Mergers and Acquisitions Fundamentals
Deal process, valuation, synergies and accretion/dilution.
Taught by Dipesh Koirala · CFA, Financial Analyst
What you'll learn
- Explain why companies pursue acquisitions and distinguish strategic from financial buyers
- Map the stages of a sell-side auction from preparation to closing, including the key documents
- Plan due diligence covering financial, legal, tax, commercial and technology risks
- Value a target with trading comps, precedent transactions and DCF, and present a football field
- Estimate and phase synergies and test whether they justify the premium paid
- Build an accretion/dilution analysis and calculate the synergies needed to break even
About this course
Mergers and Acquisitions Fundamentals explains how companies buy, sell and combine, from the first strategic idea to the day a deal closes. It is designed for finance and accounting graduates, analysts preparing for investment banking interviews, people moving into corporate development or consulting, and founders who may one day sell a business. You will learn the full M&A deal lifecycle, including sell-side auctions, NDAs, letters of intent and the sale and purchase agreement; how due diligence uncovers risks; and how to value a target with trading comps, precedent transactions and DCF. Then you will size synergies, compare cash, stock and debt financing, and build a simple accretion/dilution merger model in Python, finishing with lessons from real deals. You should be comfortable reading financial statements and know the basics of valuation.
Course content
7 lessons- 1Why Companies Buy CompaniesDeal rationales, types of mergers, strategic versus financial buyers, and why many deals disappoint.Preview
- 2The Deal Lifecycle: From Idea to ClosingSell-side auctions, NDAs, CIMs, letters of intent, the purchase agreement, regulatory approval and closing.
- 3Due Diligence: Finding What the Seller Did Not MentionFinancial, legal, tax, commercial and technology diligence, quality of earnings and deal-changing red flags.
- 4Valuing the TargetTrading comps, precedent transactions, DCF, LBO analysis and presenting a football field.
- 5Synergies and What to PayCost and revenue synergies, integration costs, phasing, and testing whether synergies justify the premium.
- 6Financing and Structuring the DealCash versus stock, debt financing, exchange ratios, asset versus share deals and earn-outs.
- 7The Merger Model: Accretion and DilutionPro forma EPS, what makes a deal accretive, breakeven synergies and lessons from real transactions.