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In order to become an investment banker, you first want to clarify whether you want to work on the sell-side for a few years and then move to the buy-side or pursue a career in investment banking. The skills needed to be successful as an analyst/associate at an investment bank are different than those needed […]

Since M&A is the main product in investment banking, I will provide an answer in relation to this. Investment bankers originate, mandate/target match, and structure M&A deals. After establishing one’s coverage and then building an index for the vertical and sub-vertical as well as establishing relationships with strategic and financial buyers within the vertical and […]

Investment Banking University makes it easy to learn the actual capabilities of the client facing investment banker. Currently, all investment banking training is dedicated to teaching deal support skills like financial modeling and valuation. This leaves students and professionals with a skill gap between themselves and what it actually takes to originate and do deals […]

In building AltQuest’s initial book of business, we sent over 2,000 emails to our initial coverage group, industrials/manufacturers. The response rate was approximately 2%. Of those that responded approximately 50% were interested in seller and 50% were interested in taking an offer on their business. Of those that were interested in selling their business, approximately […]

At Investment Banking University, we are often asked , “How to build a boutique investment bank?”, so we created a methodology for doing so consistent with that which built AltQuest Group (www.AltQuest.com), the middle market boutique investment bank. This methodology is known as the Boutique Investment Bank Methodology which goes as follows: Decide on IB […]

The minimum amount of financials to get a deal done is the following: Last three years P&L Year To date (YTD) P&L Last Twelve Months (LTM) adjusted EBITDA to price an offer This should be easy to get if the owner has QuickBooks or another accounting software.

LOI to accept price and terms. Due diligence is open book time where buyer investigates the business to see if it is how the seller represented it. SMB due diligence: Standard asset purchase agreement is provided by M&A professional and contingencies for due diligence placed in the contract. A buyer agrees to purchase the company […]

After the strategic or financial buyer decides to draft an LOI and proceed with an acquisition of a given target, the purchase agreement will need to be drafted. In the LMM, the investment banker may draft the agreement himself/herself, but as transactions get larger, M&A attorneys will be involved and take the lead with the […]

The LOI is non-binding except for a few terms: Non-disclosure No shop clause LOI states terms of what the deal will look like and then allows the buyer time to verify the information presented and creates a roadmap for attorneys to craft the final purchase agreement. Price and structure should be settled in the LOI […]

When waiting for financials from the seller, go for a buyer/seller call in the interim to move the process forward. If the buyer wants to wait for financials, then request that the buyer write out their questions of the seller in an email and then forward these questions to the seller. This should set up […]