Preparing for a Private Equity Interview

From Private Equity Careers Panel February 8, 2007

Know all the deals the firm has done in the past 2 years.
Know why they have done them were they LBOs, growth
equity, funding for M&A etc.
Whether they co-invested, took a lead position.
Sectors they invest in, typical size of position, etc.
Have some ideas about what they should invest in.
Have your own original idea.
Be able to answer the question: if you had $100 mm to invest
right now in one deal, how would you invest it? Would you take a
small position in a large deal single? Or take control of a smaller
deal? What sector would you invest in? Why? Where is the
opportunity for the improvement?
Make sure that youre talking to firms for whom your ideas are a
good fit.
Be able to talk about the deals you have done in the past whether as
a banker, a consultant, on the corporate side, in equity research,
whatever:
Dont just know the capital structure and the NPV.
Know whether you would have invested in the deal and why.
Know where the returns were coming from why the gross
margin was improving, etc. etc.
Best resources in doing this research:
Equity research reports.
Independent research on a given sector.