Audax Private Equity's Playbook: Niche Leaders and Buy-and-Build M&A
Dave Santoni explains how Audax buys cheap, mission-critical products and accelerates organic revenue through add-on acquisitions.
Private Equity Deal Sourcing with Audax’s Dave Santoni
With Sean Mooney, Dave Santoni · Sunday, August 9, 2026
Dave Santoni, Managing Director at Audax Private Equity, joins Sean Mooney to discuss Audax's strategic approach to deal sourcing, add-on acquisitions, and vertical market mapping. He details how the firm integrates a 60-person Strategic Resources Group and proprietary AI tools across the entire investment lifecycle from pre-LOI diligence to portfolio operations and exits. Santoni also reflects on his career transition from law and investment banking to sponsor coverage, sharing lessons on the power of proactive curiosity and relationship building in modern private equity.
Key takeaways
- Audax runs two distinct platform strategies: a lower middle market fund targeting $5 million to $20 million in EBITDA, and a middle market fund targeting $20 million to $75 million across five core verticals. Read more →
- Audax Private Equity pairs a 10-person business development team with a 60-person Strategic Resources Group (SRG) to run diligence and operations simultaneously. Read more →
- Dave Santoni spent nine years in legal training (three years in law school and six years as a corporate lawyer) before realizing his core interest sat in private market dealmaking. Read more →
- Audax executes more than 100 add-on acquisitions per year across its middle-market private equity portfolio. Read more →
4 articles from this episode
Why Audax Embeds 60 Operators in Deal Diligence
Audax PE's Dave Santoni explains why 60 in-house operators and 10 BD pros beat standard solo sourcing in lower middle market dealmaking.
Audax's Dave Santoni on the Invention of Sponsor Coverage
Dave Santoni explains how pitching sponsor coverage in 2003 and abandoning the omniscience trap reshaped middle-market PE deal sourcing.
How Audax Cuts Add-On Acquisition Time to 20 Weeks
Audax Private Equity pre-maps add-on acquisitions months before CIMs arrive, cutting first bolt-on execution timelines from a full year to under 20 weeks.
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