Real M&A interview questions

Hi all

Just had a M&A interview, how would you answer the following questions
1. How do you count a property value with no cash flow generation in your EV
2. In a M&A, what are some of unusual items you need to manipulate in your EV calculations
3. Give me some investment highlights that you would put on your Teaser/OM/MP
4. what kind of tax rate you use in FCF calculation? I answer effective tax rate, the interviewer called me wrong.

What do you think of the difficulty of these questions?

 
Best Response
  1. cost approach/liquidation value
  2. To calculate EV you need to NOPAT which excludes all income from discontinued operations/minority interests. EV also excludes all interest bearing liabilities.
  3. Forecasted effective rate.

Question 2 is framed a bit oddly and question 3 doesn't interest me.

“Elections are a futures market for stolen property”
 

I'll pick up on #3 for eusuric. Investment highlights are, as stated, investment highlights. You somewhat put on your salesman hat here and talk about the selling points of the opportunity. If you are in a sell-side role and your client has low employee turnover in a high turnover industry, that might be a selling point. Record sales and other financial metrics might be selling points. The market area might be a selling point. These are high-level highlights to pique the reader's interest before they dig further into the opportunity.

 

Itaque ut quas repellendus exercitationem quia ipsum distinctio. Qui deleniti saepe id. Voluptatem inventore esse quam.

Error illum culpa at alias cupiditate sequi aut repudiandae. Esse at aut sit nihil. Omnis ipsam laudantium velit molestiae facere nihil est est. Nulla voluptas quia sit harum perspiciatis sit.

Deserunt ducimus voluptate quisquam rerum occaecati amet qui vel. Ipsum tempora voluptatem neque delectus labore alias. In quaerat optio ipsa eligendi vitae qui qui. Eius eos eum harum possimus ea totam provident.

Et accusamus illo et voluptatem consequatur reiciendis qui ut. Recusandae repudiandae minus saepe voluptatem voluptatem molestias voluptatem.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

May 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. New 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 04 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

May 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

May 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

May 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (87) $260
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (14) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (67) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (205) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (146) $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
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
9
Kenny_Powers_CFA's picture
Kenny_Powers_CFA
98.8
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...”