Deal-by-Deal Private Equity Co-Investments

Overview

Traditional private equity funds require institutional investors to commit capital before the underlying portfolio of investments is known. Deal-by-deal co-investment changes that dynamic.

In this session, SBC Capital will examine the case for allocating capital to individual private equity transactions, enabling investors to evaluate the specific company, transaction structure, value-creation thesis, management team, risk profile, and expected economics before making an investment decision.

The discussion will compare deal-by-deal co-investments with traditional blind-pool fund commitments, examining where greater investment selection, transparency, governance visibility, and direct participation may benefit institutional investors.

We will also discuss how an active value-creation and transaction-assurance framework can be applied around individual investments—from evaluating the original investment thesis through acquisition execution and portfolio-company transformation.

Know the Investment Before Committing the Capital

Traditional private equity investing is predominantly based on the blind-pool model: an institutional investor commits capital to a fund and delegates individual investment decisions to the General Partner within an agreed investment mandate.

This structure provides diversification and access to professional investment management, but it also limits the LP's ability to evaluate and select the individual companies ultimately receiving its capital.

Deal-by-deal private equity co-investments offer a different model.

Rather than committing capital to an unidentified future portfolio, investors can evaluate individual transactions before deciding whether to participate.

That creates an opportunity to assess the fundamentals of each investment independently: the underlying business, acquisition valuation, transaction structure, industry dynamics, management capabilities, downside risks, value-creation opportunities, expected holding period, and potential exit scenarios.

In Deal-by-Deal Private Equity Co-Investments: An Alternative to Blind-Pool Fund Commitments, SBC Capital will explore how this investment model can complement traditional private equity allocations and provide institutional investors with greater visibility and selectivity over where their capital is deployed.

The session will examine both the advantages and trade-offs of the model. Deal-by-deal investing provides greater discretion, but it also requires the ability to evaluate transactions efficiently, conduct investment-specific diligence, execute within transaction timelines, and oversee value creation following acquisition.

We will therefore look beyond capital allocation itself and examine the infrastructure required to support individual private equity investments throughout their lifecycle.

SBC Capital Capabilities

As part of the discussion, SBC Capital will introduce several capabilities designed to support institutional investors and transaction participants.

Value Creation Check

An independent assessment of the investment and value-creation thesis, including whether the proposed operational initiatives, assumptions, resources, and execution plan are capable of supporting the investment case.

Acquisition Assurance

Independent transaction oversight designed to identify execution risks, dependencies, gaps, and potential issues throughout the acquisition process.

PgM for Value Creation

Program-management capability for translating the investment thesis into coordinated execution across management, technology, operations, commercial initiatives, and other value-creation workstreams.

CEO-in-Residence

Executive leadership capability that can support portfolio companies where additional management capacity, transformation leadership, or temporary executive intervention is required.

The Objective

The objective of the session is not to argue that one investment structure universally replaces another.

Instead, we will examine when deal-by-deal co-investments may provide institutional investors with a compelling complement or alternative to traditional blind-pool commitments—and what capabilities are required to execute the model successfully.

What Participants Will Learn

Participants will gain a practical understanding of:

• How deal-by-deal private equity co-investments work, including the relationship between the sponsor, transaction SPV, co-investors, management, lenders, and other transaction participants.
• How the model differs from a blind-pool fund commitment, particularly in investment selection, transparency, portfolio construction, governance, economics, and execution.
• Why investment-level discretion matters, allowing investors to evaluate the company, industry, valuation, leverage, management team, value-creation plan, and risk profile before committing capital.
• The trade-offs of deal-by-deal investing, including increased diligence requirements, shorter decision windows, concentration considerations, and the need for transaction-level execution capability.
• How institutional investors can evaluate value-creation plans before investing, rather than relying solely on the original acquisition thesis.
• How Acquisition Assurance can reduce transaction execution risk by providing structured oversight of critical workstreams, dependencies, and decision points.
• How disciplined program management can connect underwriting to execution, helping ensure that identified value-creation initiatives actually move from the investment committee presentation into portfolio-company operations.
• When CEO-in-Residence capability can strengthen an investment, particularly during leadership transitions, transformations, integrations, or situations requiring additional executive capacity.