Conference resources from the International Search Fund Conference held in Barcelona every two years
- Access to the IESE search fund investor and practitioner network for searchers affiliated with IESE programmes
Relevance for European searchers
Unlike the Stanford resources which are calibrated to the US market, IESE resources are built specifically around the international and European search fund context. The biennial international study provides European deal multiples and capital structure data that a European searcher can use to anchor LOI pricing and deal structuring in real market benchmarks rather than US comparables. The data consistently shows that European search fund deals differ meaningfully from US deals in terms of financing conventions, seller note structures and equity splits. For any European searcher, the IESE study is a more relevant benchmark for valuation and deal structuring than the Stanford study.
Access
Publicly available research and biennial studies are free to download here.
Templates and detailed materials may require direct contact with the IESE Search Fund Center or active IESE programme affiliation.
Pricing
Free for publicly available research and studies.
