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C-Level AdvisoryFree Safe

ma-playbook

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About This Skill

Use when evaluating acquisitions, preparing for acquisition, M&A due diligence, integration planning, or deal negotiation.

Downloadable SKILL.md

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SKILL.md

---
name: ma-playbook
description: Use when evaluating acquisitions, preparing for acquisition, M&A due diligence, integration planning, or deal negotiation.
category: C-Level Advisory
version: 1.0.0
tools: []
---

# M&A Playbook

Frameworks for both sides of M&A: acquiring companies and being acquired.

## Quick Start

**Acquiring:** Strategic rationale → target screening → due diligence → valuation → negotiation → integration.

**Being Acquired:** 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?
- **Integration complexity:** How hard is it to merge?

### Due Diligence Checklist
| Domain | Key Questions | Red Flags |
|--------|----|----|
| Financial | Revenue quality, customer concentration, burn | >30% revenue from 1 customer |
| Technical | Code quality, tech debt, architecture | Monolith with no tests |
| Legal | IP ownership, litigation, contracts | IP owned by individuals |
| People | Key person risk, culture fit, retention | No lockup/earnout |
| Market | Market position, competitive threats | Declining market share |
| Customers | Churn rate, NPS, contract terms | High churn, short contracts |

### Valuation Approaches

Illustrative ranges **— always verify against current market comps before using**:

- **Revenue multiple:** 2-15x ARR for SaaS (varies with growth, NRR, rate environment)
- **Comparable transactions:** Similar company sales (most defensible anchor)
- **DCF:** Profitable companies only
- **Acqui-hire:** Illustrative range 1-3M per engineer

### Integration Frameworks

See references for 100-day integration plan.

## When You're Being Acquired

### Preparation (6-12 months before)
1. Clean up financials
2. Document all IP and contracts
3. Reduce customer concentration
4. Lock up key employees
5. Build the data room
6. Engage M&A advisor

### Negotiation Points
| Term | Watch | Leverage |
|------|-------|----------|
| Valuation | Earnout traps | Competing offers |
| Earnout | Milestone definitions | Cash-heavy vs earnout |
| Lockup | Duration, conditions | Replaceability |
| Rep & warranties | Liability scope | Escrow vs cap |
| Employee retention | Offer scope | Key dependencies |

## Verification Loop (before LOI or signature)

1. **Legal terms** → run LOI/term sheet through risk analysis (12 founder-killer patterns)
2. **Data diligence** → audit training-data rights, GDPR Art. 6 basis
3. **Valuation math** → quantitative model verification

---

**Version:** 1.0.0

Bundle Download

Includes SKILL.md and bundled support files where provided. Risk acknowledgement is required.

Install Targets

Syntic App

1. Create a dedicated folder for this skill in your local skills library.
2. Place SKILL.md into that folder.
3. Restart Syntic and invoke this skill on matching tasks.

Syntic Code (CLI)

1. Save SKILL.md in your local Syntic Code skills directory.
2. Keep related files in the same skill folder.
3. Run in a safe environment and validate outputs.

Source

https://github.com/alirezarezvani/claude-skills/blob/main/c-level-advisor/skills/ma-playbook/SKILL.md

Open Source Link

C-Level Advisory

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