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How We Bought 15 Companies Worth $270M in Just 24 Months | Yuen Yung Interview
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My guest today is Yuen Yung, Founding Partner at HalBar Partners, a firm focused on operator-led acquisitions. In just two years, HalBar and NCA ETA have closed 15 acquisitions totaling $270M in enterprise value, hitting their goal of 10 deals per year.
We discuss:
Yuen’s journey from immigrant roots to building HalBar
The firm’s investment thesis, fund structure, and capital strategy
How they source operators and deals, and drive post-acquisition value
Lessons from wins and misses in ETA
HalBar’s playbook for growing EBITDA and scaling portfolio companies
Whether you're an investor, operator, or just curious about ETA and private equity, this episode is packed with insights.
I hope you enjoy this conversation with Yuen Yung.
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Timestamps:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:14 - Immigrating from China to the USA
00:05:07 - The Shark Tank TV show story
00:12:39 - Why you should never fall in love with your business
00:14:00 - ETA, search funds, and the thesis behind HalBar Partners
00:20:41 - How Yuen met Nate, his co-founder
00:25:22 - Deal structures and partnership dynamics with Nate; early investors
00:27:21 - How someone with capital can replicate HalBar’s model
00:29:42 - Why they chose this specific investment model
00:34:12 - 50% of deals are in Europe, 50% in North America
00:37:03 - Typical deal structure explained (percentages shared)
00:45:12 - Key differences between the U.S. and European markets
00:50:35 - How they find the best operators
00:53:25 - Selling a company in December 2024 with a 45% IRR
01:00:16 - Getting serious about understanding human psychology
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Follow Mikk/PrivatEquityGuy on Twitter: https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy
Yuen on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yuenyung/
This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
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