What is a Platform Company?

Platform Company

Dictionary Definition

A platform company is a company that a Private equity group (PEG) views—when investing through acquisition in a new industry or market space—as a starting point for follow-on acquisitions in the same area

Plain English

This is the first investment a PEG makes in certain industry or market.  Depending on the PEG, the typical platform company has EBITDA of approximately $2M and must be scalable.

Why it Matters to You

This is relevant to business owners when we start the buyers search.  If the business is above $2M in EBITDA then we would approach PEGS in a way that would position the company as a potential platform acquisition.