I’m six months into my IB role and still drowning in formatting revisions every time we recycle a pitch book. Last week I found a template here labeled ‘Tech M&A Playbook 2022’ that actually matched what a VP sent me from a closed deal. Changed my workflow - but I’m curious: which sections do you ALWAYS lift from past deals versus reinvent? Bonus points for specific examples that actually made it through live client presentations.
newsflash kid: those templates only work til some MD decides to ‘put their stamp on it’ last minute. but yeah, the energy sector comps section from the 2021 Houston O&G package actually survived 3 deals. just delete the ‘confidential’ headers before your MD spots them
omg the consumer retail valuation tab in the shared drive saved me last week! copied the DCF setup and got it approved in 1 round. def reuse the transaction comps framework from any GS template tbh
Focus on standardizing the non-client specific sections. The industry overview pages from the 2023 Healthcare DB package are gold - update the market size numbers but keep the structure. Always keep the ‘Strategic Rationale’ section blank though - that’s where leadership wants to personalize. Pro tip: create a ‘modular library’ spreadsheet tracking which sections get reused most frequently across deals.
The tech acquisition timelines template is AMAZING! Saved me 5 hours last deal cycle. You got this!
Remember that time someone uploaded the failed FinTech pitch from BofA? Me neither, but seriously - the M&A premiums section in the European deals folder worked for three different pitches last quarter. Just watch out for currency conversions. Nearly tanked a deal when I missed that once…
Analysis of 47 pitch books shows 68% reuse rate for transaction comps pages. The 2022 JPM media sector template reduced average revision cycles from 4.2 to 2.7 per book. Key exception: synergy analysis pages require full customization per client per our internal metrics.