Private Equity case studies, worked step by step

Cases
100
Traced to a firm
59
Topics
12
Hard
30
Topic
All topicsGrowth equity and software8Returns attribution and value creation8LBO modelling tests9Screening and ranking businesses9Distressed and special situations7Private credit and direct lending9Paper LBOs10Real estate and infrastructure8Portfolio operations and exits6Deal structuring and pricing9Fund, LP and portfolio analytics7Commercial and market cases10
Level
AnyWarm upCoreHard
Source
AnyReported at a firmStandard
Showing 1–10 of 50 · filtered from 100Clear filters
  1. 001A software sponsor wants to grow a platform-as-a-service business by hiring sales reps. What is the payback on a rep, and how many can the plan afford?Growth equity and softwareCoreVista Equity PartnersAustin · 2021
  2. 002Two portfolio exits both returned 2.5x. One was re-rated with flat earnings; the other doubled its earnings at a constant multiple. Show each value bridge and judge which return is repeatable.Returns attribution and value creationCoreLarge-cap buyout fund
  3. 003Pitch an early-stage agritech marketplace you like: why this company and this industry, and what would the fund need to believe to invest at a Rs 600 crore valuation?Growth equity and softwareCoreInsight PartnersNew York · 2023
  4. 010A cement promoter needs Rs 300 crore and will not accept the fund's valuation. The fund proposes a structured instrument: a 16% IRR floor through a redemption premium plus 20% of any upside above Rs 2,000 crore. Work the fund's return across outcomes.Distressed and special situationsCoreSpecial situationsIndian mid-market PE
  5. 012A pharma distributor's operating team proposes a working capital programme: receivables from 75 to 60 days, inventory 60 to 50, payables 45 to 50. How much cash is released, and what does it do to the IRR on Rs 300 crore of equity?Portfolio operations and exitsCorePortfolio operations team
  6. 014A buyer offers 2.2x for a three-year-old portfolio company today; the plan reaches 3.0x in year 6. The fund has four years of life left and can redeploy at 20%. Hold or sell, and what IRR does each path give?Returns attribution and value creationCoreLarge-cap buyout fundSecondaries and fund of funds
  7. 016Explain a dividend recap with numbers: in year 3 a tableware company relevers from 2x to 5x EBITDA and pays the new debt out as a dividend. Compare MOIC and IRR with and without the recap, and say what it adds and what it risks.Deal structuring and pricingCoreTPGSan Francisco · 2015
  8. 018A restaurant chain with 25 outlets wants to grow to 60. Work the outlet economics and the payback on a new outlet, and say whether the fund should back the expansion.Commercial and market casesCoreGeneral AtlanticBeijing · 2014
  9. 021A paper LBO where the interviewer keeps changing the terms: build the base case for a specialty chemicals buyout, then answer fast what happens to the IRR if the exit multiple falls, if leverage rises, and if the hold shortens.Paper LBOsCoreNeuberger BermanLondon · 2026
  10. 022A gym chain has 4% monthly churn, a Rs 2,000 monthly fee, Rs 3,000 acquisition cost and 70% contribution. What is a member worth, and at what churn does growth start to destroy value?Commercial and market casesCoreGrowth equityIndian mid-market PE

Company names and figures are illustrative.