Firm
Senior M&A execution for sponsors, platforms and banks.
Lockstep Partners is an Austin-based M&A advisory firm founded in 2026 by Louie Lee. We staff and run acquisition programs for private-equity-backed platforms, and we carry execution for banks and brokers on mandates they already own.
Transactions executed by Louie Lee at prior firms and platforms, 2014–2026. Not Lockstep Partners advisory engagements.
Sponsors behind the platforms where Louie led M&A
- Apollo
- Waud Capital
- Webster Equity Partners
- Wellspring Capital
- DW Healthcare Partners
- Council Capital
- Graham Partners
- Argentum
- Alternative Capital Investments
Positioning
Built by a buyer, staffed like a bank.
Most lower-middle-market acquisitions fall between two options that do not fit: a bank that will not staff the deal at that fee, or a full-time hire who takes months to find. Lockstep sits between them.
| Dimension | Lockstep Partners | Investment bank | In-house corp dev hire |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who executes | Principals who ran M&A inside sponsor-backed platforms | Senior bankers pitch; associates and analysts execute | One hire; capacity grows only with headcount |
| Deal size | Lower middle market; sub-$5M EBITDA is the core | Fee minimums pull focus up-market | Any size, limited by bandwidth |
| Post-close | Integration, compensation design, de novo growth | Typically ends at close | Owns it, if the hire has done it before |
| Time to start | Days | Weeks: engagement letter and conflicts | Months to recruit and ramp |
| Cost | Success-fee share, retainer or workstream fee | Retainer plus success fee | Salary, bonus and benefits, deal or no deal |
Principles
How we work.
Senior on every deal
The principal who scopes the mandate runs it through closing. Analysts support; they do not take over the file.
Buyer’s-seat judgment
We have owned the integration, the provider comp plan and the next add-on. That shapes what we underwrite and how we structure it.
No channel conflict
On co-advised mandates we work under the bank’s engagement letter and brand, and we do not solicit its clients.
Discretion
Sellers and targets are not named and prices are not published. Every transaction on this site is shown anonymized.
Sectors
Physician, behavioral health and legal services.
Transactions by specialty across the record. Gastroenterology, radiology and I/DD services are the deepest benches; personal injury law is the newest.
- Gastroenterology22
- Behavioral health (I/DD)15
- Radiology11
- PE secondaries6
- Ophthalmology5
- Personal injury law2
- Vascular2
- Rheumatology1
- Real estate services1
- Medical products1
Transactions executed by Louie Lee at prior firms and platforms, 2014–2026. Not Lockstep Partners advisory engagements.
Regulatory status
An M&A advisor, not a broker-dealer.
Lockstep Partners advises on control transactions involving privately held companies in reliance on the federal M&A broker exemption (Section 15(b)(13) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) and applicable state exemptions. It does not raise capital, hold client funds or offer securities.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions.
What we do, how we work, and how MSO structures shape these deals.
What does Lockstep Partners do?
Lockstep Partners provides outsourced M&A execution for private equity-backed platforms, sponsors, investment banks and brokers, with the deepest experience in healthcare and legal services MSOs. The team handles sourcing, pre-LOI analysis, valuation, LOI negotiation, diligence management, closing funds flow and integration planning, either as an outsourced corporate development team or as co-advisor alongside a bank.
What is an MSO in healthcare M&A?
Where corporate practice of medicine rules apply, an investor generally cannot own a medical practice directly. A PE-backed buyer instead acquires or builds a management services organization (MSO) that owns the non-clinical assets and provides administrative services to a physician-owned professional entity under a management services agreement. A growing number of states limit what MSOs and their investors may control, so each structure needs state-by-state review by counsel.
How do law firm MSOs work?
In most jurisdictions, non-lawyers cannot own law firms or share in legal fees (ABA Model Rule 5.4 and state equivalents). A law firm MSO provides non-legal services such as staff, technology, intake, marketing and real estate to a lawyer-owned firm for a fee. That fee is generally a flat or cost-plus amount at fair market value rather than a percentage of legal fees. Ethics guidance varies by state, so each structure needs review by counsel.
What size deals does Lockstep work on?
Lower-middle-market transactions, typically practices and firms with less than $5 million of EBITDA. In the founder's record, 42 of 47 buy-side acquisitions carried less than $3 million of EBITDA, and the median target EBITDA was about $1.0M.
How does co-advisory work with an investment bank?
The bank keeps the client relationship, the engagement letter and the mandate. Lockstep staffs execution work such as the model, buyer or target lists, diligence management and closing. Lockstep is paid through a share of the success fee, a retainer credited against the success fee, or a fixed fee for a defined workstream.
Is the work done by people or by AI?
By people who have run these deals from the buyer's seat. The team uses software like any deal team, but judgment, negotiation and seller relationships come from experience closing transactions inside sponsor-backed platforms.
Is Lockstep Partners a broker-dealer?
No. Lockstep Partners is not a registered broker-dealer. It advises on control transactions involving privately held companies in reliance on the federal M&A broker exemption and applicable state exemptions, and it does not raise capital or hold client funds.
Where is Lockstep Partners based?
Austin, Texas. The team works nationally; the founder's transactions span 22 states.