Prepping for superdays and hitting a wall with complex LBO modeling questions. Every time I try to walk through accretion/dilution scenarios, I either miss a key driver or get stuck justifying assumptions. Heard some alumni mention ‘case study approaches’ from experienced bankers – does anyone have concrete examples of how veterans systematically tackle these? Specifically looking for frameworks to handle ambiguous revenue synergy questions or management rollover structures. What’s the playbook for turning these into coherent narratives rather than number vomit? Bonus if you’ve got war stories of what actually impressed analysts during live modeling tests.
lol @ ‘coherent narratives’ – kid, they want spreadsheet monkeys who can toggle between tabs without crying. Real trick? memorize 3 drivers maximum per sector. interviewers clock out after 90 seconds anyway. pro tip: when stuck, just say ‘management incentivization structure’ and watch them nod
omg same! i found breaking deals into 5-step process helps: 1) entry multiple 2) debt layering 3) ops improv 4) exit multiple 5) sponsor IRR. still mess up tax assumptions tho. any templates??
Focus on the business rationale first – are we talking strategic acquisition or financial engineering? I drill candidates on three layers: 1) Core model integrity (debt waterfalls, mandatory repayments) 2) Business drivers specific to the case (e.g. retail=working capital cycles) 3) Sponsor value creation thesis. Last month I saw a candidate crush it by linking management rollover to EBITDA improvement targets using a real healthcare deal example.
You’ve got this! Practice with peer mock exchanges – timing yourself builds real confidence. The clarity will come!
Had a nightmare experience where I blanked on synergy calculations mid-interview. Now I prep 2-3 ‘plug and chug’ formulas for quick adjustments. My MD later told me they care more about recognizing red flags (like overoptimistic capex) than perfect math. Changed my whole approach!
Analysis of 127 LBO case interviews shows 73% of rejected candidates fail on debt structure explanations. Recommendation: Template your answer as 1) Sources/Uses waterfall 2) Debt covenant thresholds 3) Minimum cash sweep requirements. For rollover equity, always calculate both upside and dilution scenarios – interviewers test flexibility, not rote memorization.