Private equity (PE) firms live by the clock: acquire, improve, exit. But the deals that win big aren’t just fueled by financial engineering—they’re powered by technology. Without the right digital foundation, portfolios stall out. With it, they multiply. Pre-close IT due diligence, portfolio-wide enablement, and exit-ready infrastructure are just a few of the levers that turn technology into a true value-creation engine.
According to EY’s Three Tech Pillars Driving Value Creation for PE Portfolio Companies, PE executives increasingly view technology as the most critical factor in value creation, more important than cost reduction or financial engineering alone. Leading firms are integrating digital transformation strategies directly into their investment thesis from day one.1
If technology is the engine of private equity value creation, the question is how to harness it. The answer lies in three moves: Ready, Scale, Go.
Every PE story begins and ends with a transaction. On the front end, assessing the IT estate and digital maturity of a target company is now table stakes for due diligence. Skipping it can leave you holding a portfolio company riddled with technical debt, cyber vulnerabilities, or integration landmines. With AI now reshaping operating models and industries, investors also need to assess whether a target is AI-ready, both in its risks and in its opportunities.
A thorough IT assessment validates operations, exposes challenges, and maps out a smoother integration path, positioning PE firms for faster value capture.
On the back end, technology can make or break an exit. Portfolio companies (portcos) with modern tech stacks, clean data, and resilient infrastructure consistently earn premiums. Those with AI maturity are increasingly commanding higher multiples, as buyers look for companies positioned to capitalize on the next wave of digital transformation.2 Shared services add another layer of advantage: operational telemetry that proves how IT has driven cost savings, efficiency, and growth. Buyers want evidence of scalability and security—when your portfolio can deliver both, deals close faster and often at higher valuations.
Maintaining IT excellence across dozens of portfolio companies can feel like herding cats. That’s why leading PE firms are embracing shared services. Standardizing IT functions controls costs and creates consistency and accelerates modernization across the portfolio.
Establishing a clear baseline of each portco’s IT operations and building rationalization roadmaps that align with the investment thesis delivers measurable value. The benefits add up quickly: centralized purchasing of software licenses, streamlined cloud provisioning, standardized security frameworks, and simplified audit readiness.
The economies of scale extend across portcos, cutting duplication and enabling lean IT teams to focus on strategic priorities. For sponsors, it means portfolio-wide visibility, stronger compliance, and integration-ready systems. Scale isn’t just about savings—it’s about synergy.
IT growth accelerators are shifting technology from a support function to a multiplier of portfolio performance. When portfolios invest in the right levers—data and AI, cybersecurity, cloud, and automation—they don’t just operate more efficiently; they unlock faster decisions, stronger resilience, and sustainable growth.
Together, these accelerators give portfolio companies lift-off and help PE firms engineer growth that lasts.
Private equity value creation isn’t just about multiples on paper. It’s about readiness for deals, scalability across the portfolio, and a digital foundation that can actually go the distance.
With NexusTek’s Portfolio Program, PE firms gain a partner that knows how to align IT with the investment thesis, reduce risk, and accelerate returns. Learn more.
Ready, Scale, Go. That’s how you win the portfolio race.