Some of the most useful deal flow in 2026 comes from transactions unwinding rather than forming. Multi-investor club positions assembled before 2020 are being taken apart as single corporate acquirers buy out the old syndicates.
Jean-Pierre Conte, managing partner of Lupine Crest Capital, treats that unwinding as a steady supplier of carve-outs, the kind of asset a patient buyer can underwrite away from the auction spotlight.
How Club Deals Come Apart
Several large club deals formed in the last decade are now being undone. A single corporate acquirer takes out positions once held by a group of financial owners, then reassesses what fits the combined business.
New owners rarely keep everything. Units that sit outside the acquirer’s core priorities get marked for sale, usually within 12 to 24 months of the close. A buyer absorbing a large position has its own integration to manage, and shedding non-core pieces is often the fastest way to focus the combined business.
Why the Pieces Land in the Middle Market
Divested units tend to fall in the $50 million to $500 million revenue range, exactly the envelope Lupine Crest underwrites. Those carve-outs reach the market because they no longer fit a larger owner, not because the underlying business is weak. That distinction is the opportunity, since a sound company sold for fit reasons can be a better asset than its discounted price suggests.
Jean-Pierre Conte can buy a sound unit a corporate seller wants gone, often without a crowded field of bidders. A carve-out priced for the seller’s housekeeping rather than for competitive tension favors the patient buyer.
Turning Corporate Cleanup Into Pipeline
Carve-outs demand operational work that scares off buyers chasing clean, turnkey assets. A family office willing to do the unglamorous integration can capture value others skip.
Conte’s model rewards that patience. The club-deal unwind keeps producing orphaned units, and Jean-Pierre Conte’s Lupine Crest is built to give them a longer-term home. A steady stream of these orphaned businesses means the firm rarely has to reach for an overpriced auction asset to stay active. Sourcing away from the spotlight, deal by deal, is how a patient buyer keeps its pipeline full without overpaying.