
We begin with a little intro into the course as well as some general info on how the course is organized
A few words about your humble teacher
Here I will show you what to do if a blurry image appears
Here I will show you how to find additional resources attached to the course like Excel files, presentations, links, etc.
Mergers & Acquisition are done for a lot of reasons by different players. In this section we will discuss how do they differ and why they invest so much money in M&A.
To understand why Strategic Investors may be interested in M&A let’s have a look at the strategic framework.
For a Strategic Investor there are some strong benefits of doing M&A
M&A usually is faster than organic growth
M&A helps you enter certain markets that are beyond your reach
You kill current or potential competition
M&A may be cheaper than organic growth
M&A can give you access to valuable technology or people
M&A can help you achieve economies of scale
You can gain access to important customers
You can block your competitors from gaining advantage over you
If you want to disrupt yourself fast you may consider buying your biggest threat. M&A is in some cases a useful tool in disruption
In this lecture, I will discuss how Altassian was buying potential competitors to defend and develop even faster
In this lecture, I will discuss how Adobe was buying potential competitors to defend and develop even faster
M&A can also be done by PE funds. In this case, you buy a firm, and you want to sell it in a few years at a much higher price.
There are 8 main ways in which PE want can make money from M&A
Consolidate the industry
Buy & Grow fast a successful business
Multiplier Arbitrage
Refinancing
Performance Improvement
Turn Around
Asset Stripping
Carve Outs / Deconsolidation
In this brief section, I will shed some light on how the M&A process looks like.
M&A process consists of 5 main stages
Strategy Definition
Target Selection
Due Diligence
Negotiation & Transaction
Value Creation
We will discuss what kid of projects Consultants do during M&A projects
M&A starts with picking the right targets that make sense. In this section, I will show you how you can do that in practice using Excel. We will conduct analyses of potential targets in different industries.
I will explain what ranking is and how to use it. We will later on apple it to case studies
In this lecture, I will start the case study that we will be solving for the next few lectures. Imagine that you are a Spanish fashion retailer and you want to figure out which countries you should enter. Therefore, you prepare a ranking of countries that show attractiveness and the size of each and every market.
In this lecture, we solve the previously introduced case. Here I will show you the data set you can play with
In this lecture, we solve the previously introduced case.
In this lecture, we solve the previously introduced case.
In this lecture, we solve the previously introduced case.
Let’s have a look at a milk producer that wants to expand its product range. In this case, you will be asked to analyze and find the best candidates for brand expansions.
In this lecture, I will show you how to solve the case shown in the previous lectures.
In this lecture, I will show you how to solve the case shown in the previous lectures.
I will show you here how to create the scatter graph shown in the previous lectures.
We will try to help a milk producer that wants to grow via M&A select potential targets. Since he is considering 100 potential targets, we will have to create a ranking.
A few pieces of information about the firm
The firm considers 100 potential targets
The markets are divided into 10 regions
The firm wants to consider 4 criteria
Try to rank all the potential targets
In this lecture, we solve the previously introduced case.
In this lecture, we solve the previously introduced case.
In this lecture, we solve the previously introduced case.
In this lecture, we solve the previously introduced case.
In this lecture, we solve the previously introduced case.
We will try to help a beer producer that considers growing via M&A select potential targets and decide whether M&A is a better option than organic growth.
A few information about the firm
They consider entering 5 markets
In every country, there are 2 breweries they consider buying
On top of that, they consider for all market's greenfield investments
Pick the best option for every market
In this lecture, we solve the previously introduced case.
In this lecture, we solve the previously introduced case.
In this lecture, we solve the previously introduced case.
In this lecture, we solve the previously introduced case.
Let's look at how you can use the low hanging fruit framework
In this lecture, we solve the previously introduced case.
During M&A projects you will quite often have to create a model of the business in Excel. I will show you how to do that using a few examples
We will discuss here the 6 offline and 6 online business models that you may come across
In this lecture, we will move to products. The first one to be discussed is FMCG products. I will show you the main challenges they are facing, KPIs that matter in B2C service, examples of companies. As an example, I will show you how to model in the Excel Cosmetics business.
I will shortly go through things that are important in other FMCG.
I will show you how we will approach modeling the FMCG business model in Excel
I will show you in this lecture what KPIs, drivers are important for the FMCG model and how do they generate the end results – operating profit
In this lecture, I will go briefly through the main assumptions for the model that we will work on in Excel. I will also go through the first sheet in which I generate the sales
In this lecture, we solve the previously introduced case.
In this lecture, we solve the previously introduced case.
In this lecture, we solve the previously introduced case.
In this lecture, we solve the previously introduced case.
In this lecture, we solve the previously introduced case.
In this lecture, we solve the previously introduced case.
As a business analyst or consultant, you may be asked to model the whole business in Excel. I will show you in this section how to do it and you will get ready-made models. I will also show you how to model e-commerce.
I will start by showing main challenges in Retail
I will show you in this lecture what KPI I the retail business model driven by. This will help you understand the modeling in Excel done in the next lectures
In this lecture, we will have a look at a simple model of 1-store Retail in Excel. We will use it later to create more complicated models and to model the whole retail chain
In this lecture, we solve the previously introduced case.
In this lecture, we solve the previously introduced case.
Let’s first look at Margin after Variable Costs and after that at the drivers of the EBITDA.
Paul has some capital from selling his SaaS startup. Now he wants to invest some of his money into a chain of hotels. Help him estimate how much money he has to invest.
In this lecture, I will show you the solution to the previously introduced case study.
In this lecture, I will show you the solution to the previously introduced case study.
In this lecture, I will show you the solution to the previously introduced case study.
In this lecture, I will show you the solution to the previously introduced case study.
In this lecture, I will show you the solution to the previously introduced case study.
In this lecture, I will show you the solution to the previously introduced case study.
In this lecture, I will show you the solution to the previously introduced case study.
In this lecture, I will show you the solution to the previously introduced case study.
In this lecture, I will show you the solution to the previously introduced case study.
During consulting projects, especially devoted to M&A or due diligence you will have to evaluate a specific business. In this section, I will show you examples of how to do it in practice.
In this section, I will show you how to do the valuation of the company that we have created the financial model for. We will use the 2 sets of methods DCF and multipliers.
In this lecture, I will show you the basic assumptions behind the DCF methods
There are 2 main DCF methods: FCFF and FCFE. Here I will show you the difference between them before we go into details.
In this lecture, we will apply the DCF using the FCFF model to the financial model we have created.
In this lecture, we will apply the DCF using the FCFE model to the financial model we have created.
Now, we move on to the multiplier methods of valuation.
We will start with the EBIT and EBITDA multipliers.
In this lecture, I will use the P/E to do the valuation.
In this section I will show you how to estimate the potential benefit coming from M&A. We will do in in Excel for a few interesting case studies
For every M&A you can define in a different way the potential impact. Below what impact the M&A can have on the buying firm
A cheaper option than organic growth/greenfield investment
Potential cost savings (synergies, economies of scale, HO reduction)
Increased ability to increase prices – more monopoly power
Increased ability to get lower prices from suppliers, Enter markets with limited access
Multiplier Arbitrage, Lock-in the customer, Generate Cash from the M&A
Let’s see how we can calculate the impact of M&A. For this, we will use the case of a plywood producer.
In this lecture, I will show you how to solve the case shown in the previous lectures.
In this lecture, I will show you how to solve the case shown in the previous lectures.
In this lecture, I will show you how to solve the case shown in the previous lectures.
Just as a reminder one of the ways to value a firm is to use the so-called multiplier method. Due to many reasons sometimes the same firm with the same EBITDA may get a different multiplier. Your aim as an investor is to buy something at a low multiplier and sell it at a higher multiplier. The difference in the multipliers comes from many things that we will discuss in this lecture.
Let’s imagine that you have to help a fitness card operator decide what will be the impact of M&A on his strategy to vertically integrate
Fitness card operator wants to have 40% of his revenue delivered by his own fitness clubs
He is considering 2 options: only organic growth or M&A with organic growth
Check what will be the impact of both options on Revenues, EBITDA, and Market Cap
In this lecture, we will solve the previously introduced case study.
In this lecture, we will solve the previously introduced case study.
In this lecture, we will solve the previously introduced case study.
In this lecture, we will solve the previously introduced case study.
In this lecture, we will solve the previously introduced case study.
In this lecture, we will solve the previously introduced case study.
How much the company is worth for shareholders is the difference between Enterprise Value and Debt
You can increase the Equity Value by increasing the Enterprise Value
….or you can try to reduce the Net Debt. This will require increasing cash generation.
We will discuss the second way and we will go through 2 case studies in the next few lectures.
Imagine that you have bought a firm providing Data Science services. You will mainly use a Debt put on the purchased firm but there is still a Cash Gap you have to take care of
A few information about the firm that we will be analyzing
The company has 500 Data Scientists
80% of their time is billable hours
Customers pay on average EUR 48 K fee per Data Scientist
Consider 8 scenarios
In this lecture, we will solve the previously introduced case study.
In this lecture, we will solve the previously introduced case study.
In this lecture, we will solve the previously introduced case study.
In this lecture, we will solve the previously introduced case study.
In this lecture, we will solve the previously introduced case study.
In this lecture, we will solve the previously introduced case study.
We will continue our case study. Now, we will look at options that will help us reduce payables.
In this lecture, we will solve the previously introduced case study.
In this lecture, we will solve the previously introduced case study.
In this lecture, we will solve the previously introduced case study.
In this lecture, we will solve the previously introduced case study.
In this lecture, we will solve the previously introduced case study.
Imagine that you are working for a PE fund that has just bought a low-cost fashion Retailer. You have to estimate the impact of debt restructuring efforts they are considering
A few information about the firm that we will be analyzing
The company has 200 stores and adds 50 new ones every year
The PE bought them using only high yield debt (12% interest rate)
They consider 4 scenarios to restructure Debt
Analyze and propose the optimal solution
In this lecture, we will solve the previously introduced case study.
In this lecture, we will solve the previously introduced case study.
In this lecture, we will solve the previously introduced case study.
In this lecture, we will solve the previously introduced case study.
In this lecture, we will solve the previously introduced case study.
In this lecture, we will solve the previously introduced case study.
In this lecture, we will solve the previously introduced case study.
In the second section, I will discuss what is a Due Diligence projects, what are the main parts of this sort of projects, how long does a Due Diligence project take, and what kind of questions you want to answer. We will also discuss briefly the target company we will use to show you an example of the Due Diligence project.
In the second section, I will discuss what is a Due Diligence projects, what are the main parts of this sort of projects, how long does a Due Diligence project take, and what kind of questions you want to answer. We will also discuss briefly the target company we will use to show you an example of the Due Diligence project.
Due Diligence consists of 3 parts: Legal DD, Commercial DD, and Financial DD. I will discuss briefly each one of them
There are 5 steps to deliver great Commercial Due Diligence. I will discuss briefly those steps in this lecture and we will go through them in the next lectures.
I will discuss in this lecture what influence the duration of Commercial Due Diligence and how long it may take do deliver one
There are 6 main questions that potential investor wants the consulting firm to answer during Commercial Due Diligence. We will discuss them in this lecture
In this section, I will discuss how and when you should request data from the target company. I will show you also some examples of data requests that you can send to the Target Company.
Here I will show you what rules you should follow when creating the data request.
In this lecture, I will show you a real example of a data request that I have to a customer. He wanted me to optimize processes at his stores.
You have to get the data from the company so we will talk here about how to do it to maximize the probability of the right data being sent to you fast.
In this section, I will discuss the first stage in data gathering – getting a rough estimation. Rough estimation enables you to charge the importance of certain data and proceed accordingly on later stages of independent data gathering.
We will discuss here the value of rough estimation and why it’s worth starting from it.
In this lecture, you will get to know our favorite method for the first rough estimation – the bottom-up method. We give you also 2 examples with Excel calculations on how to use it.
Top-down is the little brother of the bottom-up approach – not used that often but still very useful for re-segmenting the market (niche a low-cost strategy)
In this lecture, I show backward thinking /induction. This approach enables you to design the whole process, company on the basis of the expected outcome.
What is the aim of this course?
Consulting firms are hired very often to help with Mergers & Acquisitions. Those projects are difficult as you have to deliver results fast and you have to deal with many stakeholders. You not only have to help select potential targets, and model businesses in Excel, but also you will have to estimate the potential benefits of M&A, the value of the firm, and forecast the development of the acquired firms. In this course, I will teach how to perform fast and efficiently different types of analyses during M&A projects.
In the course you will learn the following things:
What kind of analyses you may have to do during the M&A project
How to Select Potential Targets for M&A using Excel
How to create a financial model in Excel for M&A purposes
How to estimate the value of the M&A target
How to estimate potential synergies coming from the M&A process
How to conduct commercial due diligence
What kind of market research tools you can use during due diligence
This course is based on my 15 years of experience as a consultant in top consulting firms and as a Board Member responsible for strategy, performance improvement, and turn-arounds in the biggest firms from Retail, FMCG, SMG, B2B, and services sectors that I worked for. I have carried out or supervised over 90 different performance improvement projects in different industries that generated a total of 2 billion in additional EBITDA. On the basis of what you will find in this course, I have trained in person over 100 consultants, business analysts, and managers who now are Partners in PE and VC funds, Investment Directors and Business Analysts in PE and VC, Operational Directors, COO, CRO, CEO, Directors in Consulting Companies, Board Members, etc. On top of that my courses on Udemy were already taken by more than 300 000 students including people working in EY, McKinsey, Walmart, Booz Allen Hamilton, Adidas, Naspers, Alvarez & Marsal, PwC, Dell, Walgreens, Orange, and many others.
I teach through case studies, so you will have a lot of lectures showing examples of analyses, and tools that we use. To every lecture, you will find attached (in additional resources) the Excels as well as additional presentations, and materials shown in the lectures so as a part of this course you will also get a library of ready-made analyses that can, with certain modifications, be applied by you or your team in your work.
Why did I decide to create this course?
M&A projects are fast-paced and require a lot of hard work. You have to also master different skills and tools that you will be using during such projects especially: financial modeling, market research, identifying synergies, and potential improvements. Most firms, don’t give you the full toolbox that you need. This may lead to huge frustration during M&A projects and a lot of inefficiencies.
Therefore, I have decided to create this course that will help students understand or refresh the main skills and tools that they need during M&A projects. The course will give you the knowledge and insight into real-life case studies that will make your life during a consulting project much easier. Thanks to this course, you will know what and how to do it during M&A projects. You will master how to analyze data and draw conclusions from the analyses. On top of that, you will also master the essential information related to valuation.
To sum it up, I believe that if you want to become a world-class Management Consultant or Business Analyst you have to have a pretty decent understanding of M&A projects and analyses done during such projects. That is why, I highly recommend this course to Management Consultants or Business Analysts, especially those who did not finish business school or Economics. The course will help you become an expert in M&A analyses on the level of McKinsey, BCG, Bain, and other top consulting firms.
In what way will you benefit from this course?
The course is a practical, step-by-step guide loaded with tons of analyses, tricks, and hints that will significantly improve the speed with which you understand, and analyze businesses. There is little theory – mainly examples, a lot of tips from my own experience as well as other notable examples worth mentioning. Our intention is that thanks to the course you will learn:
What kind of analyses you may have to do during the M&A project
How to Select Potential Targets for M&A using Excel
How to create a financial model in Excel for M&A purposes
How to estimate the value of the M&A target
How to estimate potential synergies coming from the M&A process
How to conduct commercial due diligence
What kind of market research tools you can use during due diligence
You can also ask me any questions either through the discussion field or by messaging me directly.
How the course is organized?
Currently, you will find the following things in the course:
Introduction. We begin with a little intro to the course as well as some general info on how the course is organized
When M&A is done? Mergers & acquisitions are done for a lot of reasons by different players. In this section, we will discuss how they differ and why they invest so much money in M&A.
M&A process. In this brief section, I will shed some light on what the M&A process looks like.
Selecting Potential Targets. M&A starts with picking the right targets that make sense. In this section, I will show you how you can do that in practice using Excel. We will conduct analyses of potential targets in different industries.
Modeling Businesses in Excel. During M&A projects you will quite often have to create a model of the business in Excel. I will show you how to do that using a few examples.
Valuation. During consulting projects, especially devoted to M&A or due diligence you will have to evaluate a specific business. In this section, I will show you examples of how to do it in practice.
Estimating Potential Impact. In this section, I will show you how to estimate the potential benefit coming from M&A. We will do it in Excel for a few interesting case studies.
Commercial Due Diligence. A lot of effort from Management Consultants goes into the Commercial Due Diligence stage of the M&A Process. We will have a look at some things that are important during this stage.
Requesting Data from the Target Company & Independent Data Gathering. In the next 6 short sections, we will discuss how you can collect data required for commercial due diligence.
Discussion of the results. In the last section, we will briefly give you some tips on how to discuss the results of commercial due diligence with the customer.
You will be able also to download many additional resources
Useful frameworks and techniques
Analyses that are shown in the course
Additional resources
Links to additional presentations, articles, and movies
Links to books worth reading
At the end of my course, students will be able to…
How to conduct fast and efficiently analyses in Excel during M&A projects
How to select potential targets for M&A
How to estimate in Excel potential synergies from M&A
How to conduct commercial due diligence
What market research tools are useful during M&A and due diligence?
Essential Valuation techniques used in M&A
When mergers and acquisitions make sense.
Create a business model of the firm in Excel
Analyze business units
Who should take this course? Who should not?
Management Consultants and Business Analysts
Managers
Financial Controllers
Investment Analysts
Startup Founders
Project Managers
Managers responsible for Acquisitions and Mergers
What will students need to know or do before starting this course?
Basic or intermediate Excel
Basic knowledge of economics
Basic or intermediate knowledge of finance & accounting