ma-playbooklisted

# M&A Playbook Frameworks for both sides of M&A: acquiring companies and being acquired. ## Keywords M&A, mergers and acquisitions, due diligence, acquisition, acqui-hire, integration, deal structure, valuation, LOI, term sheet, earnout ## Quick Start **Acquiring:** Start with strategic rationale → target screening → due diligence → valuation → negotiation → integration. **Being Acquired:** Start with readiness assessment → data room prep → advisor selection → negotiation → transition. ## When You're Acquiring ### Strategic Rationale (answer before anything else) - **Buy vs Build:** Can you build this faster/cheaper? If yes, don't acquire. - **Acqui-hire vs Product vs Market:** What are you really buying? Talent? Technology? Customers? - **Integration complexity:** How hard is it to merge this into your company? ### Due Diligence Checklist | Domain | Key Questions | Red Flags | |--------|--------------|-----------| | Financial | Revenue quality, customer concentration, burn rate | >30% revenue from 1 customer | | Technical | Code quality, tech debt, architecture fit | Monolith with no tests | | Legal | IP ownership, pending litigation, contracts | Key IP owned by individuals | | People | Key person risk, culture fit, retention risk | Founders have no lockup/earnout | | Market | Market position, competitive threats | Declining market share | | Customers | Churn rate, NPS, contract terms | High churn, short contracts | ### Valuation Approaches - **Revenue multiple:** I