Private Equity Consulting Playbook 2025: Portfolio Operations, Pricing, GTM, Carve Outs, Integration and Reporting
Published: • Updated:
Private equity consulting shifts the focus to operating results: pricing, go-to-market, cost, cash, carve outs, and M&A integration. It helps funds hit value creation plans with board-ready reporting. Start with two sprints tied to EBITDA and cash, plus a weekly cadence that flags risk early.
Want a 90-day portfolio action plan? Talk to a consultant
Why This Matters In 2025
Short summary: Deal flow is recovering, carve outs are rising, and value creation leans on operating moves. Pricing and revenue execution carry outsized impact on profit. A disciplined 13-week cadence improves visibility and speed to results.
| Finding | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Global PE deal value change in 2024 vs 2023 | +14% to ~$2T | McKinsey Global Private Markets 2025; PDF |
| Buy-side carve outs as share of M&A | ~28% | McKinsey 2025 |
| Pricing profit sensitivity | +1% price → ~+8% operating profit | McKinsey |
| Margin premium for firms confident in price increases | ~+3 percentage points | Bain 2025 |
| Operational value creation priority | Revenue growth and margin expansion take center stage | McKinsey 2024 |
What Private Equity Consulting Covers
Pricing And Revenue
- Net price, discount discipline, mix, and list architecture tied to value. See pricing impact.
- Salesforce productivity, pipeline quality, motion design, and enablement aligned to a clear GTM model Bain.
Cost And Cash
- Cost to serve, SG&A rhythm, working capital controls, and SKU or vendor rationalization.
- Ops playbooks for throughput, quality, and service level.
Carve Outs
- Transitional service agreements, Day-1 controls, and stand-up of finance, HR, IT, and data McKinsey.
- Stranded cost removal and vendor resets.
M&A Integration
- Synergy model with owners, milestones, and weekly variance readouts. Good references in Deloitte synergy guidance.
- Customer migration, channel alignment, and platform consolidation.
Portfolio Reporting
- 13-week cash, price realization, unit economics, sales velocity, and variance to plan.
- Board pack with a single source of truth and flags that trigger actions.
GTM Design
- Segmentation, coverage model, roles, and capacity. Sales ops and marketing ops alignment.
- Playbooks for renewals, expansion, and cross-sell.
How To Run A 90-Day Portfolio Action Plan
- Pick two levers per asset. One revenue lever and one cost or cash lever with clear owners.
- Install a weekly cadence. Price waterfall, sales velocity, and 13-week cash reviewed with actions captured.
- Stand-up carve out or integration tasks. TSA exit plan, Day-1 controls, synergy tracking, and vendor resets.
- Build the board view. Three pages per company: KPI deck, risk and mitigation list, and 30-60-90 moves.
- Lock gains. Policy, approval flows, and dashboards so wins persist when teams get busy.
Need a hands-on start? We can co-run a 13-week sprint across pricing, GTM, and carve-out or integration. Request a portfolio review
FAQ
Where Do Most Funds Miss?
Price leakage, weak pipeline quality, delays on TSA exits, and slow synergy mobilization. A weekly operating rhythm reduces drift and speeds problem solving.
How Do You Prove Impact Fast?
Pick measurable moves: price floors on targeted SKUs, discount guardrails, cycle time fixes, and TSA exit milestones tied to cost savings. Report weekly with owner and date for each action.
Related Reading
- Private Equity
- Mergers And Acquisitions
- Post Merger Integration
- What Is Private Equity Consulting?
- How Management Consultants Help Private Equity Firms
- 5 Reasons To Hire Private Equity Consulting Firms
- Tech M&A Integration Savings
- Media M&A Integration Savings
- Telecom M&A Integration Savings
- Merger And Acquisition Consultants Guide
Sources
- McKinsey. Global Private Markets Report 2025. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/private-capital/our-insights/global-private-markets-report
- McKinsey PDF. Global Private Markets Report 2025. https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/industries/private%20equity%20and%20principal%20investors/our%20insights/mckinseys%20global%20private%20markets%20report/2025/global-private-markets-report-2025-braced-for-shifting-weather.pdf
- McKinsey. What CFOs Need To Get Right In A Buy-Side Carve-Out. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/m-and-a/our-insights/what-cfos-need-to-get-right-in-a-buy-side-carve-out
- McKinsey. The Power Of Pricing. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/the-power-of-pricing
- Bain. Expanding Profit Margin Through Intelligent Pricing. https://www.bain.com/insights/expanding-profit-margin-through-intelligent-pricing-commercial-excellence-agenda-2025/
- McKinsey. Bridging Private Equity’s Value Creation Gap. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/private-capital/our-insights/bridging-private-equitys-value-creation-gap
- Deloitte. Synergy Solution overview. https://www.deloitte.com/global/en/services/consulting-financial/services/synergy-solution.html
About the Author
Aykut Cakir, Senior Partner and Chief Executive Officer, has a demonstrated history in negotiations, business planning, business development. He has served as a Finance Director for gases & energy, pharmaceuticals, retail, FMCG, and automotive industries. He has collaborated closely with client leadership to co-create a customized operating model tailored to the unique needs of each project segment in the region. Aykut conducted workshops focused on developing effective communication strategies to ensure team alignment with new operating models and organizational changes.
