All five prompts are labeled First Round in the source. The full bank goes wider - M&A, restructuring, accounting and more, mapped below. I would answer out loud before checking the math.

First RoundValuation & Multiples

Read the forward multiples.

EV is $200M. Year-one EV/revenue and EV/EBITDA are 5x and 10x. Year two is 10x and 25x. What changed?

Say your answer first. Then reveal the steps and check the assumptions.

Reveal the worked answer

Use the same $200M EV for both forecast years.

Year one

Revenue = $200M / 5 = $40M.
EBITDA = $200M / 10 = $20M.
EBITDA margin = 50%.

Year two

Revenue = $200M / 10 = $20M.
EBITDA = $200M / 25 = $8M.
EBITDA margin = 40%.

Change

Revenue falls 50%. EBITDA falls 60%. Margin falls 10 percentage points.

Higher forward multiples here mean weaker forecast results, not growth. Without the same EV assumption, the multiples alone do not establish those growth rates.

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First RoundValuation & Multiples

Do not memorize a fixed ranking.

Name the three main valuation methods, add one more and rank them.

Say your answer first. Then reveal the steps and check the assumptions.

Reveal the worked answer

Start with trading comps, precedent transactions and DCF. I would add an LBO analysis.

Market methods

Precedent deals can exceed trading comps when a buyer pays for control or synergies. Deal timing and the peer set can change that relationship.

DCF

The value depends on your forecast, discount rate and terminal value. It can land above or below the market methods.

LBO

A sponsor's return target and financing limits constrain the price. It is often lower, but it is not a guaranteed floor.

Give the usual pattern as a starting point. Then explain which assumptions would reverse it.

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First RoundDCF & WACC

Compare the $10 changes.

Which helps free cash flow most: $10 less capex, $10 less expense or $10 more volume-driven revenue?

Say your answer first. Then reveal the steps and check the assumptions.

Reveal the worked answer

For an illustrative one-period check, assume a 25% cash tax rate and a 40% contribution margin on extra revenue. Hold working capital and all other investment fixed. The capex cut does not change current depreciation or taxes.

Less capex$10 cash saving+$10 FCF

Less expense$10 × (1 - 25%)+$7.50 FCF

More volume$10 × 40% × (1 - 25%)+$3 FCF

Under these assumptions: capex, expense, then revenue. Ask for the tax rate and incremental costs before giving exact numbers. A cut to needed capex can hurt future growth; the current cash benefit alone does not prove it creates the most value.

First RoundIBValuation & Multiples

Find the EBITDA margin.

Name three valuation methods and rank them. EV/Sales is 2x and EV/EBITDA is 5x - what is the EBITDA margin?

Say your answer first. Then reveal the steps and check the assumptions.

Reveal the worked answer

For a common EV and period, EBITDA margin = EBITDA / revenue = (EV / revenue) / (EV / EBITDA). The EV cancels - no industry average needed.

Margin2 / 540% EBITDA margin

Trading comparables

What investors pay for similar operating assets today. Apply a normalized peer multiple to the target, then bridge EV to equity.

Precedent transactions

What buyers actually paid for comparable businesses. Reconstruct the full transaction EV against pre-deal financials.

DCF

Expected cash generation: unlevered free cash flow discounted at WACC, plus terminal value.

On the ranking: there is no mandatory highest-to-lowest order. Precedents can run high when control or synergies matter, a DCF can land above or below the market methods, and an LBO - the natural fourth method - can constrain a sponsor's bid without being a guaranteed floor. Triangulate ranges with consistent dates and assumptions instead of forcing an order.

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First RoundIB (M&A)DCF & WACC

Separate tax and WACC.

How does tax impact WACC? How does WACC impact valuation? If decreasing taxes causes WACC to increase, why do corporations like lower taxes?

Say your answer first. Then reveal the steps and check the assumptions.

Reveal the worked answer

Taxes show up in three connected places: operating cash taxes in NOPAT, terminal reinvestment economics, and the debt-interest shield inside WACC. They are not three independent charges.

Cash flow side

With EBIT of 100, a 25% to 20% tax cut raises NOPAT from 75 to 80.

WACC side

Holding Ke, Kd and weights fixed at D/V = 30% and Kd = 5%, that cut raises WACC by 0.30 x 5% x 5% = 0.075 points as the debt shield shrinks.

Net effect

Lower taxes usually help value because companies keep more operating cash, even when the smaller shield nudges WACC up. It is not an identity - recompute both sides.

Model usable cash taxes, NOLs and timing. Do not grant an automatic refund on losses.

Greenhill Interview Questions

Work the numbers, then defend them.

Read the forward multiples.

Do not memorize a fixed ranking.

Compare the $10 changes.

Find the EBITDA margin.

Separate tax and WACC.

What is in the full Greenhill bank

Then run the 30-minute drill

Want the full Greenhill question bank?

What to prepare outside the workbook

Greenhill Interview Questions

Work the numbers, then defend them.

Read the forward multiples.

Do not memorize a fixed ranking.

Compare the $10 changes.

Find the EBITDA margin.

Separate tax and WACC.

What is in the full Greenhill bank

Then run the 30-minute drill

Want the full Greenhill question bank?

What to prepare outside the workbook

Keep practicing the same idea

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