Connecting Excellence Group (XCE) has signed binding heads of terms for what would be its first proposed acquisition in the recruitment sector, targeting a specialist recruitment business in the U.K. and U.S. According to Bitcoin Magazine, the target produced £1.79 million in revenue, £1.27 million in gross profit and £431,000 in EBITDA over the last 12 months, and it also holds 8.216 Bitcoin.
The deal has not closed. It remains subject to further due diligence, funding and a definitive purchase agreement.
M&A as part of a Bitcoin capital-allocation plan
Beyond the headline transaction, the article presents the structure as an example of how an operating company can use mergers and acquisitions within a broader Bitcoin strategy. XCE (AQSE: XCE | OTCQB: XCELF) is seeking to buy profitable recruitment businesses, keep a large share of the earnings they generate, and expand the pool of internally generated capital available for growth and Bitcoin purchases.
The buyer and the target also show similar operating momentum. XCE’s existing operating business, Spencer Riley, grew revenue 20.6% over its latest 12-month period. The proposed target grew revenue 21.5% over the same span. In the article’s framing, XCE is not simply trying to get bigger. It is trying to bring growing, profitable businesses into a listed group that already carries Bitcoin on its balance sheet.
Buying earnings power, not just revenue
XCE expects to pay £575,000 in initial cash consideration at completion. About £425,000 would settle amounts owed to the target companies by the vendors and return to the group, leaving an estimated net cash outflow of roughly £150,000 before transaction costs.
Another £60,000 cash payment would be due in 2028. Much of the remaining consideration is deferred and tied to EBITDA performance through fiscal 2029. XCE expects to retain about 75% to 85% of the acquired business’s cumulative EBITDA during the earn-out period.
The operating profile of the target is central to the structure described in the piece: £1.79 million in trailing revenue, £1.27 million in gross profit, £431,000 in EBITDA, and 21.5% year-over-year revenue growth. The point, as laid out in the article, is not to purchase more top-line revenue for its own sake. It is to acquire additional earnings capacity while preserving as much capital as possible.
If the business continues performing after completion, those earnings could become another source of capital for reinvestment, future acquisitions and Bitcoin. That is where M&A begins to fit directly into the Bitcoin strategy described by Bitcoin Magazine.
The balance sheet matters too
The article says the model can extend beyond revenue and earnings. If an acquisition target holds cash reserves, XCE can structure a transaction to acquire those reserves from the seller and then change how that capital is held once it is inside the group.
Bitcoin Magazine gives a simple example: the company could raise capital to acquire £1 million in existing cash reserves and then convert that reserve into Bitcoin. The article stresses that this differs from merely raising £1 million and spending it on Bitcoin, because XCE would also be buying the operating business around that reserve, including its revenue, earnings and future cash-generating capacity.
The proposed transaction is presented as a direct illustration of the same idea, except the target has already made that conversion. It holds 8.216 BTC. Under the proposed terms, XCE would acquire that Bitcoin at market value with no premium. The cash paid would be matched by an equivalent value of Bitcoin moving onto XCE’s balance sheet.
So the Bitcoin is not being obtained for free as part of the operating company. Instead, XCE is effectively exchanging cash for an equivalent amount of Bitcoin while separately acquiring the underlying earnings stream. If completed, the transaction would expand both sides of XCE at the same time: another growing, profitable operating business and another 8.216 BTC on its balance sheet.
A decentralized acquisition compounder
How XCE plans to operate acquired companies after closing is another major part of the strategy described in the article. The company is targeting profitable, owner-managed specialist recruitment firms, but it does not plan to fold them into a single centralized operating brand.
Acquired businesses would keep their existing brands, management teams and operating independence while joining a publicly listed group backed by a Bitcoin balance sheet. That makes the model look closer to a decentralized acquisition compounder.
Rather than relying mainly on integration and cost cutting to create value, the strategy is designed to let individual businesses continue running with autonomy while XCE provides permanent ownership, access to the listed group and centralized capital allocation.
XCE’s current business offers a reference point for the kind of growth it wants to add. Spencer Riley generated about £1.84 million in revenue in the 12 months ended June 30, up 20.6% from the prior year. The proposed target expanded at a similar pace, with revenue rising 21.5%. The article argues that if XCE can keep acquiring businesses with similar economics, the group may compound by adding new earnings streams without dismantling the businesses that produce them.
More than one source of capital
XCE is not relying only on operating earnings to grow its Bitcoin position. The company reported 72.94 BTC as of Sept. 1, up from 9.27 BTC at its December 2025 IPO. Capital markets activity has also contributed to that increase.
Most recently, longtime investor Adam Back subscribed for new XCE shares by transferring 10 BTC to the company, lifting its Bitcoin holdings by 15.9%.
M&A adds another potential source of capital alongside those transactions: earnings and balance-sheet assets acquired together with the operating businesses themselves. The article lays out the model in a simple sequence: acquire profitable businesses, preserve their autonomy and earnings power, grow the group’s cash generation, allocate capital across additional acquisitions and Bitcoin, then repeat.
External capital can provide immediate purchasing power, as the Adam Back transaction shows. Acquired reserves can add balance-sheet capital. Profitable operating businesses can keep generating capital as long as they perform. XCE is trying to combine all three.
Operating economics still come first
The article also makes clear that Bitcoin does not turn a bad acquisition into a good one. XCE still has to buy quality businesses at sensible prices, preserve their earnings power and allocate the resulting capital effectively.
Still, the piece argues that the strategy shows how Bitcoin can sit inside a traditional operating company without becoming detached from the business underneath it. The decentralized structure is key. XCE does not need every acquired company to become a Bitcoin business. The recruitment firms can keep serving customers under their existing brands and continue generating earnings, while Bitcoin sits at the group level as one part of a broader capital-allocation framework.
In that framework, the company can raise outside capital, acquire existing reserves and change how they are held, or buy profitable businesses and keep the cash they generate. Management can then allocate capital among operations, additional acquisitions, other corporate needs and Bitcoin. Bitcoin Magazine concludes that this is how XCE is using M&A to turn earnings into Bitcoin: not by automatically converting every pound of profit into BTC, but by building a decentralized group of profitable businesses that can produce more earnings over time and making Bitcoin one destination for that capital.
The article ends with a disclaimer saying the content was prepared on behalf of Bitcoin For Corporations for informational purposes only and reflects the author’s own analysis and opinion rather than investment advice. It also says nothing in the article constitutes an offer, invitation or solicitation to buy, sell or subscribe for any security or financial product. The piece first appeared in Bitcoin Magazine and was written by Nick Ward.