Aleksey Krylov Reviews Case Study: Exit Through M&A 101

I, Aleksey Krylov, am honored to be return to Sutton Capital’s classroom one more time. The new case study covers Exit Through (Mergers & Acquisitions) M&A basics and gives students a flavor of the acquisition of a venture-backed startup.

Exit Through M&A

Post by Aleksey Krylov Photo by Egor Vikhrev on Unsplash

My thanks go to Joel Palathinkal for the invite. Sprinkled with real-world anecdotes, the case study will review:

• Exit alternatives

• Multi-faceted phenomenon of an M&A transaction

• Players in a deal

• Engagement with various stakeholders, including investor relations

• Approaches to the target's valuation, and

• Negotiation strategies to optimize shareholder returns (

The case study again is based on a hypothetical startup Arete Labs that grows rapidly with the support of angel and VC community. In this scenario, I take a minority investor view and support the board in negotiating the most optimal exit valuation. We discuss the Board responsibilities in delivering value to shareholders and need for balancing growth and profitability. Directors have to keep in mind Company’s Hidden Costs of Employing Full-Time CFOs and find optimal talent to drive value in the long term like in Operating CFO is a Founder’s “Another Adult in the Room”. The middle of the road solution may involve a company like Tialma providing virtual CFO services.

Enjoy. PowerPoint slides and fully-functional excel model below the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psA81mxBK9Q

Materials from the presentation are available here.

Presentation slides

Arete Labs M&A Case Study 9-20-2023 vShared.pdf

Download PDF • 1.66MB

Excel

Arete Labs M&A Illustrative Model 9-20-2023.xlsx

Download XLSX • 89KB