Healthcare Private Equity Dealmaking | Vladimir Andonov, Martis Capital

What does it actually take to close a deal before it ever hits the market—and keep it from falling apart before you sign?In the debut episode of Carried Interest, host Sam Andersen sits down with Vladimir Andonov, Managing Director at Martis Capital—a healthcare-focused PE firm with $2.2B raised across four funds—to unpack the relationship-driven work behind private equity dealmaking.Vladimir walks through Martis's investment in Centria, a behavioral health company serving children with autism. A competing firm nearly won the deal. Martis extended a bridge loan before anything was inked. And the founder eventually became an LP. From there, the conversation opens up into how Martis originates deals thematically, what they look for in founders, where they're investing in healthcare today—pharma commercialization, revenue cycle management, and AI—and what the current LP liquidity environment actually looks like on the ground. If you work in private equity—or want to—this one's worth your time.Carried Interest is a podcast by Affinity. Affinity: https://www.affinity.coMartis Capital: https://www.martiscapital.com/ Connect with Vladimir: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vladimirandonov/ Connect with Sam: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samander/Follow AffinityYouTube (product): @affinity_co LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/project-affinity/ (00:00) - Meet Vladimir Andonov and Martis Capital (01:03) - The Centria deal: how the relationship began (02:54) - Losing the deal, then winning it back with a bridge loan (04:34) - Building trust over six months (06:22) - From selling the business to building it together (07:30) - Closing the deal and scaling Centria (08:43) - What Martis looks for in a founder (10:26) - A co-CEO situation and reading founder fit (11:45) - What makes Martis different (13:22) - How Martis sources deals thematically (16:33) - How private equity has specialized in healthcare (17:51) - Where Martis is investing: pharma services and the patent cliff (19:17) - Revenue cycle management and AI as a value lever (20:43) - HeartFlow: an AI case study (23:34) - Regulation, HHS, and value-based care (25:36) - Lessons from 14 years of market cycles (28:56) - LP liquidity and the industry logjam (30:34) - Career advice for the next generation