From one acquisition to a listed serial acquirer: what are the milestones?

What are the milestones, in order?

This sequence is my own framework. The facts under each step are sourced.

1. The first acquisition closes and runs. The Stanford GSB summary of the 2026 Search Fund Study reports about 20 months to a first acquisition. At Kingsway, the first searcher was hired in May 2020 and the first resulting purchase, Ravix, closed in October 2021, per its Kingsway FY2025 Form 10-K.
2. A parent company holds the business. The operating company moves under a holding company, covered in How do you move an existing business under a new holding company?.
3. A second and third acquisition. One deal is a search fund. Several are a platform. Kingsway’s 10-K names ten subsidiaries in its KSX segment at the end of 2025.
4. Earnings that carry public costs. See the worked example below.
5. A chosen route. Direct listing, reverse merger or IPO, compared in What are the ways a holding company can go public?.
6. The listing, then the first stock-paid deal. Listing is a means to buy with shares, not the goal.

What has to be audited, and when?

The parent needs PCAOB-audited financial statements to list. After listing, SEC Regulation S-X Rule 3-05 requires audited statements of a business you buy once it is significant: above 20% on the investment, asset or income test, one audited year, and above 40%, two. Small deals can stay below 20%, but deals can be added together. The rules are explained in When do you need audited financials for an acquisition?.

This is why the second and third deals are the real test. If the first businesses were bought on unaudited or tax-basis books, the parent has to rebuild them before an auditor will sign. See Can a public company buy an unaudited business?.

How long does the listing step take?

It depends on the route. As of October 2026, this site’s working estimates are roughly 6 months by reverse merger or IPO and about 10 months by direct listing. A reverse merger gets a quoted company, not a Nasdaq one. Nasdaq Rule 5110(c) requires one year of trading after the transaction filing, the listing price on at least 30 of the last 60 trading days, and one audited annual report for a full fiscal year that began after the filing. A firm commitment offering of at least $40 million in gross proceeds avoids that wait. The timeline is in How long until a reverse-merged company can list on Nasdaq?.

Then the Nasdaq Capital Market numbers apply: a $4 minimum bid, 300 round lot holders and $15 million of unrestricted publicly held shares. See What does Nasdaq require in 2026?.

Worked example: what a timeline might look like

These are assumptions, not data. Start the search at month 0. Use the typical 20 months to a first acquisition. Assume 12 months each for the second and third deals, so month 44. Assume 6 months to get the parent audited and close a reverse merger, so month 50. Then apply the 16 to 25 months of Nasdaq seasoning after a reverse merger: month 66 to month 75, or 5.5 to 6.25 years.

Now test the earnings. Take the 7.0x median purchase multiple the 2024 Stanford study reported for 2022–23 acquisitions and the $16 million median price for 2024–25 deals from the 2026 study. Pairing figures from different periods is an assumption. One company earns about $2.29 million of EBITDA ($16.0M / 7.0). If public costs are $500,000 a year, a target of costs at or below 10% of EBITDA needs $5.0 million of EBITDA. Two such companies give $4.57 million, which is short. Three give $6.86 million, which clears it. So three deals is the earliest point at which this example works.

Compare real listings in What revenue and EBITDA did real serial acquirers have when they listed?.

Where these numbers come from: The 20-month figure and $16 million price are from the Stanford GSB summary of the 2026 Search Fund Study. The 7.0x median for 2022–23 acquisitions is from Exhibit 5 of the Stanford GSB 2024 Search Fund Study. Kingsway dates are from its Kingsway FY2025 Form 10-K. Rule 3-05, Rule 5110(c) and Rule 5505 are summarized in our linked articles. The 16 to 25 month range is the worked example in our seasoning article, not a rule. The 10% cost target, $500,000 cost, and deal pacing are assumptions.

Related questions

Should I list after the first acquisition?

Rarely. One business gives the market little to value and the same public costs. Most of the benefit comes from a program of acquisitions.

Can I skip steps by listing through a reverse merger?

You can be quoted sooner. You still need the audited parent and the seasoning period to reach Nasdaq.

What if I never list?

Many holding companies stay private. A private holding company can hold, distribute cash or sell later, as described in What is a permanent capital vehicle?.

What comes next

To see how large real serial acquirers were when they listed, read What revenue and EBITDA did real serial acquirers have when they listed?.

Related articles

• Can a search fund become a public company?
• How does a public company run a search-fund program (Kingsway KSX)?
• Should a holding company go public, and at what size?
• What does it cost to take a holding company public and keep it public?
• How do you build a holding company for acquisitions?

Meraki Dealmakers is a service of Meraki Partners, LLC, an advisory firm. It is not a broker-dealer, investment adviser, business broker, law firm or accounting firm. This article is general information, not legal, tax or investment advice.