Can a PE firm introduce a company it has already exited?
Yes, a PE firm can introduce a company it has already exited, but the new owner decides. After closing, the former sponsor has no say over the company's data. It can still introduce a CEO it knows well, provided the company meets the baseline and nothing in the sale agreement, such as a confidentiality covenant, restricts the outreach.
The short answer: you can introduce, the new owner decides
Yes. A PE firm can introduce a company it has already exited, but after closing it has no say over the company's data or any license. That decision belongs to the new owner and current management. What the former sponsor keeps is the relationship: a CEO who sat through years of board meetings with the deal team will usually take the call.
Those relationships run deep because sponsors work with a management team through years of board meetings, budgets and add-on decisions. A firm with a decade of exits therefore has an alumni list of CEOs it knows well, and some of their companies may now fit a data licensing introduction.
What changes after exit?
| Question | While you owned the company | After exit |
|---|---|---|
| Who decides on licensing | The board you controlled, with management | The new owner and current management |
| What you can share with SourceX | Basic fit information, within confidentiality limits | Only what the CEO tells you now; nothing from old board materials |
| Who signs | An authorized sponsor at the company | Still an authorized sponsor, approved under the new owner's governance |
| Whose consent counts | Your consent rights and your lenders | The new owner's consent rights and lenders |
| Your role | Owner and introducer | Introducer only |
Check the sale agreement and your own firm first
A short document check prevents an awkward call. Pull what you signed when you sold:
- Confidentiality covenant: purchase agreements commonly restrict the seller's use of the sold company's confidential information after closing
- Non-solicitation and non-interference terms, and whether a business introduction could fall within them
- Retained interests: rollover equity, an earn-out, a seller note or a minority stake, any of which keeps you an interested party
- Post-closing cooperation or transition services obligations that are still running
- Your firm's policy on fees connected to current or former portfolio companies, and any fund terms on offsetting fees; see management fee offsets and referral fees
Read each clause for what it says about contact with the company and use of its information, and ask counsel where a clause is unclear.
Which exited companies are worth a call?
| How you exited | Who decides now | How to approach |
|---|---|---|
| Sale to another sponsor | The new sponsor's deal team and the CEO | Call the CEO and suggest they raise it with their board |
| Sale to a strategic acquirer | The acquirer's corporate development or integration lead | Ask the former CEO whether the business still runs its own systems; acquired companies can qualify if the data still exists |
| Recapitalization with a retained stake | Shared, under the new governance documents | Raise it through any board seat you keep, after checking conflicts |
| Wind-down or closure | Whoever controls the remaining assets and archive | Confirm the archive exists and who has authority, especially if a trustee or assignee is involved |
Companies that have already explored data licensing with someone else are a separate case, covered in the guide to referring a business that has already explored data licensing.
How to make the introduction cleanly
- Confirm the company still clears the who qualifies baseline today: US-based, 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), years of documented operations, rights to its records and someone with authority to sponsor a license.
- Call the CEO, not the new owner's board. The CEO decides whether to take it further internally.
- Describe the program, not the company's data. You no longer have standing to characterize its records, and partners are never the ones who describe, export or upload confidential material.
- Send your referral link so the company can apply itself at sourcex.si/apply with your credit attached, or submit it through the referral form once the CEO agrees.
- Step back. Qualification, the inventory and any approvals under the new owner's governance, which may include board approval for a data license, sit with the company and SourceX.
Credit goes to the first valid referrer whose introduction leads to a verified company application within the attribution window. If the new owner's operating team introduces the company first, the credit is theirs.
What to say to a former portfolio CEO
How rewards work for a former sponsor
Partners earn 25% of the eligible platform fees SourceX actually collects from the referred company's licensing deals, capped at $100,000 per referred company. The reward becomes payable only after the buyer pays and SourceX receives its fee, and because it is a share of SourceX's fee it never reduces what the company receives. Rewards are not guaranteed.
If your firm still holds a stake, check how a reward interacts with your fund documents and conflict policies before registering. Exited companies can sit on the same list as the current holdings covered on the private equity operating partners page; the network opportunity finder helps you sort both.
This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm with your own counsel before acting.
Next step
Pull your exits from the last several years, mark the CEOs you can still call, and register as a partner before the first conversation. For companies you still own, the hold-period timeline shows how the process fits.
- Step 1Share your linkSend your personal link to a company you know.
- Step 2Company appliesThe company applies itself at /apply.
- Step 3Buyer selects and paysThe buyer selects and pays for the data and SourceX receives its fee.
- Step 4You get your rewardYour share of SourceX fees becomes payable.
Common questions
Do I need the new owner's permission to make an introduction?
An introduction is not a decision about the company's data, which stays with the new owner and management. Whether you need anyone's consent to make contact depends on your sale agreement's confidentiality, non-solicitation and non-interference terms, so check those first. Introducing the CEO and letting the CEO take it to the board respects the new governance.
Who gets credit if the new owner's team also knows SourceX?
The program credits whichever valid referrer first introduces the company, provided a verified application follows within the attribution window. If the new owner's operating team or another partner introduces the company first, the credit is theirs. Sending your referral link, so the company applies with your code attached, is the cleanest way to record your introduction.
Can a company acquired by a strategic buyer still license its data?
It can, if the records still exist and the acquirer, now the owner, agrees. Acquired companies can qualify as long as the data has not been deleted during integration and someone with authority can sponsor the license. If the business was folded into the acquirer's systems, the archive may sit with the acquirer's IT team rather than with the former CEO.
Is there a limit on how long ago the exit happened?
The company baseline contains no limit tied to your exit date. What matters is whether the company meets the baseline now, whether its records survive and whether you can still reach a decision-maker. Older exits tend to mean cooler relationships and more retired systems, so start with the CEOs you have spoken to recently.
Does a retained minority stake change anything?
It can. A retained stake, rollover equity or an earn-out keeps your firm financially interested in the company's results, and you may still hold board or information rights. Disclose the referral relationship where your role requires it, follow your firm's conflict policy, and check whether fund terms require fees connected to the company to be offset or disclosed to investors.
Related pages
- Management fee offsets and referral fees: what sponsors need to check in the LPA
- How to refer a US business that has already explored data licensing
- Which US businesses are a fit for a SourceX data licensing introduction
- Does a data license need board approval at a PE-backed company?
- Map your network to potential US data referral opportunities
- How long does data licensing take within a PE hold period?
Free resources
- Client opportunity brief generator — An editable intro email, summary and checklist.
- Days sales outstanding calculator — How many days customers take to pay.
- Business succession planning assessment — Ten questions on successor, transition and documentation.
- All free tools · MCP resource center
By SourceX Partnerships Team · Published 2026-10-09 · Updated 2026-10-09
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