May 29, 2025 • 24 mins
In this episode of Spotlight On, we sit down with Bridget Walsh, EY's Global Head of Private Equity (PE), who takes us through PE's remarkable journey, drawing on her vast experience leading PE professionals across 45 countries.
Bridget reveals insights about the current state of private equity, highlighting that 78% of firms are holding assets beyond their typical investment horizons, creating what she describes as "a pent-up wall of exits" awaiting the reopening of IPO markets. We talk about the heightened focus on strategic exit preparation, with firms increasingly investing in data readiness, management team preparation, and clear exit roadmaps.
The conversation explores technological disruption, particularly Generative AI. Bridget presents a thought-provoking hypothesis on private equity's technology adoption, also talking about regional investment and vividly depicts the increasingly interconnected global capital ecosystem. Certainly not one to miss!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Spotlight On, the must-listen podcast
series where visionary leaders,global executives, trailblazing
entrepreneurs and top-tierexperts come together to share
their inspiring stories andtackle the hottest issues facing
businesses today, brought toyou by the Barton Partnership,
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We specialize in executivesearch, independent consulting
(00:20):
and consulting solutions fromstrategy through to execution.
Our mission to help businessesaccelerate their growth by
connecting them with world-classstrategy and transformation
talent.
Tune in and join us as we shinea spotlight on the game
changers and thought leaders whoare shaping the future of
business.
Joining me today I've gotBridget Walsh.
Bridget Walsh is EY's GlobalHead of Private Equity, where
(00:40):
she leads a team of PEprofessionals across 45
countries, advising on the mostprominent global PE deals.
She is widely recognized andrespected across the PE industry
as commercial and influentialleader.
Since joining EY 25 years ago,bridget has developed and grown
several successful businesses,currently incubating a sports PE
offering and a PE global gen AIpractice.
Bridget sits on the board ofBritish American Business and
(01:02):
chair of their REMCO committee.
She's chair of the Island Fundsof Great Britain, a prestigious
global philanthropic networkthat raises funds to support
Irish communities around theworld and is deeply engaged in
promoting international businessand she is the host of EY's
Next Wave PE podcast series.
Bridget, great to have you here.
Thank you for joining me today.
I'm really looking forward tothis discussion.
How are things with you?
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Thank you very much, Nick.
It's lovely to be here with you.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
Let's start with you.
Let's talk about you.
Tell us about your careerhistory today.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
I've been really fortunate.
I've had a reallyentrepreneurial career under a
great brand, at EY.
You know I joined EY over 25years ago and my career has
always been in private equity.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Right From day one.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
From day one.
From day one.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Yeah, and private equity was just in its heyday
back then.
So I've seen this industrydevelop and grow and also, as
you and I've talked about before, the amount of change we've
seen in the last 20 years.
I've gone from having the mostimportant team being the team
sitting around me in London to,you know, it's now serving some
of our global clients.
(02:06):
It's just making sure you'vegot teams everywhere around the
globe to serve them.
So phenomenal change,phenomenal growth, both within
professional services and EY,but also in the private equity
industry.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
And you still feel that EY is in it.
I mean, we'll get into this ina lot more, but EY is continuing
to evolve its proposition toserve that market.
Well, in that time you lookback 25 years to today, it must
be night and day.
Now it is night and day.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
You know, 25 years ago the industry was just
starting off here in London andyou know they were coming to us
at the start looking forfinancial diligence, as they
were doing deals and the dealsizes.
Do you remember when we movedfrom millions to billions yes,
crazy.
And the deal sizes Do youremember?
When we moved from millions tobillions yes, crazy, so you know
we had them coming to us backin the day.
We were really working hand inglove with the industry as it's
(02:50):
evolved and I think, again,that's been the beauty of these
roles, because we've evolvedwith our clients and we saw the
industry move from, you know,small industry in London, london
having a key role globally, theUS funds coming in, and for me
personally then I had a rolewith the Canadian funds, going
over to Canada on a regularbasis and then watching those
(03:13):
clients as they came in andestablished their base in London
.
I'm doing a similar thing withMiddle Eastern funds at the
moment.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
So you are global head of PE for EY.
What does that actually mean?
What is your role?
So you are global head of PEfor EY.
What does that actually mean?
What is your role?
Speaker 2 (03:25):
So in terms of my role, that really involves
leading a team of private equityprofessionals across 45
countries to advise on the mostprominent private equity deals.
So in essence, if you think ofall the big global funds, nick,
(03:46):
it's making sure we have theright teams, firstly to advise
them on the deal.
So everything from financialdiligence, tax, operational
diligence, strategy and thenincreasingly now in this era of
value creation, the post deal.
As you know, once privateequity buys a business today,
they'd be very lucky if they geta high multiple on exit without
being very interventionist.
And the opportunities you and Ihave talked about is that value
(04:08):
creation plan, everythingaround that.
We've been building out ourteams globally to support our
clients on that and staying withthem all the way through to
exit.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
And, as you say, that value creation aspect is again
a new evolution of the privateequity market.
But you fell into privateequity 25 years ago or you.
It wasn't something you wouldhave opted for necessarily would
you have known about it?
Speaker 2 (04:29):
very good question, so I had um trained in tax right
um, and I always say tax was agreat seat at the table.
Yeah, because the importance ofstructuring deals.
And then within tax, I'd movedto help entrepreneurial
companies as the compliancetrade was building.
What I loved doing for thoseentrepreneurial clients was
(04:50):
deals.
So then EY was setting up atransaction tax business in the
late 90s and I joined that teamwhen there was 12 people in it.
It did a mix of corporate deals.
I started doing some bigcorporate deals and then, as
private equity was taking offand I started to meet the funds,
hear about their plans andstarted to really work on EY's
(05:11):
relationships from a very earlystage in my career.
I suppose there's always a bitof a lull and that was a great
place to be and I just lovethose clients.
They were doing reallyinteresting things,
groundbreaking things, as theyhave been all throughout my
career.
So I started working in privateequity, as I say, providing
some of the basic services, andthen that evolved to a lot of
different parts of the privateequity toolkit.
(05:33):
So, for example, in EY, Idiscovered we had a hundred
million pound insolvencybusiness that sort of picked up
the phone to the last person intax and then, very quickly,
working with them, I built a 10million pound tax business
serving the insolvency marketand that evolved into a
distressed business.
So in 2009, when the cyclechanged, I worked with a lot of
(05:59):
the distressed funds here inLondon and in the US and helped
EY build out that business, andactually tax was an interesting
part of that toolkit for thembecause when some of the debt
was released it created majortax exposures.
Actually, the tax side of ourbusiness and as it has always
been for private equity has beenreally interesting.
I took that specialism butalways had a private equity
relationship focus and then overtime, as I've had different
(06:20):
leadership roles within EY, myclient base has always been
private equity and, as you know,that's a fascinating world to
operate in?
Speaker 1 (06:27):
Yeah, completely.
And now, as you say, your roleis to sit across all the areas,
making sure that there isalignment and a service offering
that supports all of yourclients' needs across all the
areas, globally, correct, so youmust be traveling a lot.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
There is a lot of travel there, Nick.
If I look at the last two weeksand it's probably you know a
representative sample I was inthe Middle East.
I visited four cities in fivedays there.
And then I was in the WestCoast, in Beverly Hills, at the
Milken Conference, where once ayear that is a fantastic
conference, you know.
Right, Okay, yeah, and all ofour funds and the CEOs of the
(07:01):
funds tend to be representedalongside government and a lot
of other great thinkers, so ittends to be a fantastic event
and we find it very valuable atEY.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
What was the sentiment there?
What were people saying?
Was it positive?
Is there optimism?
What did you take away from it?
Speaker 2 (07:19):
I think there was a little bit of muted optimism,
particularly around the USmarket, because it was before
the trade deal with China wasannounced last week.
But overall, you know when Ithink of my panel, there was a
lot of optimism around theopportunities.
I feel that the IPO market isgoing to come back.
Nobody quite was willing toplace their hands on the crystal
(07:41):
ball there.
Talk about corporates comingback in and having a lot of
interest in the portfolio, someof the funds seeing it as a real
buying opportunity.
You know, on that side of it,as some of the stock markets had
came down, they saw a lot ofopportunity for public to
private.
And then I would say the themeof the conference.
The sessions that were packedout were around Gen AI and you
(08:02):
know I have a hypothesis on this, nick, and I'm seeing it in the
firm that PE, because of theirinterventionist nature and the
three to five year hold period,will move faster than normal
corporates on this and that wasdefinitely the mood music.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
They want to accelerate it, don't they
Correct?
Speaker 2 (08:17):
You know, again, the essence is particularly within
the portfolio, if you can ekeout those productivity savings
in particular, and also maybesome top line enhancements with
using Gen AI technology andrealize that multiple on exit.
And I've sat at anotherconference where I've had some
chief operating officers sayonce someone does that and we
(08:39):
see a sale go.
And it's really been.
Gen AI has driven thosemultiples.
The pressure that's going tocome across the whole industry
is going to be huge around this.
As you'll know, nick, some ofour big clients, even for the
last two years, have hadStanford professors having
weekly calls with them on this.
You know our clients by nature.
They've seen what theopportunity is and I really feel
it within Gen AI and that's whyat EY we've really been
(09:01):
building out our serviceoffering around Gen AI, finding
some tangible products that willreally make a difference.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
It's exciting to think about the art of the
possible, but there's still thatquestion mark around what is
possible, isn't there?
Speaker 2 (09:17):
We are seeing a lot of very tangible solutions.
Now you know it's gone from thehypothetical to the real.
You know whether that's greatcall center technology that
we've already introduced in theinsurance sector to some good
reporting technology.
It's starting to become veryreal.
And then, of course, at EY, wecall it client zero, as we're
disrupting ourselves andbringing Gen AI into our own
(09:37):
business.
Our private equity clients arevery interested in hearing that
story.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
How they're leveraging themselves.
Yes, exactly, and I thinkthat's what people want to see.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Our clients tend not to be very theoretical.
The private equity industry isvery real, very focused on exit
and the outcome.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
Let's talk about the current exit environment and how
really we're seeing that shapefuture strategies in 2025,
particularly for aging portfoliocompanies.
Ey's reports have gone intosome detail around this, but
what are you seeing there?
What are you seeing as how thecurrent exit environment is
shaping future strategies?
Speaker 2 (10:12):
Private equity funds are laser focused on returning
capital to their investors, andour private equity readiness
survey finds that 78% of privateequity firms report holding
assets beyond their typicalinvestment horizon.
And we're working very closelywith funds to really get their
portfolio companies ready and tomake sure that they've got a
(10:34):
clear exit roadmap.
They're getting data in order,they're preparing their
management teams and more than90% of the firms we surveyed
said that taking these kind ofsteps lead to better exit
valuation.
So huge focus in the industryon exit at the moment.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
You're saying 78% now are really sort of extending
that hold period beyond that.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
You know from everything you read and speaking
to your clients, Nick, we dohave a pent up wall of exits.
We need the IPO market toreopen, which it will do, and I
think once that starts to happen, we're going to see a lot of
exit activity.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
Now the report that EY produces also highlights
growing competition from privatecredit.
How are traditional PE firmsadapting to that shift?
Speaker 2 (11:19):
As you know, the private credit industry is
growing tremendously, withassets under management of about
1.8 trillion today like athree-time increase and a lot of
our private equity funds havebuilt their own credit arms now
and we're just seeing that inthe market.
Many of the largest PEs PEfunds are now the largest credit
(11:39):
providers.
It's a very complementary assetclass and it provides a
flexible source of funding for awide variety of use cases.
We're also seeing privatecredit firms partnering with
traditional lenders to createnew lending pools.
Firms partnering withtraditional lenders to create
new lending pools.
Citi for example, just partneredwith Apollo on a $25 billion
(12:04):
direct lending platform.
So again, the creativity andflexibility of this industry, as
the market evolves, to respondhas been huge.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
And how are LP's expectations evolving,
especially around value creationin ESG?
How is that influencing whatwe're seeing?
Speaker 2 (12:16):
Limited partners know that private equity is a better
place to deliver good returnswhen societal and shareholder
values are aligned and a lot ofthe.
LPs.
When you come from the base oftheir pensioners and the pension
funds that they're representing, this is a genuine key
objective for them and isincreasingly a big part of what
(12:37):
they're monitoring as theyinvest in funds.
One of our recent EY studiesshowed that funds that are
excellently positioned on theESG map can realise internal
rates of returns of up to 8%higher than their competitors.
This has gone from somethingthat's a nice to have to
something that's a businessimperative Again for some of the
(12:58):
portfolio companies.
Their customers are demandingit, their LPs are demanding it.
So I think again it's front andcenter.
As we at EY are advising ondeals, again some of our funds
want to see a red flag report onESG before they even take it to
investment committee, becauseif it's not going to pass some
of those hurdles it's just notinvestable.
(13:19):
So you know it's gone right upthe agenda, nick.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
And what about sectors that are unexpectedly
resilient or attracted to PE inthis macro environment?
What are you seeing from thatperspective?
Speaker 2 (13:29):
When you look at all the change that's happening in
the world, you'll always findhot spots and again it was
interesting.
On the panel I hosted at Milkenyou had investors across
numbers of different assetclasses and within those funds
again, and that's what we seewith our client base you get
lots of activity, even whenother parts may be more muted,
(13:49):
and some of those at the momentI would say are aerospace and
defence, especially in Europe,given everything that's
happening.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
We're seeing increasing number of funds.
I don't know if you've noticedthis launch mid-market fund.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
Technology, I mean, with all the disruption that's
happening, tech remains reallyhot for us, as does health care.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
It feels like health care has dropped off a little
bit post-COVID, but you stillfeel that that's coming back or
we'll start to see a little bitof life back there again.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Yeah, and again, in all these sectors, it's which
sub-sectors are hot Elderly care, different diagnostics, care at
home, even while some parts ofa sub-sector and I think it's a
good point, nick, you know mightbe a little bit more muted,
you'll find other trends withinthe same sector.
A little bit more muted, you'llfind other trends within the
same sector.
(14:36):
And increasingly I don't knowif you've been doing the same we
just are building out moresector and sub-sector expertise
within EY.
It's that combination privateequity is looking for of the
skill set of financial DD or tax, but that coupled with our
sector expertise, because that'swhere you bring the real
insights and on the valuecreation upside.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Well, I think client needs becoming more
sophisticated in the fact thatthey're not just looking for the
toolkit, they're looking forthe experience that complements
the toolkit, and bringing thattogether, as we say, is quite a
powerful mix.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
As two experienced individuals as we increase with
years.
It gives us some hope, doesn'tit?
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
But let's talk about that.
As you and I have talked about,we've seen a big focus in
operational value creation.
I mean that really has been atthe heart of what the Barton
Partnership has been focused on.
Within the private equity world, what are you seeing from your
perspective at the moment interms of specific capabilities
or models that funds are using?
Speaker 2 (15:24):
Yeah, and if you remember, you know, if we go
back 10 or 15 years, there was afew funds who were seen as
quite operationally focused andhad operating partners.
You know, I remember doing adeal gosh about 15 years ago
when the normal private equityguys were driving the deal and
there was this real tensionbetween them and the operating
partners, whereas you know, it'sjust come full circle, I think,
(15:48):
where operating partners arenow a key part of the investment
committee decision, thehypothesis, and seen as central
to delivering the returns.
And again, you know, if I comeback to one of our recent
surveys, we found that firmswith more operating partners
tend to hit their return targetsmore consistently 77% of the
(16:08):
time In fact.
I don't think that comes as asurprise.
I think most funds now arefocused on that.
I don't think that comes as asurprise.
I think most funds now arefocused on that.
We've seen a shift away andit'd be interesting if you've
seen the same from hiringex-CEOs and just generalists to
much more functionallyorientated resources.
Is that what you're saying?
Speaker 1 (16:25):
Yeah, exactly, and I think then the alignment between
those functions and the CEO orthe CFO Is increasingly
important, and then youmentioned CTOs.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
This is an increasingly important skill set
.
We talked about Gen AI.
We talked about the importanceof tech in so many businesses
now.
I mean, one of the firstquestions we often get is will
this business be disrupted byGen AI, or is this a huge upside
for it?
Speaker 1 (16:49):
Yes, and that's just that's almost the first question
, it is almost the firstquestion.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
It is almost the first question that's built into
the diligence, that's builtinto the value creation plan.
So then you need good CTOs todeliver that, as we were talking
about and I know you'rebuilding that part of your
business as well.
We're building those skill setsincreasingly in our value
creation teams and EY around theglobe.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
And, as you say, the whole concept of having a
portfolio team, a value creationteam, has certainly grown in
the last few years.
Are there any funds that you'veseen that are doing it really
well?
What does good look like, Iguess?
Or is it specific to individualfunds and their needs and their
portfolio?
Speaker 2 (17:25):
I think there's always an individual element,
because different funds havetheir own focus, but I think, in
terms of what good looks likeand this has been an evolution
it hasn't necessarily been aneasy thing for some funds to get
right.
But I think what good looks likeis where the operating partner
teams have a real seat at thetable where they are genuinely
(17:46):
involved in the deal.
I think if they're sitting toone side and maybe there's a
question about whether they getcarry on the deal or don't, I
think that lack of alignment canbe a challenge.
So I think when you've gotalignment around incentivization
, around the business plan forthe portfolio company, where the
operating partners are involvedin all the decision making from
(18:07):
day one on the deal and takingthat value creation hypothesis
to investment committee with thedeal doer's hand in love, I
think that's where it works best.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
One of the pieces of research we've recently
completed showed that thealignment between the team and
the CEO is perhaps moreimportant than the alignment
between the team and the CFO.
I don't know if you agree withthat or if you've seen any
examples of that, but the CEOrole has become, again, not more
prominent but is seen as beingkey to success in value creation
(18:40):
, more so than CFO at the moment.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
You know that it's always been a balance between
the private equity fund andportfolio company management.
You know, whilst the fund willagree the business plan and the
plan for the business, theyoften want to leave the
management team autonomous torun the business.
It's always a fine balancebetween how value creation and
consultants can work with theCEO and the leadership team.
So therefore, I think to yourpoint.
(19:01):
It's not surprising that it'simportant that the CEO really
buys into the value creationteam what they're doing, the
individuals etc.
And that relationship is keybecause ultimately, if that
doesn't work, it all falls apart.
So I'm not surprised by yourresearch.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
Let's talk about regions or markets that PE firms
are prioritising in 2025.
What are you seeing from thatperspective?
What's EY's view on that rightnow, and why?
Speaker 2 (19:25):
I visited Japan quite recently and it was just
phenomenal to see the pace ofchange in private equity.
It shouldn't be surprising.
Funds focused there raisedabout $9 billion last year.
Just to focus on Japan.
We're seeing that demand on theground.
We've really built out ourteams there and almost can't
(19:49):
build them out fast enough tomeet the demand from our global
funds.
That's a really interestingspot for us at the moment.
India we've got a very strongteam there and India's poised to
seize new opportunities andpartnership amid a changing
geopolitical landscape.
And then, as I mentioned, I'mjust back from MENA and, nick, I
(20:09):
know you've been doing somework there as well.
The pace of change there isphenomenal.
So we're working very closelywith our team and, again, we
built out our EY team in MENA,firstly on the ground to serve
as the funds there in terms ofwhat they are doing in the
region, but also as they deploycapital globally.
You know, if I think of one ofthe funds in particular, they've
built a strong operatingpartner bench in New York.
(20:32):
So it's important, then, thatwe have the teams there to face
off.
So I think the MENA opportunityis both within the region but
also their outbound capital.
And I think, nick, we talkedabout this before.
I sometimes come back from oneof these trips and want to draw
a spider diagram on a board,because I'll go and meet a
sovereign wealth fund.
They're invested in the GP hereof one of my clients in London.
(20:56):
At the same time, they'recompeting for assets directly
here and it's just such a webnow, interconnectivity of
capital, and it's so importantfor us to be engaged at every
level of that ecosystem, becausethat's how we bring the best
advice to our clients at alllevels.
You still love it, oh,absolutely.
I mean, there's no betterenvironment you know private
equity clients.
Ecosystem, because that's howwe bring the best advice to our
(21:16):
clients at all levels.
You still love it.
Oh, absolutely.
I mean, there's no betterenvironment.
You know, private equityclients, demanding, but
intellectually so interesting.
The pace of change, thedynamism, it's just phenomenal.
And the gold dust is when wespot a deal, opportunity and
we're able to take it back, thatreciprocity and we've been
building out our originationteams as well to be very
relevant.
Speaker 1 (21:37):
Side question how do you switch off?
Do you switch off Because yourrole is global.
You could almost argue it's24-7, given the different
regions you work in.
How do you switch off?
Speaker 2 (21:47):
Well, I have a great team.
I have a fantastic team aroundthe globe and a lot of us
like-minded who've grown up inthe business and then, as we
brought other people in, theretends to be that real passion
for private equity and we get todo some really fun stuff within
that business.
Like recently we've incubated asports team.
So as the opportunities ariseyou find them and, as you can
imagine, lots of people in EYwant to work in that sports team
(22:10):
and in fact I was on a callwith our EY athletes team
yesterday where we haveex-Olympians in the business and
of course that really bringssomething different to our
clients.
I'm the mother of two teenagegirls.
That definitely keeps me busy.
So when I'm not busy at workI'm ferrying them around North
London, sometimes, you know,sitting on the grass in Hyde
(22:30):
Park at concerts.
They keep me very young, nick.
Speaker 1 (22:33):
And you keep the phone away from you.
I keep the phone away from me.
Yeah, how is dry powderinfluencing deal discipline in
2025?
Then?
Is it still a pressure point orbecoming more for strategic
reserve?
Speaker 2 (22:43):
Private equity funds have about 1.6 trillion in dry
powder.
I would say it's not a lack ofdry powder.
A lot of our firms, you knowthey're disciplined and sensible
, so it's how they deploy thatdry powder.
You know they've seen what'shappened, maybe in some other
cycles.
The dry powder is not an issue,it is there.
(23:04):
It's more firms deciding whenis the optimum time to deploy it
.
The other thing I would say isthis opportunity around the
retail market is huge.
You know, thing I would say isthis opportunity around the
retail market is huge.
You know there's trillions ofdollars sitting in people's own
pension funds, in their own ISAsand savings accounts, and we're
seeing the industry now findtechnological and other
solutions to be able to accessthat over time, just going to
(23:26):
multiply the dry powder that'sgoing to be available to this
industry.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
Well, look.
Final question, looking ahead,what do you believe will define
the winners in PE over the next12, 18 months, based on this
year's findings with EY?
Speaker 2 (23:37):
Again, I believe PE will continue to win.
It's a very resilient industry.
I think maybe what willdifferentiate one front from
another is probably thewillingness to lean in amid the
uncertainty.
Who's going to step in, becausethere will be opportunities
there.
Again, when I come back to oursurvey, nearly three quarters of
(23:58):
firms reported that theirfirm's risk tolerance is higher
than average, suggesting thatmany will use the market
dislocation to capitalise onpotential mispricings and other
opportunities.
So I think we will see anuptake and deal activity.
People have been cautious.
It's been muted.
I think, though, it will be incertain sectors, as I mentioned,
(24:18):
and with a lot of analysisunderpinning it.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
Bridget Walsh, thank you for coming in.
Look forward to the year ahead.
Look forward to supporting andworking with EY as well.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
Thank you, Nick.
Really appreciate you invitingme to join.
It's been a great pleasure.
Thanks very much you invitingme to join.
It's been a great pleasure.
Thanks very much.
Welcome to Spotlight On, the must-listen podcast
series where visionary leaders,global executives, trailblazing
entrepreneurs and top-tierexperts come together to share
their inspiring stories andtackle the hottest issues facing
businesses today, brought toyou by the Barton Partnership,
an award-winning global talentsolution organization.
We specialize in executivesearch, independent consulting
(00:20):
and consulting solutions fromstrategy through to execution.
Our mission to help businessesaccelerate their growth by
connecting them with world-classstrategy and transformation
talent.
Tune in and join us as we shinea spotlight on the game
changers and thought leaders whoare shaping the future of
business.
Joining me today I've gotBridget Walsh.
Bridget Walsh is EY's GlobalHead of Private Equity, where
(00:40):
she leads a team of PEprofessionals across 45
countries, advising on the mostprominent global PE deals.
She is widely recognized andrespected across the PE industry
as commercial and influentialleader.
Since joining EY 25 years ago,bridget has developed and grown
several successful businesses,currently incubating a sports PE
offering and a PE global gen AIpractice.
Bridget sits on the board ofBritish American Business and
(01:02):
chair of their REMCO committee.
She's chair of the Island Fundsof Great Britain, a prestigious
global philanthropic networkthat raises funds to support
Irish communities around theworld and is deeply engaged in
promoting international businessand she is the host of EY's
Next Wave PE podcast series.
Bridget, great to have you here.
Thank you for joining me today.
I'm really looking forward tothis discussion.
How are things with you?
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Thank you very much, Nick.
It's lovely to be here with you.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
Let's start with you.
Let's talk about you.
Tell us about your careerhistory today.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
I've been really fortunate.
I've had a reallyentrepreneurial career under a
great brand, at EY.
You know I joined EY over 25years ago and my career has
always been in private equity.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Right From day one.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
From day one.
From day one.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Yeah, and private equity was just in its heyday
back then.
So I've seen this industrydevelop and grow and also, as
you and I've talked about before, the amount of change we've
seen in the last 20 years.
I've gone from having the mostimportant team being the team
sitting around me in London to,you know, it's now serving some
of our global clients.
(02:06):
It's just making sure you'vegot teams everywhere around the
globe to serve them.
So phenomenal change,phenomenal growth, both within
professional services and EY,but also in the private equity
industry.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
And you still feel that EY is in it.
I mean, we'll get into this ina lot more, but EY is continuing
to evolve its proposition toserve that market.
Well, in that time you lookback 25 years to today, it must
be night and day.
Now it is night and day.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
You know, 25 years ago the industry was just
starting off here in London andyou know they were coming to us
at the start looking forfinancial diligence, as they
were doing deals and the dealsizes.
Do you remember when we movedfrom millions to billions yes,
crazy.
And the deal sizes Do youremember?
When we moved from millions tobillions yes, crazy, so you know
we had them coming to us backin the day.
We were really working hand inglove with the industry as it's
(02:50):
evolved and I think, again,that's been the beauty of these
roles, because we've evolvedwith our clients and we saw the
industry move from, you know,small industry in London, london
having a key role globally, theUS funds coming in, and for me
personally then I had a rolewith the Canadian funds, going
over to Canada on a regularbasis and then watching those
(03:13):
clients as they came in andestablished their base in London
.
I'm doing a similar thing withMiddle Eastern funds at the
moment.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
So you are global head of PE for EY.
What does that actually mean?
What is your role?
So you are global head of PEfor EY.
What does that actually mean?
What is your role?
Speaker 2 (03:25):
So in terms of my role, that really involves
leading a team of private equityprofessionals across 45
countries to advise on the mostprominent private equity deals.
So in essence, if you think ofall the big global funds, nick,
(03:46):
it's making sure we have theright teams, firstly to advise
them on the deal.
So everything from financialdiligence, tax, operational
diligence, strategy and thenincreasingly now in this era of
value creation, the post deal.
As you know, once privateequity buys a business today,
they'd be very lucky if they geta high multiple on exit without
being very interventionist.
And the opportunities you and Ihave talked about is that value
(04:08):
creation plan, everythingaround that.
We've been building out ourteams globally to support our
clients on that and staying withthem all the way through to
exit.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
And, as you say, that value creation aspect is again
a new evolution of the privateequity market.
But you fell into privateequity 25 years ago or you.
It wasn't something you wouldhave opted for necessarily would
you have known about it?
Speaker 2 (04:29):
very good question, so I had um trained in tax right
um, and I always say tax was agreat seat at the table.
Yeah, because the importance ofstructuring deals.
And then within tax, I'd movedto help entrepreneurial
companies as the compliancetrade was building.
What I loved doing for thoseentrepreneurial clients was
(04:50):
deals.
So then EY was setting up atransaction tax business in the
late 90s and I joined that teamwhen there was 12 people in it.
It did a mix of corporate deals.
I started doing some bigcorporate deals and then, as
private equity was taking offand I started to meet the funds,
hear about their plans andstarted to really work on EY's
(05:11):
relationships from a very earlystage in my career.
I suppose there's always a bitof a lull and that was a great
place to be and I just lovethose clients.
They were doing reallyinteresting things,
groundbreaking things, as theyhave been all throughout my
career.
So I started working in privateequity, as I say, providing
some of the basic services, andthen that evolved to a lot of
different parts of the privateequity toolkit.
(05:33):
So, for example, in EY, Idiscovered we had a hundred
million pound insolvencybusiness that sort of picked up
the phone to the last person intax and then, very quickly,
working with them, I built a 10million pound tax business
serving the insolvency marketand that evolved into a
distressed business.
So in 2009, when the cyclechanged, I worked with a lot of
(05:59):
the distressed funds here inLondon and in the US and helped
EY build out that business, andactually tax was an interesting
part of that toolkit for thembecause when some of the debt
was released it created majortax exposures.
Actually, the tax side of ourbusiness and as it has always
been for private equity has beenreally interesting.
I took that specialism butalways had a private equity
relationship focus and then overtime, as I've had different
(06:20):
leadership roles within EY, myclient base has always been
private equity and, as you know,that's a fascinating world to
operate in?
Speaker 1 (06:27):
Yeah, completely.
And now, as you say, your roleis to sit across all the areas,
making sure that there isalignment and a service offering
that supports all of yourclients' needs across all the
areas, globally, correct, so youmust be traveling a lot.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
There is a lot of travel there, Nick.
If I look at the last two weeksand it's probably you know a
representative sample I was inthe Middle East.
I visited four cities in fivedays there.
And then I was in the WestCoast, in Beverly Hills, at the
Milken Conference, where once ayear that is a fantastic
conference, you know.
Right, Okay, yeah, and all ofour funds and the CEOs of the
(07:01):
funds tend to be representedalongside government and a lot
of other great thinkers, so ittends to be a fantastic event
and we find it very valuable atEY.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
What was the sentiment there?
What were people saying?
Was it positive?
Is there optimism?
What did you take away from it?
Speaker 2 (07:19):
I think there was a little bit of muted optimism,
particularly around the USmarket, because it was before
the trade deal with China wasannounced last week.
But overall, you know when Ithink of my panel, there was a
lot of optimism around theopportunities.
I feel that the IPO market isgoing to come back.
Nobody quite was willing toplace their hands on the crystal
(07:41):
ball there.
Talk about corporates comingback in and having a lot of
interest in the portfolio, someof the funds seeing it as a real
buying opportunity.
You know, on that side of it,as some of the stock markets had
came down, they saw a lot ofopportunity for public to
private.
And then I would say the themeof the conference.
The sessions that were packedout were around Gen AI and you
(08:02):
know I have a hypothesis on this, nick, and I'm seeing it in the
firm that PE, because of theirinterventionist nature and the
three to five year hold period,will move faster than normal
corporates on this and that wasdefinitely the mood music.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
They want to accelerate it, don't they
Correct?
Speaker 2 (08:17):
You know, again, the essence is particularly within
the portfolio, if you can ekeout those productivity savings
in particular, and also maybesome top line enhancements with
using Gen AI technology andrealize that multiple on exit.
And I've sat at anotherconference where I've had some
chief operating officers sayonce someone does that and we
(08:39):
see a sale go.
And it's really been.
Gen AI has driven thosemultiples.
The pressure that's going tocome across the whole industry
is going to be huge around this.
As you'll know, nick, some ofour big clients, even for the
last two years, have hadStanford professors having
weekly calls with them on this.
You know our clients by nature.
They've seen what theopportunity is and I really feel
it within Gen AI and that's whyat EY we've really been
(09:01):
building out our serviceoffering around Gen AI, finding
some tangible products that willreally make a difference.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
It's exciting to think about the art of the
possible, but there's still thatquestion mark around what is
possible, isn't there?
Speaker 2 (09:17):
We are seeing a lot of very tangible solutions.
Now you know it's gone from thehypothetical to the real.
You know whether that's greatcall center technology that
we've already introduced in theinsurance sector to some good
reporting technology.
It's starting to become veryreal.
And then, of course, at EY, wecall it client zero, as we're
disrupting ourselves andbringing Gen AI into our own
(09:37):
business.
Our private equity clients arevery interested in hearing that
story.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
How they're leveraging themselves.
Yes, exactly, and I thinkthat's what people want to see.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Our clients tend not to be very theoretical.
The private equity industry isvery real, very focused on exit
and the outcome.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
Let's talk about the current exit environment and how
really we're seeing that shapefuture strategies in 2025,
particularly for aging portfoliocompanies.
Ey's reports have gone intosome detail around this, but
what are you seeing there?
What are you seeing as how thecurrent exit environment is
shaping future strategies?
Speaker 2 (10:12):
Private equity funds are laser focused on returning
capital to their investors, andour private equity readiness
survey finds that 78% of privateequity firms report holding
assets beyond their typicalinvestment horizon.
And we're working very closelywith funds to really get their
portfolio companies ready and tomake sure that they've got a
(10:34):
clear exit roadmap.
They're getting data in order,they're preparing their
management teams and more than90% of the firms we surveyed
said that taking these kind ofsteps lead to better exit
valuation.
So huge focus in the industryon exit at the moment.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
You're saying 78% now are really sort of extending
that hold period beyond that.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
You know from everything you read and speaking
to your clients, Nick, we dohave a pent up wall of exits.
We need the IPO market toreopen, which it will do, and I
think once that starts to happen, we're going to see a lot of
exit activity.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
Now the report that EY produces also highlights
growing competition from privatecredit.
How are traditional PE firmsadapting to that shift?
Speaker 2 (11:19):
As you know, the private credit industry is
growing tremendously, withassets under management of about
1.8 trillion today like athree-time increase and a lot of
our private equity funds havebuilt their own credit arms now
and we're just seeing that inthe market.
Many of the largest PEs PEfunds are now the largest credit
(11:39):
providers.
It's a very complementary assetclass and it provides a
flexible source of funding for awide variety of use cases.
We're also seeing privatecredit firms partnering with
traditional lenders to createnew lending pools.
Firms partnering withtraditional lenders to create
new lending pools.
Citi for example, just partneredwith Apollo on a $25 billion
(12:04):
direct lending platform.
So again, the creativity andflexibility of this industry, as
the market evolves, to respondhas been huge.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
And how are LP's expectations evolving,
especially around value creationin ESG?
How is that influencing whatwe're seeing?
Speaker 2 (12:16):
Limited partners know that private equity is a better
place to deliver good returnswhen societal and shareholder
values are aligned and a lot ofthe.
LPs.
When you come from the base oftheir pensioners and the pension
funds that they're representing, this is a genuine key
objective for them and isincreasingly a big part of what
(12:37):
they're monitoring as theyinvest in funds.
One of our recent EY studiesshowed that funds that are
excellently positioned on theESG map can realise internal
rates of returns of up to 8%higher than their competitors.
This has gone from somethingthat's a nice to have to
something that's a businessimperative Again for some of the
(12:58):
portfolio companies.
Their customers are demandingit, their LPs are demanding it.
So I think again it's front andcenter.
As we at EY are advising ondeals, again some of our funds
want to see a red flag report onESG before they even take it to
investment committee, becauseif it's not going to pass some
of those hurdles it's just notinvestable.
(13:19):
So you know it's gone right upthe agenda, nick.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
And what about sectors that are unexpectedly
resilient or attracted to PE inthis macro environment?
What are you seeing from thatperspective?
Speaker 2 (13:29):
When you look at all the change that's happening in
the world, you'll always findhot spots and again it was
interesting.
On the panel I hosted at Milkenyou had investors across
numbers of different assetclasses and within those funds
again, and that's what we seewith our client base you get
lots of activity, even whenother parts may be more muted,
(13:49):
and some of those at the momentI would say are aerospace and
defence, especially in Europe,given everything that's
happening.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
We're seeing increasing number of funds.
I don't know if you've noticedthis launch mid-market fund.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
Technology, I mean, with all the disruption that's
happening, tech remains reallyhot for us, as does health care.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
It feels like health care has dropped off a little
bit post-COVID, but you stillfeel that that's coming back or
we'll start to see a little bitof life back there again.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Yeah, and again, in all these sectors, it's which
sub-sectors are hot Elderly care, different diagnostics, care at
home, even while some parts ofa sub-sector and I think it's a
good point, nick, you know mightbe a little bit more muted,
you'll find other trends withinthe same sector.
A little bit more muted, you'llfind other trends within the
same sector.
(14:36):
And increasingly I don't knowif you've been doing the same we
just are building out moresector and sub-sector expertise
within EY.
It's that combination privateequity is looking for of the
skill set of financial DD or tax, but that coupled with our
sector expertise, because that'swhere you bring the real
insights and on the valuecreation upside.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Well, I think client needs becoming more
sophisticated in the fact thatthey're not just looking for the
toolkit, they're looking forthe experience that complements
the toolkit, and bringing thattogether, as we say, is quite a
powerful mix.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
As two experienced individuals as we increase with
years.
It gives us some hope, doesn'tit?
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
But let's talk about that.
As you and I have talked about,we've seen a big focus in
operational value creation.
I mean that really has been atthe heart of what the Barton
Partnership has been focused on.
Within the private equity world, what are you seeing from your
perspective at the moment interms of specific capabilities
or models that funds are using?
Speaker 2 (15:24):
Yeah, and if you remember, you know, if we go
back 10 or 15 years, there was afew funds who were seen as
quite operationally focused andhad operating partners.
You know, I remember doing adeal gosh about 15 years ago
when the normal private equityguys were driving the deal and
there was this real tensionbetween them and the operating
partners, whereas you know, it'sjust come full circle, I think,
(15:48):
where operating partners arenow a key part of the investment
committee decision, thehypothesis, and seen as central
to delivering the returns.
And again, you know, if I comeback to one of our recent
surveys, we found that firmswith more operating partners
tend to hit their return targetsmore consistently 77% of the
(16:08):
time In fact.
I don't think that comes as asurprise.
I think most funds now arefocused on that.
I don't think that comes as asurprise.
I think most funds now arefocused on that.
We've seen a shift away andit'd be interesting if you've
seen the same from hiringex-CEOs and just generalists to
much more functionallyorientated resources.
Is that what you're saying?
Speaker 1 (16:25):
Yeah, exactly, and I think then the alignment between
those functions and the CEO orthe CFO Is increasingly
important, and then youmentioned CTOs.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
This is an increasingly important skill set
.
We talked about Gen AI.
We talked about the importanceof tech in so many businesses
now.
I mean, one of the firstquestions we often get is will
this business be disrupted byGen AI, or is this a huge upside
for it?
Speaker 1 (16:49):
Yes, and that's just that's almost the first question
, it is almost the firstquestion.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
It is almost the first question that's built into
the diligence, that's builtinto the value creation plan.
So then you need good CTOs todeliver that, as we were talking
about and I know you'rebuilding that part of your
business as well.
We're building those skill setsincreasingly in our value
creation teams and EY around theglobe.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
And, as you say, the whole concept of having a
portfolio team, a value creationteam, has certainly grown in
the last few years.
Are there any funds that you'veseen that are doing it really
well?
What does good look like, Iguess?
Or is it specific to individualfunds and their needs and their
portfolio?
Speaker 2 (17:25):
I think there's always an individual element,
because different funds havetheir own focus, but I think, in
terms of what good looks likeand this has been an evolution
it hasn't necessarily been aneasy thing for some funds to get
right.
But I think what good looks likeis where the operating partner
teams have a real seat at thetable where they are genuinely
(17:46):
involved in the deal.
I think if they're sitting toone side and maybe there's a
question about whether they getcarry on the deal or don't, I
think that lack of alignment canbe a challenge.
So I think when you've gotalignment around incentivization
, around the business plan forthe portfolio company, where the
operating partners are involvedin all the decision making from
(18:07):
day one on the deal and takingthat value creation hypothesis
to investment committee with thedeal doer's hand in love, I
think that's where it works best.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
One of the pieces of research we've recently
completed showed that thealignment between the team and
the CEO is perhaps moreimportant than the alignment
between the team and the CFO.
I don't know if you agree withthat or if you've seen any
examples of that, but the CEOrole has become, again, not more
prominent but is seen as beingkey to success in value creation
(18:40):
, more so than CFO at the moment.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
You know that it's always been a balance between
the private equity fund andportfolio company management.
You know, whilst the fund willagree the business plan and the
plan for the business, theyoften want to leave the
management team autonomous torun the business.
It's always a fine balancebetween how value creation and
consultants can work with theCEO and the leadership team.
So therefore, I think to yourpoint.
(19:01):
It's not surprising that it'simportant that the CEO really
buys into the value creationteam what they're doing, the
individuals etc.
And that relationship is keybecause ultimately, if that
doesn't work, it all falls apart.
So I'm not surprised by yourresearch.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
Let's talk about regions or markets that PE firms
are prioritising in 2025.
What are you seeing from thatperspective?
What's EY's view on that rightnow, and why?
Speaker 2 (19:25):
I visited Japan quite recently and it was just
phenomenal to see the pace ofchange in private equity.
It shouldn't be surprising.
Funds focused there raisedabout $9 billion last year.
Just to focus on Japan.
We're seeing that demand on theground.
We've really built out ourteams there and almost can't
(19:49):
build them out fast enough tomeet the demand from our global
funds.
That's a really interestingspot for us at the moment.
India we've got a very strongteam there and India's poised to
seize new opportunities andpartnership amid a changing
geopolitical landscape.
And then, as I mentioned, I'mjust back from MENA and, nick, I
(20:09):
know you've been doing somework there as well.
The pace of change there isphenomenal.
So we're working very closelywith our team and, again, we
built out our EY team in MENA,firstly on the ground to serve
as the funds there in terms ofwhat they are doing in the
region, but also as they deploycapital globally.
You know, if I think of one ofthe funds in particular, they've
built a strong operatingpartner bench in New York.
(20:32):
So it's important, then, thatwe have the teams there to face
off.
So I think the MENA opportunityis both within the region but
also their outbound capital.
And I think, nick, we talkedabout this before.
I sometimes come back from oneof these trips and want to draw
a spider diagram on a board,because I'll go and meet a
sovereign wealth fund.
They're invested in the GP hereof one of my clients in London.
(20:56):
At the same time, they'recompeting for assets directly
here and it's just such a webnow, interconnectivity of
capital, and it's so importantfor us to be engaged at every
level of that ecosystem, becausethat's how we bring the best
advice to our clients at alllevels.
You still love it, oh,absolutely.
I mean, there's no betterenvironment you know private
equity clients.
Ecosystem, because that's howwe bring the best advice to our
(21:16):
clients at all levels.
You still love it.
Oh, absolutely.
I mean, there's no betterenvironment.
You know, private equityclients, demanding, but
intellectually so interesting.
The pace of change, thedynamism, it's just phenomenal.
And the gold dust is when wespot a deal, opportunity and
we're able to take it back, thatreciprocity and we've been
building out our originationteams as well to be very
relevant.
Speaker 1 (21:37):
Side question how do you switch off?
Do you switch off Because yourrole is global.
You could almost argue it's24-7, given the different
regions you work in.
How do you switch off?
Speaker 2 (21:47):
Well, I have a great team.
I have a fantastic team aroundthe globe and a lot of us
like-minded who've grown up inthe business and then, as we
brought other people in, theretends to be that real passion
for private equity and we get todo some really fun stuff within
that business.
Like recently we've incubated asports team.
So as the opportunities ariseyou find them and, as you can
imagine, lots of people in EYwant to work in that sports team
(22:10):
and in fact I was on a callwith our EY athletes team
yesterday where we haveex-Olympians in the business and
of course that really bringssomething different to our
clients.
I'm the mother of two teenagegirls.
That definitely keeps me busy.
So when I'm not busy at workI'm ferrying them around North
London, sometimes, you know,sitting on the grass in Hyde
(22:30):
Park at concerts.
They keep me very young, nick.
Speaker 1 (22:33):
And you keep the phone away from you.
I keep the phone away from me.
Yeah, how is dry powderinfluencing deal discipline in
2025?
Then?
Is it still a pressure point orbecoming more for strategic
reserve?
Speaker 2 (22:43):
Private equity funds have about 1.6 trillion in dry
powder.
I would say it's not a lack ofdry powder.
A lot of our firms, you knowthey're disciplined and sensible
, so it's how they deploy thatdry powder.
You know they've seen what'shappened, maybe in some other
cycles.
The dry powder is not an issue,it is there.
(23:04):
It's more firms deciding whenis the optimum time to deploy it
.
The other thing I would say isthis opportunity around the
retail market is huge.
You know, thing I would say isthis opportunity around the
retail market is huge.
You know there's trillions ofdollars sitting in people's own
pension funds, in their own ISAsand savings accounts, and we're
seeing the industry now findtechnological and other
solutions to be able to accessthat over time, just going to
(23:26):
multiply the dry powder that'sgoing to be available to this
industry.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
Well, look.
Final question, looking ahead,what do you believe will define
the winners in PE over the next12, 18 months, based on this
year's findings with EY?
Speaker 2 (23:37):
Again, I believe PE will continue to win.
It's a very resilient industry.
I think maybe what willdifferentiate one front from
another is probably thewillingness to lean in amid the
uncertainty.
Who's going to step in, becausethere will be opportunities
there.
Again, when I come back to oursurvey, nearly three quarters of
(23:58):
firms reported that theirfirm's risk tolerance is higher
than average, suggesting thatmany will use the market
dislocation to capitalise onpotential mispricings and other
opportunities.
So I think we will see anuptake and deal activity.
People have been cautious.
It's been muted.
I think, though, it will be incertain sectors, as I mentioned,
(24:18):
and with a lot of analysisunderpinning it.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
Bridget Walsh, thank you for coming in.
Look forward to the year ahead.
Look forward to supporting andworking with EY as well.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
Thank you, Nick.
Really appreciate you invitingme to join.
It's been a great pleasure.
Thanks very much you invitingme to join.
It's been a great pleasure.
Thanks very much.
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Football’s funniest family duo — Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs — team up to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds. The two brothers and Super Bowl champions drop weekly insights about the weekly slate of games and share their INSIDE perspectives on trending NFL news and sports headlines. They also endlessly rag on each other as brothers do, chat the latest in pop culture and welcome some very popular and well-known friends to chat with them. Check out new episodes every Wednesday. Follow New Heights on the Wondery App, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free, and get exclusive content on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And join our new membership for a unique fan experience by going to the New Heights YouTube channel now!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.