M&A acquisition financing case study?

Hey guys,

I gave an interview 3 weeks back at a middle-market bank during which I got a case study to solve, I still am not sure if I went about the correct way but thought would be a good idea to hear your thoughts!

So a company wants to make a Cross Border acquisition this year for about $100m. We need to advise the company on selecting the most appropriate financing mix (Debt vs. Equity) for the transaction. The company does not want to dilute more than 30% stake at this stage.

Following data is available: 1. Key items of Acquirer P&L (Revenue, Gross Profit, EBITDA, EBIT, PBT, PAT) for 5 years 2. Balance sheet of the acquirer for 5 years 3. Key items of target's P&L and Debt amount for 5 years 4. Synergies, their phasing and net working capital from additional revenue synergies (for 5 years)

No other data is provided and reasonable assumptions to be made!! Thanks

This was my approach!

  1. Arrive at the combined cash flows available to finance the acquisition Combined EBITDA (EBITDA of individual entities and EBITDA from synergies ) less interest on existing debt and repayment of principal, assumed WC changes
  2. Calculate acquirers equity from the balance sheet (No market cap given)
  3. Calculate financing mix as the ability to take debt after existing debt on the books (Debt/EBITDA of Comparables) and PF equity stake of acquirer not less than 30%
  4. After taking into account refinancing of existing debt on target’s books. So total debt is acquirer debt plus target debt plus acquisition debt.

Spoke to a friend and he suggested I calculate the equity value of acquirer via DCF Calculate PF entity's value assuming different cases, and check if 70% of that equity is more than current acquirers equity value

Let me know what you guys think?

3 Comments
 
Best Response

They want you to first run some accretion/dilution math. Based on that, you will conclude that a 100% debt financed transaction would be most accretive. The next step would be to figure out if the acquirer can take on that much debt, so you would need to look at PF leverage. If that's the case, then the acquirer will need to start issuing equity in lieu of some of the new debt. The amount of equity issued will depend on an assumed target PF leverage and/or the given equity dilution constraint. Once you determine the appropriate mix of debt/equity, the last thing you will need to do is to go back and calculate the EPS impact. Hope that is helpful.

 

Mollitia ut perferendis quisquam beatae quis hic enim. Ex voluptates sit vero neque quia et. Quia sit atque beatae aut ex ipsum quia ratione.

Voluptatem molestiae aut distinctio eos deleniti asperiores aliquid reprehenderit. Reprehenderit in rem consequatur quaerat neque necessitatibus veritatis consequatur. Necessitatibus eos et exercitationem et rerum laborum assumenda aliquid. Alias qui fugit voluptas accusamus explicabo et eum.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (67) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
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...”