Claim OwnershipThe Close M&A Podcast with Caber Hill Advisors
Subscribed: 0Played: 0
Subscribe
© 2026 The Close M&A Podcast with Caber Hill Advisors
Description
Exploring the art and science of deal-making with host Craig Castelli.
26 Episodes
Reverse
Text us your feedback, ideas, or topics you’d like to see in an upcoming show. In this solo episode, Craig Castelli breaks down Caber Hill’s latest survey of private equity partners, reflecting on the 2025 M&A market and the factors that slowed deal activity. He explores shifts in deal volume, quality, and structure, including the impact of tariffs and seller expectations. Looking ahead, Craig shares why optimism is building for 2026, with strong buyer demand, abundant dry powder, and inc...
Text us your feedback, ideas, or topics you’d like to see in an upcoming show. In this episode, Craig sits down with Chris Winterhalter, founder of Hotel Rehabs, to unpack his journey from post-crash real estate hustling to building one of the most innovative turnkey hotel renovation companies in the industry. Chris shares the scrappy early days, the evolution of his integrated GC model, the importance of leadership and process, and why expanding into Mexico City became a pivotal growth move....
Text us your feedback, ideas, or topics you’d like to see in an upcoming show. This episode of The Close features Anthony Saber, President of Saber Building Services, a Detroit-based company built from humble beginnings into a 450-person team. Anthony shares how lessons from his upbringing, early family responsibilities, and years of hands-on work shaped his steady growth philosophy. He explains why staying local, prioritizing people, and choosing value over volume have guided the company’s l...
Text us your feedback, ideas, or topics you’d like to see in an upcoming show. Matt Pettit, founder of Seven Hills Capital, a healthcare-focused private equity firm based in Nashville, shares his journey from working in middle market PE to starting his own firm. He and Craig discuss why he chose the entrepreneurial path over a traditional partnership track. And they explore common misconceptions about private equity, the importance of finding founders who want true partners, and how instituti...
Text us your feedback, ideas, or topics you’d like to see in an upcoming show. Join host Craig Castelli as he sits down with Lee Edwards, President and CEO of The Greenery, a thriving commercial landscaping company with branches across the Southeast. Lee shares his journey from joining his parents' business in his twenties to building a growth-focused organization that prioritizes employee development and retention. Discover how The Greenery transitioned from an ESOP to partnering with outsid...
Text us your feedback, ideas, or topics you’d like to see in an upcoming show. In this episode, Craig sits down with Dave Ogurek, Director at Caber Hill Advisors and the firm's first full-time hire. Dave shares his journey from corporate finance roles at manufacturing and PepsiCo to due diligence work in the audiology space, and how these experiences prepared him for investment banking. He discusses the importance of preparing businesses for sale, shares a memorable due diligence horror story...
Text us your feedback, ideas, or topics you’d like to see in an upcoming show. In this episode of The Close, Craig interviews Dr. Pete Smidt, founder of Smalltown Dental, about his rapid expansion during COVID-19 when he grew from two to eight practices in just one year. Pete shares the challenges of managing multiple office cultures, dealing with staff challenges, and building leadership teams while acquiring multiple practices. He discusses his strategic shift toward de novo development, hi...
Text us your feedback, ideas, or topics you’d like to see in an upcoming show. In this episode of The Close, Craig and Josh Gammon discuss the growing litigation funding market and how Wealth Docket, a litigation funding company that Josh co-founded, focuses on complex commercial and patent litigation for individual claimants and small law firms. The conversation covers the challenges of valuing intellectual property, distinguishing between assets with true standalone value versus those only ...
Text us your feedback, ideas, or topics you’d like to see in an upcoming show. In this solo episode of The Close, Craig Castelli tackles listener questions covering timely M&A topics. He discusses how the government shutdown impacts SBA financing and government contractor deals, explains reverse due diligence strategies for sellers to properly vet potential buyers, and breaks down the value of conducting sell-side quality of earnings reports. Craig provides practical insights on evaluatin...
Text us your feedback, ideas, or topics you’d like to see in an upcoming show. Business owner Ted Hsu shares his journey from selling his company to finding new purpose in life after exit. He discusses the critical aspects of the sale process, emphasizing the importance of paying attention to all that is said and left unspoken. Ted reflects on his smooth transition to working within a PE-backed environment, crediting proper systems and scalability focus. Ted offers candid advice for business ...
Text us your feedback, ideas, or topics you’d like to see in an upcoming show. Caber Hill Advisors Managing Director Jordan Gerber explores his unique path to investment banking. From his early days as a CPA to owning and selling his own collection agency, Jordan shares hard-earned lessons about the M&A process, including mistakes he made during his own business sale. Now specializing as a generalist covering multiple sectors, Jordan discusses how his diverse background helps him serve cl...
Text us your feedback, ideas, or topics you’d like to see in an upcoming show. Craig is joined by Denielle Finkelstein & Thyme Sullivan, the founders of Unicorn, who made a bold pivot from retail shelves to revolutionizing workplace bathrooms. After struggling in the competitive retail space selling premium period products, they discovered an untapped market by creating the first-ever dispensers placed directly in bathroom stalls. With zero customer churn over three and a half years, pate...
Text us your feedback, ideas, or topics you’d like to see in an upcoming show. In this episode of The Close, Maria Melone discusses the challenges facing healthcare M&A, particularly in dental and med spa sectors. She explains how many advisors focus solely on headline multiples while ignoring crucial deal structure elements like cash-at-close ratios, equity terms, and buyer-seller fit. Maria shares a compelling example of how the same transaction could be valued at 28x, 15x, or 8.5x depe...
Text us your feedback, ideas, or topics you’d like to see in an upcoming show. Nick Olsen, Managing Director of Cornerstone International Alliance, discusses what makes successful M&A advisors and how business owners should evaluate them. Nick shares insights from working with 165 M&A advisors who've closed $5.5 billion in deals over four years. He emphasizes the importance of relationship management, being a trusted advisor, and developing strong business development skills. The conv...
Text us your feedback, ideas, or topics you’d like to see in an upcoming show. Dr. Abhishek Nagaraj and Dr. Anushka Gaglani, co-founders of Areo Dental Group, discuss their entrepreneurial journey from associates to successful multi-practice owners. Founded in 2016, Areo has grown through strategic acquisitions and de novo development across multiple states. The duo shares insights on leadership development, the importance of peer groups and mentorship, and their decision to pursue MBAs while...
Text us your feedback, ideas, or topics you’d like to see in an upcoming show. Brian Zielinski discusses how AI is transforming business operations and M&A processes. He explains how his company streamlines post-acquisition integration by connecting tools and improving data flow. In M&A, AI eliminates mundane work by accelerating target research, conducting deeper due diligence, and handling time-consuming tasks like reviewing multiple legal documents. This technology shift allows pro...
Text us your feedback, ideas, or topics you’d like to see in an upcoming show. In this episode, Caber Hill's Managing Director Peter Holton discusses his unique background in family-owned businesses and how it helps him connect with blue-collar business owners, particularly in the facility services sector. Peter shares insights on building trust with clients who've built their companies from the ground up, navigating family business dynamics, and preparing the next generation for leadership. ...
Text us your feedback, ideas, or topics you’d like to see in an upcoming show. In this episode, Craig Castelli interviews Bob Armbruster, founder of Clean Team, who shares his journey from humble beginnings to building a nationwide janitorial company. Starting with just $5,000 in 1996, Bob grew his business from personally cleaning offices to operating 18 locations across the U.S., primarily through strategic acquisitions. He discusses key growth factors including joining industry association...
Text us your feedback, ideas, or topics you’d like to see in an upcoming show. In this episode, Dr. Erica Person shares her journey from selling her first audiology practice to building a new one with a unique fee-for-service model. Dr. Person discusses how prioritizing service over devices has kept her business thriving despite industry downturns. She also offers valuable insights on preparing a practice for eventual sale, including the importance of clean financials, replacing yourself in t...
Text us your feedback, ideas, or topics you’d like to see in an upcoming show. Tim Murch shares his remarkable journey growing 4M Building Solutions from a small family business to a $125 million enterprise with 6,500 team members. He discusses his strategic approach to acquisitions (completing 40+ deals), the importance of setting written goals, and how bringing in the right leadership team was crucial to breaking through growth plateaus. Later in the episode, Tim explains his successful par...
Comments
Download from Google Play
Download from App Store
United States