Private Equity Consulting Guide 2025: Due Diligence, Value Creation, Portfolio Operations, Carve Outs and PMO
Private Equity Consulting Guide 2025: Due Diligence, Value Creation, Portfolio Operations, Carve Outs and PMO
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Private equity consulting aligns diligence, value creation, portfolio operations, carve outs and PMO to raise returns and reduce execution risk. Teams validate growth and cost levers, stand up a weekly operating rhythm, and deliver early wins that support exits, refinancings or continuation decisions.
Want a 100 day value creation plan with clear KPIs and owners? Talk to a consultant
What Private Equity Consulting Covers
- Commercial and operational diligence. Demand, price, mix, channel, cost, capex, tech and legal checks. See mergers and acquisitions services.
- Value creation planning. Growth roadmaps, pricing and sales excellence, procurement, SG&A and working capital backed by PMO.
- Portfolio operations. Weekly flash, intervention playbooks, CFO toolkits, gross margin improvement and cash discipline.
- Carve outs. Separation plans, stranded cost removal, TSAs, Day One and stand-up of finance, HR, IT and supply chain.
- PMO. Cadence, KPI trees, dependency maps and risk logs that keep leadership focused on outcomes.
Why It Matters In 2025
$2T deal value
Private equity deal value rose 14% in 2024 after two down years McKinsey 2025 PDF.
Q2 softness
Global buyout dealmaking lost momentum in Q2 2025 after a slower April start Bain midyear 2025.
Exit pressure
UK exits were weak in H1 2025 at $16.1B across 118 deals, boosting use of continuation paths KPMG Q2 2025.
Divest to grow
79% of companies said their last divestment missed price expectations, highlighting the need for rigorous separation EY Divestment Study.
A 100 Day Value Creation Plan
- Days 0 to 15. Confirm baselines for revenue, margin, cash and run-rate cost. Publish a value tree and top ten initiatives.
- Days 16 to 45. Launch three to five sprints such as pricing guardrails, top-20 account plans and quick procurement wins.
- Days 46 to 100. Stand up weekly PMO, remove blockers, lock savings tracking and translate pilots into playbooks.
Need a packaged plan? We can stand up PMO and portfolio operations while the deal team closes. Book a discovery call
Key Numbers And References
| Finding | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Private equity deal value recovered in 2024 | Up 14% to about $2T | McKinsey Global Private Markets 2025 PDF |
| Momentum softened in Q2 2025 after April | April deal value 24% below Q1 monthly average | Bain Midyear PE Report 2025 |
| Exit markets strained with more continuation vehicles | UK H1 exits $16.1B across 118 deals | KPMG Pulse of Private Equity Q2 2025 |
| Many divestments fail to meet price targets | 79% missed price expectations | EY Global Corporate Divestment Study |
| Carve-out financial statements and separation complexity | Required for sales, spin-offs, IPOs and SPACs | Deloitte Carve-Out Roadmap |
| Portfolio acceleration levers | Full potential plan across pricing, sales, procurement, operations | BCG Portfolio Acceleration |
| Secondaries performance context | 8.5% return through Q1 2025 | PitchBook Private Capital Indexes Q1 2025 |
Use these references to set realistic timelines for exits, prioritize value levers and plan clean separations.
How We Run Diligence, Value Creation, Carve Outs And PMO
- Hypothesis driven diligence. Focus on the few variables that drive returns and test them with data, calls and pilots.
- Operating cadence. Weekly sponsor and CEO reviews on a single scorecard tied to cash, margin and growth.
- Separation discipline. TSA maps, stranded cost takedown, Day One service levels and stand-up of core functions.
- Repeatable playbooks. Pricing guardrails, mix management, procurement wave plans and working capital routines.
Need a pragmatic plan you can govern weekly?
Portfolio KPIs That Sponsors Track
- Revenue and margin. Price and mix lift, contribution margin, gross margin by product and channel.
- Cash. Working capital turns, DSO and DPO, inventory health, cash conversion.
- Opex and capex. SG&A run-rate, procurement savings realization, capex to plan.
- Exit readiness. Data room completeness, carve-out readiness, audited quality of earnings progress.
Related Reading
- Mergers and Acquisitions Services
- Post Merger Integration
- Business Transformation
- Digital and Technology
- What Are Mergers and Acquisitions Services
- 10 Secrets Of How Management Consultants Help With Post Merger Integration
Sources
- McKinsey. Global Private Markets Report 2025. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/private-capital/our-insights/global-private-markets-report
- McKinsey. Global Private Markets Report 2025 PDF. 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
- Bain & Company. Private Equity Midyear Report 2025. https://www.bain.com/insights/private-equity-midyear-report-2025/
- KPMG. Pulse of Private Equity Q2 2025. https://assets.kpmg.com/content/dam/kpmgsites/xx/pdf/2025/07/global-report-on-pulse-of-private-equity-q2-25.pdf.coredownload.inline.pdf
- EY. Global Corporate Divestment Study. https://www.ey.com/en_lu/divestment-study/can-divesting-what-holds-you-back-move-your-strategy-forward
- Deloitte. Carve-Out Financial Statements Roadmap. https://dart.deloitte.com/USDART/home/publications/roadmap/carve-out-financial-statements
- BCG. Portfolio Acceleration. https://www.bcg.com/industries/principal-investors-private-equity/portfolio-acceleration
- PitchBook. Private Capital Indexes Q1 2025. https://pitchbook.com/news/reports/q1-2025-pitchbook-private-capital-indexes
- Bain & Company. Global Private Equity Report 2025 hub. https://www.bain.com/insights/topics/global-private-equity-report/
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.
