Interest in non-traditional vehicles — HoldCos, CCVs, and other long-duration structures — has changed the question at the end of an acquisition from when to sell into whether to sell at all. This panel balances operators who set out to hold for the long term against those who arrived at it down the road, and covers the mechanics that make either path work: the capital structures operators have used when they recapitalize, how add-on acquisitions and building a platform company change the valuation, board dynamics and composition over a longer horizon, and how to keep the CEO, the investors, and the management team aligned in a business that may not produce liquidity for ten years or more. Attendees will learn what buyers actually pay for, why exit readiness is accumulated over years rather than assembled in a six-month sale process, and how to have the timing conversation with a board before it becomes urgent.