“Get your financials in order… you shouldn't even be having conversations with people until you have your financials up to a baseline standard.” — Ariez Dustoor​In this episode of the Power Exit Podcast, John Marsh sits down with Ariez Dustoor—Managing Partner at MB Group, a private equity firm focused on healthcare and multi-location services businesses—to demystify how PE really acquires companies. They explore the independent sponsor model, reviewing 500-600 deals yearly to close a handful, and the keys to standing out in competitive processes.​Ariez details MB Group's track record of four platforms (one exited), targeting founder-owned firms with $10-100M revenue and $3-15M EBITDA for growth and professionalization.​You’ll learn:🔹 Target traits: Growing niches, consistent revenue/profit trends, industry-leading metrics (e.g., retention), believable 5-year expansion plans, and capable teams beyond sole owner dependence.🔹 Process standouts: Clean financial histories (sell-side QofE recommended), sector-specific ops data, and strong storytelling on growth potential.🔹 Deal-breakers: 30-40% customer concentration, volatile/declining financials, subpar benchmarks, or no infrastructure/team redundancy.🔹 Structures: 20%+ equity rollover preferred (full cash-outs rare), ~50% simple cash-at-close, others with 12-24 month EBITDA earnouts or seller notes.🔹 Diligence killers: Inflated EBITDA ignoring normalization (e.g., needed hires), incomplete/inaccurate data leading to retrades.🔹 Seller prep: Define your post-sale role clearly, develop detailed growth strategy (e.g., M&A pipeline), clean books 6-12 months early, add key team pieces.Connect With JohnLinkedIn –   / marshcreek  Connect With AriezLinkedIn – ​  / ariezdustoor  🔸 Get a Complimentary Business Valuation:https://www.mcreek.com/what-is-my-bus…📌 Subscribe To The PowerExit™ Insights Newsletter:https://www.mcreek.com/newsletter/🌐 More resources ➝ https://www.mcreek.com/About John Marsh:John Marsh is the Founder and Managing Partner of Marsh Creek Advisors, a boutique M&A advisory firm that helps business owners navigate the sale of their companies with confidence and clarity. Since founding the firm, John has closed hundreds of millions in transactions and earned national recognition as Top Global Producer by the International Business Brokers Association and part of the Firm of the Year by M&A Source — the highest honors in the industry.Before launching Marsh Creek, John served as CFO and later General Manager of a high-growth medical device company, where he led over $300 million in M&A activity, including a $161 million sale to private equity. Earlier in his career, he worked at Ernst & Young and Frazier & Deeter, where he focused on financial reporting and audit services for both Fortune 100 companies and privately held businesses. John holds a BA from the University of Georgia and an MBA from Kennesaw State University. He lives in Sandy Springs, Georgia, with his wife and two daughters.#privateequity#businessexit#sellyourbusiness#mergersandacquisitions#businesssale#exitstrategy#entrepreneurship#businessgrowth#duediligence#qualityofearnings