Mike Markus ( ⁠https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy ) talks with Kaido Veske of Livonia Partners ( https://www.livoniapartners.com/ ) about Kaido’s journey from working at a mid-cap private equity firm in the US to returning to Europe, raising a fund that now manages nearly $200 million, and completing 16 acquisitions to date.

0:00 Why start a fund
2:56 Wharton and early US exposure
3:39 US finance years and coming back to Europe
6:03 Livonia today: focus and deal size
7:06 Minority and majority deals
7:23 Fundraising as a first-time GP
8:25 Early deals: structuring and fund size limits
10:08 Fund 1 vs Fund 2 evolution
13:38 Sourcing engine and “kill list”
16:00 Small market, big opportunity
20:32 Post-acquisition playbook and cadence
25:55 Thermory case: build, buy, exit
35:43 Mistakes: leverage and market calls
38:28 Fund size ceiling in the Baltics
46:54 Team lessons and alignment

Sponsors:
https://capitalpad.com/ - A deal-by-deal private equity investing platform
https://www.spacebarstudios.co/inquire

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.