Leon Capital Aims to Disrupt M&A Advisory With Unconflicted Model

DALLAS, TX – December 29, 2025 – Diversified holding company Leon Capital Group has officially entered the competitive transaction advisory space, launching a new Transaction Advisory Services (TAS) practice led by nearly 30-year industry veteran Kevin Muskat. The Dallas-based initiative aims to carve out a distinct niche by positioning itself as an alternative to traditional consulting firms, explicitly marketing its services as being “unencumbered by audit firm conflicts and restrictions.”

The move represents a significant strategic expansion for Leon Capital, which has evolved from its Texas real estate roots into a multi-industry holding company managing approximately $10 billion in private capital. The new TAS practice is designed to integrate with the firm's broader advisory platform, which includes services for Value Creation, Outsourced CFOs (OCFO), Technology Consulting, and Debt Capital Markets.

“I am excited to join this innovative platform supported by Leon Capital Group’s long-term investment strategy of building highly differentiated businesses,” said Mr. Muskat in the announcement. “In an environment where clients express concern that consultants are short-term oriented or have lost sight of fundamentals, we are eager to build an alternative exclusively focused on productive partnerships and a forward-thinking approach.”

A Veteran Hand at the Helm

Central to Leon Capital's strategy is the leadership of Kevin Muskat, whose extensive background lends immediate credibility to the new venture. Muskat spent two decades at professional services giant EY, where he rose to Partner in the firm’s Strategy & Transactions practice. During his tenure, he was involved in over 300 deals, advising a wide array of clients including financial sponsors, family offices, and corporations on complex buy-side and sell-side engagements.

More recently, Muskat served as a Managing Director at Accordion, a private equity-focused financial consulting firm, where he worked on over 500 transactions. This experience provided him with deep insight into the specific needs of private capital clients, a key target demographic for Leon Capital’s new practice.

“Kevin shares our vision and passion for providing tech-enabled strategies and the differentiated service offerings our clients demand,” said Travis Pittman, Managing Partner at Leon Capital Group. “His deep relationships and relentless client service focus will enable us to drive value at every stage of our clients’ investment lifecycle.”

This deep expertise in navigating the intricacies of M&A due diligence for the private equity world is a cornerstone of the new practice's value proposition. The firm is banking on Muskat’s track record to build a team that can deliver nuanced, operationally focused advice.

The 'Unconflicted' Advantage

Leon Capital’s most pronounced differentiator is its direct challenge to the business model of the largest professional services firms. The claim of being “unencumbered by audit firm conflicts” addresses a long-standing and well-documented issue in the industry. For years, regulators and investors have raised concerns about the potential for conflicts of interest when firms provide both lucrative consulting services and legally mandated audit services to the same client.

Critics argue that the desire to protect high-margin advisory contracts could compromise the independence and skepticism required for a rigorous audit. This issue gained prominence following major accounting scandals and led to reforms like the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. More recently, the debate has reignited, with the UK's Financial Reporting Council ordering the operational separation of audit and consulting arms by 2024. Even EY, Muskat's former employer, famously explored a complete split of its business units before ultimately abandoning the plan.

The global M&A Transaction Services market, estimated at over $7 billion in 2024 and projected to grow significantly, is dominated by these large, multi-service firms. By launching without an audit practice, Leon Capital sidesteps the entire conflict debate, offering clients a guarantee of objectivity. This is particularly appealing to family offices and private equity funds, whose long-term investment horizons demand unbiased advice focused purely on value creation and risk mitigation.

As Muskat noted, the firm’s model avoids the constraints of a “3-4 year investment horizon,” aligning with the permanent capital base of a family holding company like Leon Capital. This structure inherently supports the focus on long-term, productive partnerships rather than short-term consulting engagements.

A Strategic Piece in a Larger Puzzle

The launch of the TAS practice is not an isolated venture but a calculated step in Leon Capital Group's strategic evolution. The firm has deliberately expanded beyond its origins to build an integrated ecosystem of businesses and advisory services across financial services, healthcare, real estate, and technology. The new practice is a key component of its “Insight Advisors Group,” which provides a suite of back-office and strategic support services.

The goal is to offer clients a seamless advisory experience that covers the entire investment lifecycle. A client seeking M&A advice can now also tap into Leon’s in-house expertise on post-close value creation, technology integration, debt financing, and outsourced financial leadership. This holistic approach is designed to compete with the scale of larger firms while maintaining the focused, client-centric feel of a boutique advisor.

“We are delighted to welcome a leader of Kevin’s caliber to Leon Capital Group,” said Fernando De Leon, the company's Founder and CEO. “Supported by decades of experience and a commitment to innovation, this platform is built to deliver competitive solutions at greater speed.”

This integrated model, combined with the firm's own experience as a principal investor using a “Buy-and-Build” strategy, gives its advisory services a practical, operator-led perspective that may resonate strongly with clients who are themselves owners and operators. The firm doesn't just advise on transactions; it actively executes them for its own portfolio, providing a level of real-world credibility that is difficult for pure-play consultants to replicate.