We call only with a specific buyer and a reason.

We represent private equity firms, larger companies in your industry and family-owned companies looking to acquire. The buyer pays us. Owners never do.

Why we reached out

Every search starts with the whole market.

Before we call an owner, we study every company the buyer could choose from. In this search, the buyer wanted privately owned convenience-store chains with fuel and oil-change service.

01
The whole market
02
Every location checked
03
Ranked by size and fit
04
The conversation

We started with every store location for 226 chains: 92,631 locations from 1,568 sources (company websites and a proprietary location database).

Each location was checked for what it actually offers (a convenience store, fuel, oil change) through web research, a review of on-site evidence and satellite imagery. Confirmed: 90,571 gas stations, 85,625 convenience stores, 2,128 with oil change.

We ranked the chains by size and fit. About 100 were prioritized.

Only then do we call the owner.

The whole market. We started with every store location for 226 chains: 92,631 locations from 1,568 sources (company websites and a proprietary location database).
Every location checked. Each location was checked for what it actually offers (a convenience store, fuel, oil change) through web research, a review of on-site evidence and satellite imagery. Confirmed: 90,571 gas stations, 85,625 convenience stores, 2,128 with oil change.
Ranked by size and fit. We ranked the chains by size and fit. About 100 were prioritized.
The conversation. Only then do we call the owner.

We hold the standard
for how companies change hands.

Each buyer is chosen for what it brings to a business and how founders fare after a sale. No introduction is made until the owner’s priorities, and the reason for the partnership, are clear.

Firms we represent

The proof comes after the close.

We represent firms with the experience and resources to build on what you started. Their track records show how a sale can help your business grow, give your people opportunities to advance and support your plans for what comes next.

At the close

Business Services

The first 18 months

Tech-Enabled Services

14 years later

Industrial Services

At the close

Business Services

Every key leader and employee stayed at the partner’s largest acquisition, a company of more than 300 people, supported by a planned integration and communication program. Across its acquisitions, the partner added new revenue streams and improved purchasing, helping the businesses grow and creating opportunities for the people who helped build them.

10%+

Double-digit revenue growth after the close

100+

Internal promotions in a single year

86%

Employee satisfaction

The first 18 months

Tech-Enabled Services

The founders who wanted to keep building gained the backing of a group with 50%+ compounded growth. They continue to run the businesses they started and retain an ownership stake, giving them a role in shaping the next stage of growth and a share in its success.

2.2×

Revenue at each of ten companies within 18 months of acquisition

10 to 15

New customers at each company within 18 months of acquisition

9 of 9

Founders who wanted to stay, stayed

14 years later

Industrial Services

The buyer, a family-owned company founded in 1953, intends to keep the business, giving management a stable owner to plan and invest with for the years ahead. The business has grown with that backing while keeping its own name, its team and its culture.

6×

Profit 14 years after the sale, against the year it was acquired

Acquisitions the family has ever sold

Generations the family has run its own company

The people behind the work.

Shivam Shirolawala

Founder & Managing Partner

shivam@greyfox-partners.com

Tony Giudice

Vice President

tony@greyfox-partners.com

Burke Widhelm

Analyst

burke@greyfox-partners.com

What we learn from the work.

Our writing for owners on what buyers value, and how to build it.

View all articles

How Institutional Buyers Quantify and Price Founder Dependency

While founders focus on financial metrics, buyers obsess over a different question: what happens when you leave?

Read the article

The Buyability Gap: Why Strong Performance Doesn’t Equal Transferable Value

Some founders get term sheets; others get polite rejections after diligence.

Read the article

Exit Preparation Timeline: Building Enterprise Value Before Going to Market

The gap between running well and selling well costs founders millions.

Read the article

Operational Value Leaks: Seven Hidden Drags on Service Business Valuations

Value doesn’t disappear in dramatic failures. It leaks through seven operational inefficiencies that compound invisibly.

Read the article

Why I started Grey Fox.

I’ve spent over a decade in private equity deal origination. I’ve also built and sold a business of my own. I understand how much the decision to sell can mean to an owner.

I started Grey Fox because that first conversation deserves more care. We carefully vet the firms we represent, including how they’ve treated founders, employees, and businesses after an acquisition.

When we reach out, it’s because we see a genuine fit. If we don’t, we’ll tell you.

Shivam Shirolawala

Founder & Managing Partner