M&A Essentials
FREEDeal rationale, structure, purchase accounting, and accretion/dilution. The M&A fundamentals for banking and PE interviews.
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Modules
Strategic Rationale: Why M&A Happens
55 questions
Core motivations: scale, synergies, capability acquisition, vertical integration, geography, consolidation; buyer vs seller incentives; why deals fail; how to evaluate strategic fit in interview answers; identifying red flags in a deal rationale.
Deal Structure, Sources & Uses
55 questions
Purchase consideration (cash, stock, debt, mixed); sources & uses logic and funding constraints; basic deal terms (offer price, premium, cash vs stock elections); transaction fees; what bankers mean by pro forma; how structure choices change risk and outcomes.
Purchase Price, Goodwill & Accounting Impact
55 questions
Purchase accounting intuition: enterprise value to equity purchase price; net identifiable assets, write-ups, goodwill; intangible amortization basics; deferred tax impacts at a conceptual level; how acquisition accounting affects post-deal earnings and balance sheet; classic interview what happens to goodwill? questions.
Accretion / Dilution Logic (Intuition-First)
55 questions
What drives accretion/dilution without building a full merger model: relative P/E, financing mix, cost of debt, synergies, amortization, one-time costs; EPS math intuition; when an all-stock deal is accretive/dilutive; common interviewer follow-ups and clean ways to explain the outcome.
Frequently Asked Questions
What M&A concepts should I know for investment banking interviews?
Key M&A interview topics include: accretion/dilution analysis (when is a deal accretive to EPS?), deal structure (stock vs cash vs mixed consideration), merger consequences, synergies (revenue and cost), deal process (sell-side vs buy-side), fairness opinions, key covenants, and how to structure an LBO vs strategic acquisition.
What is an accretion/dilution analysis?
An accretion/dilution analysis determines whether an acquisition increases (accretive) or decreases (dilutive) the acquirer's earnings per share. A deal is accretive if the target's P/E is lower than the acquirer's or if synergies are large enough. It is dilutive if the purchase price is too high or the deal is funded with low-earning-yield equity.
How do I prepare for M&A technical questions?
Master accretion/dilution mechanics, understand deal structure trade-offs (cash vs stock), know how purchase price accounting works (goodwill, fair value step-ups), and be able to explain synergy types and why deals fail. Practice real M&A interview questions with our free M&A Essentials track.
Is M&A Essentials free on Finance Interview Prep?
Yes — the M&A Essentials track is completely free. It covers M&A fundamentals, accretion/dilution, deal structure, synergies, and the full M&A process with real interview questions and instant expert explanations.