William Blair Investment Banking

U.S. general aviation and business jet activity finished 2024 on a strong note—and global airline industry revenues are projected to exceed $1 trillion for the first time in 2025. Read an analysis from William Blair’s Aviation Services team about the continued evolution of commercial and private aviation: https://lnkd.in/gHxpaGB7

William Blair acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Americhem Inc. and Seidler Equity Partners in connection with Americhem's partnership with Pritzker Private Capital. Learn more: https://ow.ly/1RAI50V8I0w

William Blair acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Mapal Group, a portfolio company of PSG, in connection with its pending sale to Eurazeo. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gpxi4XZH

William Blair acted as financial advisor to CohnReznick LLP in connection with its majority equity sale to Apax Partners LLP. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gs53VXSi

William Blair acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Sertifi by Flywire in connection with its $330 million acquisition by Flywire. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gpxi4XZH

William Blair acted as financial advisor to Checkmk, a leading German IT infrastructure monitoring vendor, in connection with its pending strategic partnership with PSG. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gpxi4XZH

William Blair continues to be highly active in the education services sector—advising on 10 education-focused transactions totaling over $6 billion in value over the past 12 months. Our domain expertise in education and multi-sector collaborative approach allows us to best articulate our clients’ value proposition. The William Blair team also has first-call access to the right universe of potential investors. Learn more about our education services expertise: https://lnkd.in/gs53VXSi

William Blair acted as exclusive financial advisor to Mapal Group OS, a portfolio company of PSG Equity in connection with its dividend recapitalization. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/g2q8iP2w

William Blair’s Pratik Mehta was recently featured on Under the Gulmohar Tree, a new podcast by Gulmohar Capital Partners. Mehta discussed the rapid evolution of the cybersecurity landscape and how businesses, investors, and CISOs face new challenges and opportunities. Here are some key takeaways from the conversation: ◾ The Expanding Attack Surface: With cloud adoption, remote work, and an increasing number of connected devices, organizations are more vulnerable than ever. Attack frequency has skyrocketed, and AI is enabling sophisticated phishing and threat vectors. ◾ Platform vs. Point Solutions: While enterprises continue to embrace best-of-breed security stacks, the midmarket is consolidating vendors to reduce complexity and optimize IT resources. ◾ M&A and Market Consolidation: Between 2019-2022, massive VC investments fueled cybersecurity startups, but as profitability pressures mount, consolidation is accelerating. Smaller players struggle to scale, making M&A a dominant strategy for growth. ◾ Investor Perspective: Private Equity & Growth Strategies: Private equity is prioritizing profitability over pure growth, focusing on building platforms through strategic acquisitions rather than standalone investments. Listen to the full podcast: https://lnkd.in/gMPWEGdR

With GP-led secondaries setting records in 2024—and trendlines looking promising for 2025—secondary investors have increasingly turned to M&A-style insurance policies to facilitate their transactions. Because of the many benefits that reps and warranties insurance (“RWI”) offers, the product has quickly scaled alongside a robust GP-led market. To help educate market participants on how and when to tap the RWI market, the following article, written in conjunction with insurance broker Atlantic Global Risk LLC, outlines what secondary investors and sponsors should know. Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/eqKppA_y