What do Consulting Cases Look Like?

Can someone with some experience give me some color on what consulting style cases look like in PE interviews? Given the industry, I am skeptical that it is the same "Company A is gaining revenue but losing profits, what should they do" where you spend 2 minutes making a framework and 10 minute asking questions, but then again I sat out first round of PE interviews so I don't know. Any help would be really appreciated!

 

I'd say they are basically the "acquisition" / "whether to buy" / "M&A" subset of consulting case studies e.g. pg 118 below: http://files7.webydo.com/90/9086966/UploadedFiles/50614a09-d715-46f8-84…

Catch is you should be analyzing from an LBO perspective (not just whether the company is a good target but whether you can get it for the right entry multiple, right leverage, right 5-year exit options etc.) and there may be a paper LBO / more math involved.

 

Thanks! So when you were going through that process did you engage in the case in point style of 1. repeating the question 2. drawing out a framework, etc. Or did you just dive in to answering without the classic consulting set up?

 
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Definitely classic consulting set-up - written investment framework is essential. But I would be a little less formulaic - if you understand PE, you understand the objective (returns, high IRR/MoM) / no need to "repeat the question." In these interviews, better to come off as someone who knows things (the PE world, the industries, the businesses) rather than consulting case studies, where you get points for clarifying everything (because of client service, because you may actually know very little out of undergrad about business).

But also I do this for most questions in PE interviews, not just the consulting cases. With most questions, you should take a step back to clarify and answer with some sort of framework, even if you are not writing it down on a blank sheet every single time.

 

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