FE International

FE International focuses on internet-based businesses with recurring or predictable revenue models. The primary categories are SaaS platforms, e-commerce stores (including Amazon FBA businesses), content and affiliate websites, and B2B digital services. The firm targets businesses with demonstrable organic traffic, diversified revenue streams, and enterprise values typically between $1 million and $100 million.

The firm operates an internal buyer database of over 100,000 registered institutional and individual acquirers, including private equity funds, family offices, and strategic aggregators. Instead of listing broadly, it runs curated, blind-profile auction processes that match sellers with pre-qualified buyers based on sector expertise and proof of funds. The firm rejects more than 90% of inbound sell-side inquiries to maintain a curated inventory (per the firm's official communications).

FE International operates exclusively as a sell-side M&A advisory practice. It does not manage pooled investment vehicles, take principal positions, or provide direct lending on the deals it advises. The firm's revenue derives entirely from success fees, typically structured on a retainer-plus-commission basis aligned to transaction close.

Founder and CEO Thomas Smale oversees strategic direction and remains active in marketing and deal origination. Executive Director Ismael Wrixen manages the firm's operational infrastructure, including its 80-person distributed team of M&A analysts, marketing specialists, and post-sale migration coordinators across the New York and London offices.

The firm is dual-headquartered in New York and London, with sellers concentrated across North America, the UK, Western Europe, and Australia. Buyer pools skew toward the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The cross-border nature of internet businesses means many transactions involve a US-based buyer acquiring a European-domiciled holding company or a UK-based aggregator purchasing a US SaaS asset.

The firm's advisory floor is roughly $1 million in enterprise value. Its sweet spot is the $5 million to $50 million range, though it has closed deals above $100 million involving larger SaaS and content platforms. Acquisitions structured via SBA financing are common at the lower end, while institutional and international buyers dominate transactions above $10 million.

The firm operates an in-house migrations team that manages asset transfer, domain migration, payment processor handoff, and platform account reassignment. This operational capability is unusual among small-cap M&A brokers and functions as a de-risking mechanism to prevent deal collapse between signing and close, particularly for technically complex SaaS migrations involving Stripe, AWS, or recurring billing infrastructure.