M&A wrap: Littlejohn, Cowen, Quarton, Carlyle, Riverside, Monroe

Buy-and-build strategies have evolved from a value-creation tool into a necessity for many firms.

As GP-led secondaries scale to record levels, top investors are flagging a widening gap between trophy assets and weaker deals, even as new financing tools like CFOs further blur the line between sale and securitization.

Across lower middle-market private equity, fundraising momentum is increasingly colliding with the finite supply of founder-owned businesses available at attractive valuations.