6 hours
6-Hour Carve-Out LBO and Investment Write-Up
38 pages, a blank workbook and two pages to make the call.
You send backExcel model, two-page write-up
$89
See the testPractice Tests / Take-Home LBO and Investment Memo
- 4 days
- Excel model + memo
- Raw financials
- Private equity
Take-Home LBO and Investment Memo
Build an LBO under three cases from 48 months of raw financials and recommend whether the firm should pursue the deal.
You get the test, a worked answer key, the model and the six-page memo I sent and a two-page debrief.
Hearthline IT Services, a fictional company · Recreated from a test I took in February 2024
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What you are given
Four Excel files, a one-page income statement and three questions.
This is a page from the test. Select it to read it at full size.
What the test asks
- What is the company worth?
- What returns could be earned, and why?
- What are the points for and against the deal, and should the firm pursue it?
- You build from a blank workbook. The data is 48 months of income statements, a budget, a preliminary annual statement by entity and two balance sheets, one in a second currency.
What the answer looks like
The answer key is a complete model you can check yours against line by line, with a note wherever it differs from what I sent. This example is from the free test, so nothing here gives this case away.
The note on the Taxes row
<- Got this wrong on the day: in the 60-minute file (row 27) this was EBT x (1 - tax rate), which is after-tax income, and cash taxes read it. Tax is EBT x the tax rate.
Take the free 60-minute test to see a full answer key and debrief
What you get
Start here.pdf1 page
1 - The test
Assignment.pdf1 page
Company profile.pdf1 page
Consolidated income statement by month.xlsx
2022 budget.xlsx
Australia balance sheet.xlsx
Canada balance sheet.xlsx
Preliminary 2021 income statement.pdf1 page
2 - My answer
1 - Answer key (corrected model).xlsxcheck yours against this
2 - The memo I sent.pdf6 pages
3 - The model I sent.xlsx
3 - Debrief
Debrief.pdf2 pages
Who it is for
- Anyone with a take-home case coming up at a private equity firm, or who wants to see what a finished one looks like.
- You should be able to build an LBO from a blank workbook.
- It takes several evenings, not an hour.
The story
In February 2024 I was interviewing with a lower-middle-market private equity firm. On a Friday evening a principal emailed me a take-home case: four Excel files and a one-page income statement for a managed IT services company, with three questions and no model template.
The firm wanted a working LBO under three cases, a written recommendation and my diligence list, back by the end of the day on Tuesday.
A model and a six-page memo went back. Both are in the download, next to an answer key and a two-page debrief on how to check the model and the recommendation.
Before you start
Is this the real test?
It is recreated from the test I took. The format, the task and the time limit are the same. The company is fictional, and its industry, places, dates and figures are changed.
Is the answer cleaned up?
The model and the memo are as I sent them, apart from a few small slips corrected in the memo. The answer key is the same model with one formula corrected, so you check your numbers against the right ones.
How long does it take?
The email arrived on a Friday evening and asked for everything back by the end of the day on Tuesday. Plan on several evenings.
More tests like this one
48 hours
48-Hour Take-Home LBO
A memorandum, a databook and one page of instructions.
You send backExcel model, four-page memo
$89
See the testThis is 1 of 13.
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