m&a using debt or cash

Hi there, I come from a non-finance background so am trying to understand everything.

how do you decide between debt and cash when performing an acquisition?

and how does using each debt or cash for an m&a deal affect the 3 financial statements?

thank you

4 Comments
 
Best Response

If you have cash on your balance sheet you usually use the majority of it in an acquisition, unless you either know you want to do another deal at a time when equity / debt will be more expensive or you want to keep it to handle working capital emergencies your revolver can't.

Debt is typically used in lieu of cash or if a company is pursuing a more aggressive acquisition strategy. It's commonly cheaper than equity and so it can be a frequent consideration for many companies, especially those which do deals often and don't have large cash balances / don't want to dilute equity.

Using debt for an M&A deal will increase your interest expense on the income statement. Debt shows up under cash flows from financing, and as a LT liability on the balance sheet. Using cash for an M&A deal will decrease your interest income on the income statement. Believe the decrease in cash from an acquisition shows up under CF from investing, and then your cash decreases under current assets on the balance sheet.

 

Good answer thanks, quickly broke down the issue.

Just one question, how would decreasing cash decrease interest expense? Are you saying versus debt?

"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face."
 

Quia distinctio et distinctio laboriosam ipsam perspiciatis cupiditate. Sequi vel non iusto est et et.

Career Advancement Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”