About
I came to Peony from Moelis & Company, where I worked in M&A across cross-border, healthcare, industrials, and consumer transactions.
Peony is the data room platform 8,000+ teams use to run M&A, fundraising, and diligence. My work here sits on the deal side: what buyers actually ask for, how sellers should stage disclosure, and what a diligence-ready business looks like from the banker's chair.
On this site I write about deal process for owners and founders selling or raising — often for the first time — in the sectors I covered as a banker.
Areas of expertise
Previously
- Investment Banking, M&A·Moelis & Company
Articles by Chris(21)
September 19, 2026
Rep and Warranty Insurance (RWI) in M&A: Cost, Claims and Coverage (2026)
What rep and warranty insurance covers, what it costs in 2026, what the claims studies show, and why the data room decides whether a buyer can claim.
August 26, 2026
Add-On Acquisition Strategy in 2026: The Math Behind 72.9% of PE Buyouts
Add-ons were 72.9% of US PE buyouts by deal count in 2025. The 2026 multiple-arbitrage math, honestly, including when it fails, from a former M&A banker.
August 26, 2026
How to Raise Capital in 2026: Equity, Debt, and Hybrid Options Compared
The full menu for raising capital — equity, debt, and hybrid — across every company stage, with honest trade-offs, verified 2026 costs, and how a raise runs.
August 26, 2026
How to Sell a SaaS Company in 2026: Process, Multiples, and Timing
A banker's honest guide to selling a $1M-$50M ARR SaaS company: 2026 timing, the multiple you'll actually get, who buys, the process, and what kills deals.
August 26, 2026
SaaS Financial Due Diligence Checklist: What PE Firms Actually Request
The exact financial evidence-request list a PE deal team sends a $10M–$50M ARR SaaS target in 2026: each item, its required form, and the red flag it screens.
August 26, 2026
SaaS Valuation Multiples in 2026: What Private Companies Actually Sell For
Private SaaS sold at a 4.0x median EV/revenue in 2Q26 (SEG), 3.1x in Q1 (Aventis). Why the 2026 series disagree, and where the 4-7x/7-12x tiers come from.
August 26, 2026
Synergies in M&A: Types, Examples, and How They Are Actually Valued (2026)
Synergy justifies the premium a buyer pays. The three types, verified 2026 examples with dollar figures, and the NPV math used to defend the number.
August 26, 2026
Vertical SaaS Roll-Up Examples: 7 Buy-and-Build Compounders, Explained
Seven verified vertical SaaS roll-ups, from Constellation Software to Banyan: real acquisition counts, the operating model behind each, and what actually works.
August 26, 2026
Vertical vs. Horizontal Integration: Differences, Forward and Backward Types, and Examples (2026)
Horizontal integration combines competitors; vertical integration moves up or down the value chain. Forward vs. backward, when each wins, and 2026 examples.
August 25, 2026
Ansarada Pricing in 2026: The Full Rate Card, Verified ($244 to $8,579)
Ansarada's published pricing, verified Aug 2026: $244-$5,134/mo on 12-month terms (250 MB-20 GB), $479-$8,579 monthly, priced per room by storage tier. The full rate card.
August 25, 2026
Ecommerce Due Diligence Checklist (2026): 7 Workstreams
The document-by-document checklist for buying an online business: reconcile the P&L against payout reports, verify traffic and suppliers, catch the red flags.
August 25, 2026
How to Sell a Beauty Brand (2026): Valuation, Buyers, Process
e.l.f. paid $800M at close plus a $200M earnout for rhode. Here is how beauty acquirers value, diligence, and structure a brand sale — and when not to sell.
August 25, 2026
How to Sell a Food and Beverage Brand (2026)
An operator's guide to selling a food or beverage brand in 2026: what buyers pay for, how they recast a deduction-riddled P&L, and the license-transfer traps.
August 25, 2026
How to Sell an Ecommerce Business in 2026: The Real Playbook
A banker's guide to selling a Shopify or Amazon FBA business: SDE multiples, the 2026 buyer landscape, and process. Average digital sale hit $270,802 in 2025.
August 25, 2026
iDeals Pricing in 2026: What a Quote Actually Costs (Verified Ranges)
iDeals publishes no prices — just Core, Premier, Enterprise and a Get price button. Here is the buyer-reported range, what drives a quote, and the comparison.
August 25, 2026
Mergers and Acquisitions Examples: 15 Landmark Deals Explained by Type (2026)
15 verified M&A examples by type: horizontal, vertical, conglomerate, hostile, reverse merger, LBO, cross-border. Real values, dates, and outcomes through 2026.
August 25, 2026
What Is a Divestiture? Definition, Types, Strategy, and Real Examples (2026)
A divestiture is the sale of a business unit for cash. The types, the strategy, the sell-side process, antitrust-remedy sales, and verified 2025-26 examples.
August 19, 2026
Manufacturing Due Diligence (2026): The Certification, Capex, and Tariff Checks That Price the Deal
AS9100, ITAR, NADCAP, IATF 16949 transfer risk; the capex cliff; scrap/OEE/PPM verification; Section 232 at 50% and the USMCA July-2026 review. The sourced manufacturing DD playbook.
August 16, 2026
Healthcare Data Rooms: The Complete Guide (2026)
What a healthcare data room is, who uses one, the provider-side documents that go in it, whether it holds PHI, and what it costs in 2026 (flat $52/admin/mo).
May 11, 2026
Biotech M&A Data Room 2026: 12 Folders, FDA Audit Tiers, Phase-Gate Curve
How biotech M&A data rooms scale 100x from preclinical to BLA: Phase-Gate Document Mass Curve, 5-tier FDA Audit-Trail Matrix, 12 canonical folders, asset-vs-equity differential, CVR continuity, BIOSECURE + CFIUS overlay, plus 14 fresh 2025-2026 deal anchors.
March 22, 2026
Biotech Data Room Guide (9-Folder Checklist Inside) in 2026
An ex-Moelis M&A banker's guide to biotech VDRs for Series B rounds, pharma licensing, and M&A. Here is the 9-folder checklist I give every founder.