Reference Equity | Global & International Small Cap Equity Formerly Bain & Company | AEA Investors | Paradice Investment Management
Denver, CO
Joined May 2010
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Private equity levers businesses at 4, 5, even 6x EBITDA.
A public company much above 3x is too risky for many investors.
There are good reasons for the gap. PE owns the bank relationship, the control, and equity injection options. Most public small caps don't.
New essay, Private Equity Owns the Bank: referenceequity.com/post/pri…
An abrupt end to my CBIZ activism! bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
It was a pleasure to join the Yet Another Value Podcast to discuss all things CBIZ ($CBZ).
Podcast #406 is up!
Reference Equity's Ryan Bunn wants $CBZ to stop buying back stock
yetanothervalueblog.com/p/cb…
Our Proposal
We are asking CBIZ to raise equity as an acquisition facility to immediately recapitalize the balance sheet and reactivate the M&A pipeline.
Done well, this returns CBIZ to growth, deleverages the balance sheet, and re-establishes the business as a credible acquirer, all at the same time.
The full thesis: one-pager, letter to the board, and the complete presentation:
cbizflywheel.com/?utm_source…
$CBZ
Our View
Reference Equity has a differentiated view on capital allocation, focusing not just on returns, but also on the risk and strategic impact of capital allocation decisions.
The Problem
M&A is core to CBIZ's business model.
Acquisitions grow the talent pool, add advisory capabilities, and drive margin expansion through scale.
CBIZ's status as an acquirer of choice is jeopardized by an overleveraged balance sheet.
Wonderful conversation!
TALKING BILLIONS: Ryan Bunn @ryan_bunn: Why the Best Investors Think Like Collectors, Not Traders, What a 99-Year-Old Investor Taught Warren Buffett & The Mindset That Builds Generational Wealth
Episode Sponsor: @fiscal_ai is a modern data terminal—link in show notes for a two-week free trial plus 15% off
He spent decade testing many investing style — options pits, angel investing, even NFTs. Every experiment brought him back to value. His first principle? Competition destroys returns. Find businesses where it doesn't exist. 🎧 Listen now.
Thrilled to join the show, great conversation!
What can we learn from one of the OG compounder kings?
Portfolio manager @ryan_bunn joins Investing by the Books podcast to talk about Philip Carret's 1927 classic investment book 'The Art of Speculation', which influenced later legends like Warren Buffett and Philip Fisher.
