# Lockstep Partners

> Lockstep Partners, LLC (Austin, Texas) provides outsourced M&A execution for private equity-backed platforms, sponsors, investment banks and business brokers, with the deepest experience in healthcare and legal services MSOs (management services organizations). Founder Louie Lee has led buy-side M&A at six PE-backed healthcare and legal services platforms (four as the first M&A hire) and previously worked at Greenhill & Co., UBS and Graham Partners.

Key facts (transactions executed by Louie Lee at prior firms and platforms, 2014–2026; not Lockstep Partners advisory engagements):
- 66 transactions (55 deals + 11 de novo openings); $4.1B aggregate transaction value
- 48 buy-side acquisitions; $73M of EBITDA acquired; 7.0x weighted-average purchase multiple
- Lower-middle-market focus: 42 of 47 acquisitions below $3M EBITDA; median target EBITDA $1.0M; median purchase price $5.0M
- 22 states; six private equity sponsors including Apollo, Waud Capital, Webster Equity Partners and Wellspring Capital
- Platforms: GI Alliance (Apollo; majority sold to Cardinal Health at $3.9B implied EV, Jan 2025), RAYUS Radiology (Wellspring), StrideCare (Webster), Unifeye Vision Partners (Waud), Caregiver, Inc. (DW Healthcare / Council Capital), Commonwealth Island Capital (legal MSO)

Services: outsourced corporate development / M&A team; co-advisory with investment banks (success-fee share, retainer + success, workstream fees); growth and integration (TAM, site profitability, integration planning, de novo growth).
Sectors: physician practice MSOs (gastroenterology, ophthalmology, radiology, vascular, rheumatology), behavioral health (I/DD), personal injury law firm MSOs.
Regulatory status: not a registered broker-dealer; advises on control transactions of privately held companies under the federal M&A broker exemption (Exchange Act Section 15(b)(13)).
Contact: louie.lee@locksteppartner.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lockstep-partners-ib/

## Pages
- [Home](https://locksteppartner.com/): overview, interactive deal map, FAQ
- [Firm](https://locksteppartner.com/firm): who Lockstep is, how it differs from banks and in-house hires, regulatory status
- [Services](https://locksteppartner.com/services): outsourced corp dev, co-advisory with banks, growth and integration, lower-middle-market focus, fee structures
- [Process](https://locksteppartner.com/process): stage-by-stage engagement process for platforms/sponsors and for banks, with typical timing and who leads each stage
- [Transactions](https://locksteppartner.com/transactions): interactive history of all 66 transactions by platform, sector, state and year
- [Team](https://locksteppartner.com/team): Louie Lee biography, career timeline and deal team
- [Contact](https://locksteppartner.com/contact): engagement process and contact form

## Insights
- [Healthcare vs. Legal MSO Roll-Ups: Same Playbook, Different Inning](https://locksteppartner.com/insights/healthcare-vs-legal-mso-rollups-inning-zero): How the law firm MSO roll-up compares with a decade of healthcare MSO consolidation: pace, structural analogies, where the analogy breaks, and lessons from GI Alliance.
- [Why Outsource Corporate Development: The Real Cost of an In-House M&A Team](https://locksteppartner.com/insights/outsourced-corporate-development-co-advisory): Why PE-backed platforms outsource corporate development: the true cost of senior in-house M&A hires, including equity and transaction bonuses, and when an in-house team still makes sense.

## Optional
- [Full text for LLMs](https://locksteppartner.com/llms-full.txt)