Istria Capital

At a Glance

If you are searching in Europe, and especially Spain, the region's dedicated backer belongs on your list; US searchers should weigh its European center of gravity.

Pricing

Custom Pricing, Investment terms, not fees: traditional search-fund economics (search capital, step-up, acquisition equity, searcher vesting), negotiated per the model's conventions; a European mandate weighted toward Spain.

Best For

European, especially Spanish, traditional searchers who want a dedicated regional backer, and international searchers open to a Europe-weighted fund

Track Record

Partnering with searchers since 2016 by its entrepreneurs page, and the first European fund of search funds from 2018 by its team page. More than 190 search entrepreneurs and more than 65 companies on its own count, in countries it names as France, Portugal, Poland, Switzerland, Chile, the Czech Republic and the Nordics and Baltics.

Lane

Traditional

Funds

The search phase and the deal

In the Round

Says it leads or anchors, so it is a call to make early.

Based

Madrid.

Invests

Europe first, with its searchers filed under Europe, the US and Canada, and Latin America.

Buys

Its approach page is five stages of what the firm does for a searcher, from setting up the search engine through a liquidity event, and names no size band, sector list or earnings floor anywhere. What it does state is where the firm sits: it often plays a lead investor role in acquisitions, and the home page tells one searcher's story with the firm as lead investor in the search.

Before A First Call

No condition. Its entrepreneurs page invites any outstanding search fund entrepreneur who shares its values to talk, and says it partners with first-time CEOs and embraces the rough imperfection of working with them.

First-Time Operators

Says in its own words that it backs people running a company for the first time.

How Long The Search Runs

No length on the search and nothing about what happens if it ends without a deal, on the pages this review read. Ask what the clock is before you sign anything.

Published Terms

No check size, stake or fee on the pages this review read. Most firms on this shelf publish none, so ask early rather than late.

What A Searcher Gets

Not published on the pages this review read. It is the figure a searcher most wants and most of this shelf does not print it, so ask before the first call rather than after.

Roadmap Stages

1. Learn & Choose Your Path3. Set Up & Fund the Search

Pros and Cons

What Searchers Say

Recognized in European ETA circles as the region's anchor search-fund investor since 2016; its entrepreneurs and team pages render in a browser and carry its own counts, which is where the figures here come from.

How to Approach

Firms do not publish a term sheet you can prepare against, so this is how traditional (investor-backed) search capital comes in, what it weighs, and how to arrive ready.

The Typical Arc

1. A first conversation on your background and why search, before any deal.
2. A deep dive on your plan: industries, criteria, and how you will source.
3. Backing for the search itself, then a fresh underwrite when you bring a live deal.
4. A board seat and governance once you close.

What It Weighs

• ✓Whether you will finish a two-year search, not only start one.
• ✓The quality of your thesis and target criteria.
• ✓How you will behave on a cap table over a long hold.

How to Prepare

• Bring a sourcing thesis, not a blank slate. Buyer Profile Builder
• Know which firms lead versus follow, and on what terms. Investors
• Make your operator case on one page. Buyer Profile Builder

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