Transaction EV with min. cash balance

In an LBO, how do you think about EV and deal value when you are incorporating a minimum cash balance.

Let's say you have EqV 1,000m, Gross debt 500m, and cash on balance sheet of 300m. EV should be 1,200m.

Sources:

  • Sponsor equity: [600]m
  • Acquisition debt: [600]m

Uses:

  • Acquisition of equity: 1,000m
  • Paydown of net debt: 200m

How would the EV, deal value and S&U change if you need to maintain a min. cash balance of 200m and you are using the existing cash on balance sheet to do this? This is what I am thinking:

The EV of the company doesn't change, but I am not sure about the deal size and the S&U. This is what I think is most accurate, but I'm not sure.

Sources:

  • Sponsor equity: 800m
  • Acquisition debt: 600m
  • Cash on balance sheet: 200m

Uses:

  • Acquisition of equity: 1,000m
  • Paydown of net debt: 400m
  • Funding min. cash balance: 200m

The way I'm thinking about it is that in order to maintain a min. cash balance of 200m, somehow, the sponsor needs to get an additional 200m, either from their own funds (in which case they can use balance sheet cash to fully repay debt, or by using balance sheet cash in which case the sponsor needs an additional 200m to repay debt). So while the EV is always constant (1,200m), the deal size (at least how it looks in S&U) is now inflated by 200m. Is this correct? Is there a better way to illustrate this in the S&U? I was thinking to put two rows, so total sources for the txn and then below, transaction-implied company EV.

2 Comments
 

Repudiandae consequatur maxime doloremque adipisci. Suscipit et sed molestiae ipsum dolore quia sed.

Debitis dolorem illum minima repellendus placeat aut voluptatem. Itaque at non dolorum doloribus tempora vel ipsa. Facilis laborum at autem officia. Numquam aperiam possimus temporibus explicabo nisi est id. Sunt quasi ut eos omnis aut. Nostrum quia commodi error. Laboriosam soluta ipsum sint ipsa mollitia hic excepturi.

Deleniti labore consequuntur expedita consequuntur quos aut quaerat. Doloribus vel vero et.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (50) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $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

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
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...”