IB/M&A Books

Can anyone recommend good books that talk about all aspects of M&A including valuations.

I came up with a list of books. Do anyone know/recommend any of those?

  • Mergers and Acquisitions from A to Z (Andrew J. Sherman Milledge A. Hart)

  • Applied Mergers and Acquisitions (Brunner, Perella)

  • Making M&A Deals Happen (Stefanowski)

  • The Complete M&A Handbook: The Ultimate Guide to Buying, Selling, Merging, or Valuing a Business for Maximum Return (Taulli)

  • Mergers and Acquisitions: A Step-by-Step Legal and Practical Guide (Miller)

  • Mergers, Acquisitions, and Other Restructuring Activities, Fifth Edition: An Integrated Approach to Process, Tools, Cases, and Solutions (DePamphilis)

  • Investment Banking: Valuation, Leveraged Buyouts, and Mergers and Acquisitions (Rosenbaum, Pearl, Perella)

Thank you!
Manitu

 

The best valuation book I have ever read is "Investment Valuation" by Damodaran it really teachs the art of valuation.

If you just wan't something lighter there's "Investment Banking: Valuation, Leveraged Buyouts, and Mergers and Acquisitions" (Rosenbaum, Pearl, Perella)

absolutearbitrageur.blogspot.com
 

Level one- GAINING CONTEXT: Liars Poker. Barbarians. When Genius Failed. Getting Started in Value Investing (sort of unrelated, but actually more useful than you might think... also very easy to read for total finance newbs). Monkey Business. The first Tycoon.

Level two - TECHNICAL SKILLS & IN DEPTH UNDERSTANDING: Crash Course in Accounting and Financial Statement Analysis. Investment Banking (Rosenbaum). The Big Short. The Partnership. The Black Swan.

Level three - ADVANCED TOPICS: Risk Arbitrage (*nice recommendation from Kenny Powers). Distressed Investing: Principles and Technique.

 

Start by using the search function as these types of inquiries have been covered extensively before. Furthermore, if you're really serious about this, reading DealBook, The Economist, and Financial Times won't hurt. Might be a little tough to understand certain things at your age, so anytime you stumble upon anything you don't understand utilize Investopedia (in most cases). Finally, WSO has some great resources as well and Mergers&Inquisitions provides useful information too.

Don't forget to actually have a life though...

" A recession is when other people lose their job, a depression is when you lose your job. "
 

Liar's Poker, by Michael Lewis

Investment Banking: Valuation, Leveraged Buyouts, and Mergers and Acquisitions, by Josh Rosenbaum (as well as a lot of other books by Wiley Finance, some are great, some aren't, so just read reviews)

"For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
 
unslain:
Liar's Poker, by Michael Lewis

Investment Banking: Valuation, Leveraged Buyouts, and Mergers and Acquisitions, by Josh Rosenbaum (as well as a lot of other books by Wiley Finance, some are great, some aren't, so just read reviews)

Wouldn't really recommend Valuations book for a HS student. It might be hard to follow the accounting material. It does cover the M&A and LBO process very well if you want to read through that, but the technical stuff may be confusing. Definitely recommend it after taking your first accounting course, though.
 

You probably would get little to no value from reading a technical investment banking book while still in high school. Even what you learn in school isn't very relevant - those skills really need to be learned on the job.

If I were you I would focus on just getting an idea of what the career entails. I'd read Barbarians at Gate by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar. Its the ultimate IB classic - if it gets you going then IB is probably a good career choice.

 

When I was a senior in high school I read Barbarians at the Gate, Liar's Poker, Monkey Business, and a book about Goldman Sachs.

They helped a little bit, but considering there's not much else you can do it's a good start. I also suggest studying AP micro/macro if you haven't taken the tests already. Might as well give yourself an academic advantage going into college.

"I did it for me...I liked it...I was good at it. And I was really... I was alive."
 

Investment Banking by Rosenbaum and Pearl - from the Wiley Finance Series. It is a bestseller for learning the basics and provides a strong foundation for the recruiting process. I'd also recommend the WSO Guides.

 

You guys might be interested in my new book, How to Be an Investment Banker (http://www.Amazon.com/How-Investment-Banker-Website-Interviewing/dp/1118487621/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1372616731&sr=1-1) which was just recently published by the same publisher as Rosenbaum/Pearl. It was written specifically to be helpful to undergrads and MBA students preparing for investment banking interviews.

Briefly, chapter 1 is an introduction to investment banking and the work and lifestyle of a junior banker (no bullshit). Chapters 2-4 cover the necessary foundations of accounting, finance and financial statement analysis, including a number of examples of the dreaded, "how does xxx affect the 3 financial statements" interview question. Chapter 5 covers valuation in detail and Chapter 6 walk you through how to build a 3-statement financial model. Chapters 7 and 8 discusses the analysis of M&A and LBOs, respectively and the last chapter covers recruiting and interviewing.

The book is meant to teach you core concepts of IB so that you actually understand how to answer common interview questions and so that you understand the work you will wind up doing as an analyst or associate.

Happy to answer questions if anyone has any.

Andrew

Author of www.IBankingFAQ.com
 

monkeyjunkie beat me to it. Although you will run into a lot of older professors or industry individuals recommending it, Monkey Business is quickly becoming outdated. Similarly, The Accidental Investment Banker is showing its age, especially with the focus on "breaking into" the UK IB market as a US bank. However, they give a fairly detailed description of the lifestyle, room for relationships, and hardships you could potentially run into at the analyst/associate level. Certainly worth a read...

 
gszabo1:
Hi,

I will be starting as a full time analyst in August at a prestigious investment bank in Manhattan. This is my last summer which I am looking to enjoy to have a clean mind and to be ready for hard work.

I have no direct I-banking experience and I am looking for suggestions for reading, good training or "overview" books, or similar material to make sure I am on top of things...

Thanks for the help!

What investment bank doesn't have summer training?

 

Here are some books that were recommended by a friend who works at a small boutique here in Bp.

-corporate finance Manual ¦ 6 Valuations, © Wolters Kluwer (UK) 2004

-Private Capital Markets, Robert Slee, 2005

-The Small Business Valuation Book, Lawrence W. Tuller

-Analysis of Equity Investments, valuation, John D. Stowe, etc. CFA textbook

-Buying Your Own Business, Russell Robb

 
CDN:
Rigged was a sick book. I have a feeling a LOT of it was fabricated though, there's no way that was all true.

haha yea a ton of that seem really far-fetched...good read still

 
Frank Slaughtery:
i feel like ive read this identical thread 45 times on this site
Yeah, but there's almost always one or two new ones that crop up each time, so I never complain. More for me to read.
I am permanently behind on PMs, it's not personal.
 

"Bank" by David Bledin is a pretty hilarious, satirized account of an analyst stint. A great read though.

  • Capt K
- Capt K - "Prestige is like a powerful magnet that warps even your beliefs about what you enjoy. If you want to make ambitious people waste their time on errands, bait the hook with prestige." - Paul Graham
 

Haven't read it, but I did read Vault IB. Seems to be fairly comprehensive. However, my version has not yet been updated recently.

Any one have other suggestions on books to read? Not only for IB, but general finance/economics as well?

Examples, Freakonomics, Rich Dad Poor Dad, World is Flat and all the other popular ones.

 

Vault guide (covers basic fit, industry, valuation, brain teasers but found it lacking slightly in the accounting bits) + basic/intermediate accounting stuff (eg: definition and explanation of line items, minority interests, consolidations especially if you are an accounting major).

 

I bought this book when I first saw someone post about it, and I'd like to say - it's a great tool for technicals.

The Vault guide is great, of course. However, Vault is more diversified, in that there's a section on valuation and financials, options and derivatives, Security Analysis, etc. All of these sections are lightly covered, and equip you with just what you need to know.

Scoopbooks' is more focused around stuff most relevant to banking, such as financials, reason why two companies would merge, accretion/dilution, what kinds of synergies to expect, and valuation techniques that go beyond the standard DCF/Transaction Comps/Trading Comps. On top of that, the entire first half is about what to expect in the ibanking world, culture/fit oriented material, and non-technical information in general. It's not THAT much more in depth, but definitely paints the entire picture, or at least moreso than vault.

For $35, it's a bit steep, but I think it definitely complements the Vault guide in all the technical material. Ideally, you should use both, and if you'd had to choose one, I'd choose vault. But still, this book definitely still has a lot of value to offer.

One last thing - for those that are trying desperately to break into banking, there's a listing of like, 100+ financial services firms and their contact info in the back so you can start calling away.

 

'Barbarians at the Gate' is an objective account of the most ignominous corporate takeover of the 80's and perhaps all time: RJR Nabisco--there are tons of juicy details on the gunslingers of PE and M&A: Wasserstein, Forstmann, and of course the the biggest bad-ass of them all: H.R. Kravis. Trust me, 600 pages and I've read it twice. It's like clash of the titans for aspiring bankers.

I know what you mean with those other books . . . It'd be nice to find a glorifying depiction of banking right?

'Barbarians' will get you ROCK HARD for wall street.

 
putneyswope:

'Barbarians' will get you ROCK HARD for wall street.

Wow. Ummm, dang! That sounds pretty ... fucking weird!

In fact, I think you should see a therapist.

_______________________________________ http://www.drmarkklein.blogspot.com/
 

Well, you could always read one of these, and feel better because you're not a consultant:

Consulting Demons, Inside the Unscrupulous World of Global Corporate Consulting, by Lewis Pinault Dangerous Company, the Consulting Powerhouses and the Businesses They Save and Ruin, by O'Shea/Madigan Con Tricks, the World of Management Consultancy and How to Make it Work for You, by Martin Ashford House of Lies : How Management Consultants Steal Your Watch and Then Tell You the Time, by Martin Kihn The Witch Doctors: Making Sense of the Management Gurus, by John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge Rip-Off! The Scandalous Inside Story of the Management Consulting Money Machine, by David Craig

Most of these books aren't quite as bad/biased as their titles sound (I've read the first five)...but banking isn't the only high-level business profession with an image problem.

 
upod01:

Has any one read Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies by McKinsey & Co and how does it compare to Investment Banking: Valuation, Leveraged Buyouts, and Mergers and Acquisitions by Rosenbaum.

What are some good books to read for someone wanting to go into a lev fin group.

If you care at all about practicality, you get Rosenbaum and Pearl's book. The McKinsey book is interesting, but it is case study based and quite academic IMO.

 

it's pretty awesome but I feel most people in the industry never read the book... Not necessary to read if you want to land a job, but useful if you want to really understand what value is and what drives prices.

I think their smaller book just titled VALUE is better.. Also a lot of stuff they write about is done differently in banking..

 

McKinsey is very good and theoretical and you'll get a good handle on how valuation should work. It will give you a good background that will allow you to see inconsistent and unrealistic assumptions in models.

Rosenbaum and Pearl is a practical guide to how things are done, somewhat ignoring the theoretical underpinning.

 

I read both last year. Rosenbaum and Pearl is a great book to start off with. McKinsey goes a little bit too deep at times, but provides a view of the theoretical underpinnings of valuation that you won't find in any other book (or classroom). If you understand the concepts laid out in the McKinsey book well, things like why operating and non-operating assets are treated differently in valuation, you will be head and shoulders ahead of most of your peers.

 

Sorry guys - didn't mean to include Das Kapital as a good read - never read it myself. It was just a good picture of a book. Trying to find a better one, but I can't figure out how to delete the original image...

EDIT: Figured it out.

- Capt K - "Prestige is like a powerful magnet that warps even your beliefs about what you enjoy. If you want to make ambitious people waste their time on errands, bait the hook with prestige." - Paul Graham
 

oh, I read a abook 《F.I.A.S.C.O.》,it's novel about Wallstreet life, worth reading. Written by a insider, it's a book which brokedealers and fund managers don't want people to see.

 

Liar's Poker was boring for me as well. I liked Monkey Business, but I took the guy's perspective with a grain of salt.

Anyone know of any books that would you help you with the job itself (valuation, modeling, etc)? One that I have is

'Damodaran on Valuation' written by NYU Stern's Prof Damodaran.  It's good but extremely packed and hard to get through.

 

Greed Merchants was just terribly written, I couldn't finish it.  Connie Bruck's book had interesting subject matter but wasn't engaging enough - I only got about 2/3 through it.  Den of Thieves covered some similar material and was a little more engaging, in my opinion.   Both books are pretty negative on Milken.  There are many people who believe Milken was a genius and didn't deserve the jail time.  Unfortunately all the pro-Milken books are out of print, I think they can be found on Amazon, though.

 

Really good chronicle of how this guy randomly wound up in an equity research position in the 80's, went to Morgan Stanley and experienced all the craziness of the 90's with the bubble and all first-hand.

In general I've found the books written by outsiders who end up in banking/finance to be more insightful than the ones written by those who have lived and breathed finance their whole lives. Accidental Investment Banker, Wall Street Meat, even Liar's Poker (to some extent... wasn't one of them a non-banker before?). Or maybe I'm just being Fooled by Randomness...

 

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