Operating Edge

Analysis of the operating systems, growth levers, and execution patterns behind enterprise value.

Weekly Multiple

Sep 18, 2026

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6 min read

Buying Chelsea. Again.

Majority owned. Not fully controlled. Plus a travel business selling renewals and 76 potential buyers who didn't bid.

Nick McClish

Private Equity

Deal File No. 008: What if the AI company bought the customer?

Sep 16, 2026

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5 min read

Deal File No. 008: What if the AI company bought the customer?

Baldwin, Sequence and the difference between saving time and earning a return.

Nick McClish

Weekly Multiple

Sep 12, 2026

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5 min read

The $11.75 billion customer

GE buys its supplier. Miro sellers buy into the buyer. Porsche puts supercar proceeds into pensions.

Nick McClish

Business Services

Deal File No. 007: KKR is back on the other side of the garage door

Sep 9, 2026

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4 min read

Deal File No. 007: KKR is back on the other side of the garage door

A1 Garage Door Service and the operating case behind a reported $2 billion deal.

Nick McClish

Weekly Multiple

Sep 4, 2026

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5 min read

The Weekly Multiple No. 005: The week buyers paid for time

Eight transactions. At least $59.3 billion of reported deal value. One thing the buyers had in common: they did not want to wait.

Nick McClish

Business Services

Deal File No. 006: The $17 Billion Integration Paradox

Sep 2, 2026

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6 min read

Deal File No. 006: The $17 Billion Integration Paradox

The most important number in Aon's USI deal may not be $17 billion. It may be the $173 million expense that separates cost cutting from cutting growth.

Nick McClish

M&A

Deal File No. 005: The Deal Is the Split

Aug 28, 2026

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4 min read

Deal File No. 005: The Deal Is the Split

One buyer wants the products. Two others want the distribution. The deal works only if neither side destroys the other.

Nick McClish

Weekly Multiple

Aug 21, 2026

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10 min read

The Weekly Multiple #004: The Price Both Sides Can Defend

One price. Three completely different stories.

Nick McClish

Private Equity

Deal File No. 004: ATG and the Business That Remembers

Aug 19, 2026

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4 min read

Deal File No. 004: ATG and the Business That Remembers

Providence spent thirteen years building what survives when the curtain falls. A reported $6 billion valuation now puts that system to the test.

Nick McClish

Weekly Multiple

Aug 14, 2026

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8 min read

The Weekly Multiple #003: Who Can Afford the Lakers Now?

The Lakers and Yankees reveal how rising franchise prices change ownership, incentives, and the fan experience.

Nick McClish

Operating Edge

Deal File No. 003: Electronic Arts and the $2.8 Billion Factory

Aug 12, 2026

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6 min read

Deal File No. 003: Electronic Arts and the $2.8 Billion Factory

EA's new owners can lift cash quickly by cutting development. But at nearly 24 times pre-deal free cash flow, the harder job is making $2.8 billion of annual R&D compound.

Nick McClish

Weekly Multiple

Aug 7, 2026

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4 min read

The bottleneck moved

A 606-megawatt clue to where AI gets stuck.

Nick McClish

Weekly Multiple

Jul 31, 2026

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5 min read

The Weekly Multiple #001: The money is hiding in the middle

Private equity loves deleting middlemen. This week, it spent billions buying the ones it can't.

Nick McClish

Operating Edge

Buying Chelsea. Again.

Deal File No. 008: What if the AI company bought the customer?

The $11.75 billion customer

Deal File No. 007: KKR is back on the other side of the garage door

The Weekly Multiple No. 005: The week buyers paid for time

Deal File No. 006: The $17 Billion Integration Paradox

Deal File No. 005: The Deal Is the Split

The Weekly Multiple #004: The Price Both Sides Can Defend

Deal File No. 004: ATG and the Business That Remembers

The Weekly Multiple #003: Who Can Afford the Lakers Now?

Deal File No. 003: Electronic Arts and the $2.8 Billion Factory

The bottleneck moved

The Weekly Multiple #001: The money is hiding in the middle

the multiple