Get Started

Tag: Connected Capital

  • Private Equity and Global Risk: Rethinking Strategy in the Tariff Era 

    Private Equity and Global Risk: Rethinking Strategy in the Tariff Era 

    As macroeconomic and geopolitical factors converge, private equity firms are rethinking their exposure to global pressures, particularly in the form of tariffs and trade policy volatility. These forces are reshaping how deals are sourced, evaluated, and structured. 

    Sector Resilience and Rotation Toward Services 

    Certain sectors, especially software and business services, are being viewed as more resilient in the face of tariff uncertainty. These businesses often have fewer physical goods crossing borders and are therefore less exposed to direct tariff costs. However, inflationary effects can still impact downstream margins, particularly when cost inputs rise. 

    Geographic Diversification to Mitigate Concentration Risk 

    Firms are exploring geographic expansion to mitigate concentration risk. For example, a Canadian portfolio company may look to grow into the U.S. or Europe, not only for market opportunity but also to hedge against changes in trade policy. This is particularly relevant for funds with sector exposure in manufacturing, logistics, and consumer goods. 

    Tariffs as a Deal Structuring Variable 

    Deloitte’s 2024 M&A Trends Survey notes that nearly 1 in 4 cross-border M&A deals now includes tariff-adjusted valuation scenarios, underscoring the need for adaptive underwriting models. 

    In some M&A processes, the impact of tariffs is so significant that buyers are submitting dual bids, one assuming normal conditions and another adjusted for tariff exposure. This practice underscores just how embedded macro risk has become in PE underwriting. 

    Building Resilient, Globally-Aware Portfolios 

    Over 60% of private equity firms in North America cited geopolitical instability and trade policy shifts as a top risk in 2025, according to Preqin. In response, firms are embedding geopolitical analysis into due diligence. 

    Blackstone, for example, sees volatility from trade negotiations as an investment opportunity. CEO Stephen Schwarzman noted that uncertain markets often present the best time to deploy capital. With $177 billion in dry powder, Blackstone continues to act on global dislocation opportunities. He also revealed plans to invest up to $500 billion in Europe over the next decade, citing improving macro conditions, deeper government spending, and favorable valuations. 

    PE firms are taking a more analytical, scenario-based approach to global risk. Cross-functional diligence teams, including tax, trade compliance, and political risk analysts, are increasingly part of deal evaluation. 

    While the full impact of new tariffs may not yet be fully felt, firms should prepare for the possibility of more material disruptions as the year progresses. As such, firms are wise to hedge structurally now and factor in the potential downstream effects of trade disruptions to position themselves to respond with speed and flexibility. 

    How GSCF Can Help  

    GSCF helps clients navigate tariff volatility and geographic uncertainty by offering trade finance solutions that adapt to global risk. Whether structuring cross-border receivables programs or supporting localized funding needs, our solutions are designed to scale with your strategy and keep capital flowing despite external headwinds. 

    Now is the time to assess and understand your alternative financing options so when market signals shift or disruptions hit, you’re ready to act with confidence. GSCF ensures your financing structures are sound, flexible, and ready to deploy when timing is critical. 

  • Navigating Uncertainty: How Private Equity is Adapting to a Shifting Market 

    Navigating Uncertainty: How Private Equity is Adapting to a Shifting Market 

    Uncertainty continues to define the private equity (PE) landscape in 2025. From fluctuating macroeconomic signals to geopolitical shifts and evolving sector dynamics, PE firms face a complex set of variables when evaluating opportunities. The result? A significant widening in bid-ask spreads and a more cautious approach to deploying capital. 

    Bid-Ask Spread Widening: A Reflection of Market Ambiguity 

    According to PitchBook, the average global bid-ask spread in private equity widened by over 25% from 2021 to 2024, especially in tech and consumer sectors. This has further complicated deal structuring and contributed to delayed timelines. 

    Across many sectors, we’re seeing deal activity slow not because of lack of interest but because buyers and sellers are operating from very different assumptions. Sellers often anchor to past valuations, while buyers bake in risk premiums, recession fears and uncertainty around growth trajectories. This disconnect has created friction, especially in sectors with less predictable earnings. 

    Dry Powder Preservation and GFC Parallels 

    Bain & Company reports that global private equity dry powder reached $2.6 trillion by early 2025, a record high. Despite this, investors remain selective, deploying capital into high-conviction deals while waiting for clearer market signals. 

    Many funds are holding capital for what they consider high-conviction bets, deals that resemble post-2008 dislocation opportunities. During the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), quality assets were sold off under pressure. Some investors are preparing for similar opportunities to emerge, especially if credit markets tighten or distressed assets hit the market. 

    The IPO Slowdown and Extended Private Holding Periods 

    The initial public offering (IPO) window remains muted, pushing more companies to extend their time in the private markets. This has reshaped expectations around hold periods and fund life cycles. In turn, firms are focusing more heavily on value creation strategies to sustain long-term growth and remain flexible with exit timing. 

    Secondaries and Strategic Sales as Exit Alternatives 

    With public market exits limited, funds are increasingly looking to secondaries and strategic buyers for liquidity. Secondary transactions provide a way to return capital to LPs and generate DPI (distributions to paid-in capital), which is critical in today’s cautious fundraising environment. Strategic sales, particularly to well capitalized corporates, offer an attractive path when IPOs are off the table. 

    Signs of Rebound: A Blackstone Perspective 

    There are reasons for optimism. Blackstone’s Head of North America Private Equity, Martin Brand, recently noted that the firm expects “an improved environment for mergers & acquisitions and a pickup in IPO activity” in 2025, anticipating the ability to “sell and exit more than twice the number of private equity investments” compared to the prior year. This signals renewed market momentum and an opening of the exit window. 

    What This Means for 2025 and Beyond 

    The private equity market is not frozen, but it has become more selective. Funds are recalibrating valuation models, incorporating broader risk scenarios, and emphasizing discipline in underwriting. Precision, patience, and a well-prepared pipeline are more important than ever. 

    How GSCF Can Help  

    GSCF supports private equity firms by providing working capital solutions that bring flexibility and liquidity to their portfolios. Our platform enables real-time visibility across receivables, streamlined onboarding of suppliers and buyers, and scalable financing programs tailored to uncertain markets. We help clients unlock value even when exits are delayed or fundraising is challenging. Critically, GSCF can move faster than traditional lenders, delivering funding quickly when timing matters most. This speed and agility make us a strategic partner for firms looking to act decisively in a volatile environment. 

  • Strategic Planning in a Trade-Constrained World: Turning Risk Into Opportunity

    Strategic Planning in a Trade-Constrained World: Turning Risk Into Opportunity

    When tariffs rise or trade policies shift unpredictably, the ripple effects across the supply chain are swift and severe. For finance leaders, this isn’t just a compliance challenge – it’s a strategic inflection point.

    The Office of the CFO’s Imperative: Adaptive Capital Strategy

    Increased tariffs act like a tax on inputs, which tightens margins and complicates cash flow forecasting. This forces a shift in working capital strategy – from reactive cost containment to proactive capital reallocation. CFOs who treat tariffs solely as a line-item cost miss the broader picture: tariffs impact inventory positioning, supplier relationships, sourcing decisions and even customer pricing structures.

    This is where financial agility becomes a growth lever.

    By reassessing your capital structure and taking a connected capital approach, finance can realign liquidity to where it has the highest strategic impact – such as prepaying key suppliers to lock in price stability, investing in nearshoring to mitigate risk, or increasing access to alternative capital to bridge timing gaps in a volatile sourcing environment.

    Liquidity Under Pressure: Building Cushion Without Drag

    Tariffs, trade restrictions, and shifting geopolitical alliances strain liquidity in two key ways:

    • Longer lead times and higher landed costs: Capital gets trapped in transit or held in warehouses.
    • Disrupted supplier terms: Counterparties may demand faster payment or shift risk downstream.

    In this context, traditional metrics like DPO and DSO no longer tell the full story. Savvy finance strategists are building liquidity buffers not just to survive tariff-related disruption, but to deploy them as competitive advantages – allowing their companies to secure preferred vendor status, meet customer demand faster, or capitalize on distressed asset buys when competitors falter.

    Tariffs as a Catalyst for Strategic Reinvention

    While the immediate response to tariffs may be defensive (e.g., rerouting supply chains or raising prices), the long-term opportunity is offensive: transforming your capital allocation model to favor agility over rigidity.

    Ask yourself:

    • How quickly can your organization pivot sourcing or pricing strategies?
    • Do you have the right funding partners in place to flex when trade winds shift?
    • Is your working capital trapped in the wrong parts of your value chain?

    The companies that win in a tariff-laden future won’t be the ones that simply absorb costs – they’ll be the ones that translate those pressures into liquidity-backed decisions that fuel innovation and market share expansion.

    Contact us to see how GSCF can support your working capital needs.

    Explore our latest playbook for finance leaders navigating trade uncertainty.

  • Tariffs, Tension, and the Office of the CFO’s Competitive Edge

    Tariffs, Tension, and the Office of the CFO’s Competitive Edge

    The reintroduction of 25% U.S. tariffs on multiple countries is more than political posturing, it’s a macroeconomic shockwave that reverberates through every balance sheet. CFOs don’t have the luxury of waiting for trade policy to stabilize. The Office of the CFO must act now – to protect liquidity, preserve margins, and turn volatility into value.

    A CFO’s Reality Check

    The latest round of tariffs is forcing leadership teams to reassess supplier relationships, pricing strategies, and financing structures in real time. These aren’t theoretical risks – they’re immediate cash flow events. Procurement teams may be renegotiating contracts, but the lag between strategy and execution can be fatal to liquidity.  Unfortunately, the changeable nature of these tariff mandates doesn’t negate them – it actually increases the need for CFO’s to be nimble and prepared to respond quickly.

    That’s why GSCF offers a proactive approach with our Connected Capital model with alternative capital channels and integrated working capital programs to strengthen customers’ financial position and gain real-time control.

    Why This Isn’t Just About Trade

    Tariffs act as a slow-moving liquidity crisis. Margins compress. Suppliers become stressed. Cash conversion cycles elongate. If you’re waiting for your bank to offer more credit, you’re already behind.

    GSCF’s hybrid model has allowed us to:

    • Deploy alternative capital without increasing our leverage ratios
    • Maintain strong supplier ties by offering early payments without weakening our own liquidity
    • Access dashboards that model risk exposure across regions in real time

    This is not about riding out the storm. It’s about using the storm to reset how we finance growth.

    The Strategic Window Is Open, But Not Forever

    The 90-day pause before tariffs fully take effect isn’t a grace period – the run-up periods to implementation are a countdown. We’re using this window to help customers hardwire resilience into their working capital model. GSCF is a key partner in enabling that shift.

    If you’re still viewing working capital as an operational task, you’re missing the bigger play.

    This is finance’s moment to lead. Contact us today to see how GSCF can support your working capital needs.

    Contact us to see how GSCF can support your working capital needs.

    Explore our latest playbook for finance leaders navigating trade uncertainty.

  • The Connected Capital Blueprint

    The Connected Capital Blueprint

    Download the new GSCF eBook

    CFOs and finance leaders are under pressure to fund growth, exceed metrics and stay agile – all at once. Traditional financing strategies often can’t.

    That’s why we built the Connected Capital Blueprint – a practical guide featuring 7 real-world examples of how companies are transforming working capital into a competitive advantage.

    What you’ll find inside:

    • Alternative capital models that work in today’s environment
    • Flexible solutions for every working capital scenario – from M&A to chargebacks, large orders and more
    • Off-balance-sheet strategies that protect ratings and ratios

    If your current capital structure is slowing down your growth strategy, it’s time to rethink the model.

    Read the Connected Capital Blueprint

  • Fuel Your Next Acquisition with Smarter Capital

    Fuel Your Next Acquisition with Smarter Capital

    Why today’s M&A-focused CFOs are using Connected Capital to move faster without loading the balance sheet

    You’ve identified the perfect acquisition. Synergies are clear, timing is ideal – and then the funding friction begins.

    Traditional financing can be slow, restrictive, or balance-sheet heavy, especially in today’s rate environment. But deals don’t wait. And for serial acquirers, deal velocity is everything.

    Chapter 6 of the Connected Capital Blueprint explores how CFOs are unlocking acquisition-ready capital by leveraging receivables and payables. With AR Purchase and AP Finance, finance leaders can fund deals without tapping revolvers, raising equity, or compromising KPIs like leverage and ROIC.

    This is working capital that aligns with M&A strategy – fast, flexible and invisible on the balance sheet.

    See how top CFOs are accelerating M&A with Connected Capital

  • Need Capital to Ramp Up? How to Fund Growth Without Slowing Down

    Need Capital to Ramp Up? How to Fund Growth Without Slowing Down

    How fast-growing companies unlock immediate liquidity to fuel production – without balance sheet friction

    The big order finally lands. It’s the kind of customer you’ve been courting for months, maybe years.

    But now comes the hard part: funding the ramp-up.

    Fast-growing companies often find themselves caught in a liquidity paradox. Demand is soaring, but capital is stuck in AR. Bank credit lines are tapped, equity is too slow or dilutive, and internal approvals can delay execution.

    Chapter 5 of the Connected Capital Blueprint explores how treasurers and finance leaders are solving this mismatch by adding a new layer to their capital stack. With AR Purchase, you can unlock liquidity based on invoiced revenue, turning accounts receivable into flexible, production-ready capital.

    It’s fast. Off-balance-sheet. And it doesn’t require you to rework your banking relationships.

    So, when the next big order hits, you don’t scramble; you scale.

    Discover the Blueprint for Growth Corporates

  • When Plans Change, Liquidity Shouldn’t Be the Problem

    When Plans Change, Liquidity Shouldn’t Be the Problem

    Why forward-looking finance leaders are using Connected Capital to absorb shocks – without harming credit or investor confidence


    When your five-year plan meets a global curveball, do you pivot or pause?

    For investment-grade corporates, volatility isn’t hypothetical. It’s constant.

    Whether it’s a margin squeeze, supply chain disruption, or a sudden drop in demand, the imperative for the Office of the CFO is the same: preserve optionality, protect the balance sheet, and keep moving forward.

    But that’s easier said than done when liquidity is locked up in receivables or tied to strict covenant terms.

    Explore how finance leaders are using off-balance-sheet working capital to navigate uncertainty without breaching covenants or risking a downgrade. With AR Purchase, treasury teams gain rapid, non-dilutive access to liquidity, unlocking capital quickly and seamlessly.

    This isn’t emergency funding. It’s a resilience strategy designed for today’s volatile macro environment.

    So when the next disruption hits, you don’t delay your roadmap. You accelerate it.

    See how top CFOs are building resilience through recalibrated working capital. Download the Connected Capital Blueprint eBook to learn more.

  • How Channel Sellers Can Offer Competitive Terms for Buyers

    How Channel Sellers Can Offer Competitive Terms for Buyers

    Channel sellers – especially in the tech, hardware, and telecom sectors – know that offering extended payment terms is table stakes to stay competitive. But these terms often create a cash flow crunch for suppliers, requiring them to float capital while waiting for customers to pay.

    For many, the only solution has been to lean harder on their credit facilities, sacrifice growth investments, or worse – delay supplier payments. None of those are sustainable.

    Enter Distribution Finance, a form of Connected Capital that allows companies to offer longer payment terms to buyers without tying up working capital or impacting their balance sheet.

    This unlocks new opportunities:

    • Grow channel sales by making terms more attractive
    • Buyers maintain liquidity
    • Suppliers get paid faster

    Download the Connected Capital Blueprint eBook to learn how leading tech suppliers are staying competitive without sacrificing liquidity.

  • Navigating Tariff Uncertainty: A Strategic Window for Corporate Resilience

    Navigating Tariff Uncertainty: A Strategic Window for Corporate Resilience

    In a world where geopolitical volatility increasingly shapes economic strategy, the latest 90-day pause on U.S. tariffs is more than a breather—it’s a signal. A signal that companies must rethink how they manage liquidity, adapt their working capital models, and position themselves for growth amid ongoing uncertainty.

    At GSCF, we see this as a pivotal moment.

    Tariffs Are More Than Trade Policy—They’re a Working Capital Challenge

    Tariffs don’t just hit the P&L – they tighten liquidity, disrupt supplier relationships, and distort pricing strategies. Traditional responses like renegotiating contracts or shifting sourcing take time and offer limited relief. What corporates need is agility – the ability to act quickly and strategically, without adding risk to the balance sheet.

    That’s where GSCF’s Connected Capital ecosystem steps in.

    Future-Proofing Liquidity with Connected Capital

    Our clients turn to us for more than financing – they rely on GSCF for integrated working capital solutions to give them a competitive advantage.

    With our Connected Capital solutions, we help clients:
    • Access alternative capital alongside traditional bank funding, unlocking a hybrid model that increases flexibility without increasing debt.
    • Gain real-time visibility into liquidity positions and supply chain risk through data-driven analytics.
    • Accelerate cash conversion cycles, releasing capital that can be redeployed for growth initiatives – even during tariff-driven disruptions.

    And importantly, our solutions are designed to scale, enabling corporates of all sizes to navigate complexity and capitalize on opportunity.

    The 90-Day Advantage

    This temporary pause offers a strategic window for action. In these next 90 days, GSCF can help implement a tailored working capital program that improves cash flow, strengthens supplier partnerships and enhances resilience.

    The companies that act now won’t just weather the next tariff, they’ll come out stronger, more liquid, and more agile than their competitors.

    Let’s Talk

    If your business is assessing the impact of tariffs, or simply seeking to improve its working capital position, we should talk. At GSCF, we’re partnering with enterprises and growth corporates across sectors to turn uncertainty into opportunity through the power of Connected Capital.