How We Bought 15 Companies Worth $270M in Just 24 Months | Yuen Yung Interview

My guest today is Yuen Yung, Founding Partner at HalBar Partners, a firm focused on operator-led acquisitions. In just two years, HalBar and NCA ETA have closed 15 acquisitions totaling $270M in enterprise value, hitting their goal of 10 deals per year.

We discuss:

• Yuen’s journey from immigrant roots to building HalBar

• The firm’s investment thesis, fund structure, and capital strategy

• How they source operators and deals, and drive post-acquisition value

• Lessons from wins and misses in ETA

• HalBar’s playbook for growing EBITDA and scaling portfolio companies

Whether you're an investor, operator, or just curious about ETA and private equity, this episode is packed with insights.

I hope you enjoy this conversation with Yuen Yung.

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Timestamps:

00:00:00 - Intro

00:00:14 - Immigrating from China to the USA

00:05:07 - The Shark Tank TV show story

00:12:39 - Why you should never fall in love with your business

00:14:00 - ETA, search funds, and the thesis behind HalBar Partners

00:20:41 - How Yuen met Nate, his co-founder

00:25:22 - Deal structures and partnership dynamics with Nate; early investors

00:27:21 - How someone with capital can replicate HalBar’s model

00:29:42 - Why they chose this specific investment model

00:34:12 - 50% of deals are in Europe, 50% in North America

00:37:03 - Typical deal structure explained (percentages shared)

00:45:12 - Key differences between the U.S. and European markets

00:50:35 - How they find the best operators

00:53:25 - Selling a company in December 2024 with a 45% IRR

01:00:16 - Getting serious about understanding human psychology

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Yuen on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yuenyung/⁠⁠

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