Building the Pitchbook
As mentioned earlier, the pitchbook is an origination document meant to win sell side business for the investment bank.
There are two main types of pitchbooks that are created.
Introduction & Market Overviews– Introducing the investment bank and giving market updates to potential clients. This is origination work and is associated with then allowing you to pitch different strategic alternatives for the company.
1. Slides showing investment bank structure & coverage
2. Slides showing tombstones of deals that you have worked on in the past in the sub-sector showing that you have relevant experience
3. Slides showing a market overview with recent trends and deals in the market and data on how similar companies (“comps”) have been performing lately
Mandate Deal Pitches – To win sell-side M&A & buy-side M&A mandates, IPOs mandates, debt issuance mandates
Sell-side M&A Pitches:
1. Bank Overview
2. Situation / Positioning Overview
Slides that show what will make the company an attractive acquisition target and how you would pitch it to potential buyers.
3. Valuation Summary
Slides that describe the valuation of the company including a football field showing the valuation range along with a description of the ultimate valuation. Also includes the individual methodologies to back up the valuation.
4. Potential Buyers
Slides that show most likely buyers from strategic to financial in a summary format with detailed company profiles afterward
5. Summary & Recommendation on Process
Shows the process of the M&A engagement and how long it will take and the steps broken down.
6. Appendix
Models, data, additional profiles
Buy-Side M&A Pitches
- Lists the potential acquisition candidates and includes profiles of the companies
- Short information about valuation multiples of targets
Debt Financing or IPO Pitches
Includes financing valuation models – debt or equity financing models and how much will raise and at what valuation
A management presentation is different than a pitchbook since a pitchbook is used to win business, while a management presentation is part of the marketing material once you have actually won the mandate.