Cagent Capital focuses on buying stable small and mid-sized businesses, growing them, and passing that success to our investors.

Baby boomer businesses are facing the most frightening transitions in history.

Culture and technology are changing rapidly - and that’s an understatement. Survival requires radically re-thinking what it means to be in business, and let’s be honest, not everyone is up for that.

Even with the best of intentions, without making the right changes quickly, legacies and fortunes will be lost.

What is the Succession Gap?

  • Share of businesses owned by Baby Boomers:

    • Project Equity (2017) estimated Baby Boomers owned 2.34 million businesses - employing about 24.7 million people.

    • Roughly half of all small businesses with employees are owned by people over the age of 50.

  • Estimated retirements:

    • Various small-business advocacy groups estimate that 70% or more of Boomer-owned businesses will have to either change hands or close by 2030, as owners retire.

    • Some state-level studies (e.g., from economic development centers) suggest 1 in 2 small businesses are be at risk of not finding a next-generation owner in the coming decade.

Key takeaway:

Millions of small businesses nationwide are likely to be transferred or closed as Boomers retire over the next 10 years.

As Baby Boomers approach retirement, a substantial number of businesses, particularly small to medium-sized enterprises, are at risk of closing or losing their operational integrity due to a lack of successors. Many baby boomer entrepreneurs have not groomed the next generation to take over, leading to a potential void in leadership and management.

This gap creates a unique opportunity for small private equity companies like Cagent and our investors.

Acquiring these established businesses allow our firm to carry on the legacies of their founders while infusing a fresh approach to technology and innovation.

COMMUNITY IMPACT

This transition helps preserve local economies, jobs, and community ties that the original owners have built over decades. At Cagent, we introduce cutting edge marketing, technology, and marketing approaches that improving the business's viability in a rapidly changing market.