I built this bank for tech-banking practice, so I would start with the numbers: the equity bridge, LBO returns and what a rich target does to EPS. These 5 Qatalyst Partners interview questions have worked answers. No signup.
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Three worked answers
From enterprise value to per-share answers
The open examples cover the EV-to-equity bridge, LBO returns when the exit multiple compresses, and a tax rate hidden inside a stack of multiples.
Say your answer first. Then reveal the steps and check the assumptions.
Reveal the worked answer
Common equity = EV - preferred - NCI - debt + cash + nonoperating investments. Subtract every claim ahead of common shareholders; add back what they own outside operations.
Subtract claims110 - 8 - 5 - 4057
Add assets back57 + 10 + 7equity = 74
Interview check: run it in reverse - 74 + 40 + 8 + 5 - 10 - 7 = 110, back to EV. Face or book debt can differ from market value, so say which you are using.
LBO: $100 EBITDA, 10x entry = $1bn (60% debt, 40% equity). Revenue and EBITDA double, exit at 8x after 5 years, no debt paydown - MOIC and IRR? How much paydown gets a 3x MOIC, and what IRR is that?
Say your answer first. Then reveal the steps and check the assumptions.
Reveal the worked answer
Entry: EV $1,000M, debt $600M, equity $400M. Exit: EBITDA $200M x 8 = $1,600M EV; debt unchanged, so exit equity = $1,000M.
MOIC1,000 / 4002.5x
IRR over 5 years2.5^(1/5) - 1~20.1%
For 3.0x: exit equity needed1,200 = 1,600 - 400pay down $200M
IRR at 3.0x3.0^(1/5) - 1~24.6%
Interview check: the exit multiple compressed two full turns, from 10x to 8x. EBITDA doubling overcame that contraction, which is why the deal still clears 20%. Paydown only counts if actual cash generation supports it.
Interview check: the whole chain depends on the no-cash, no-preferred assumption. If net cash, preferred equity or NCI exists, say so and rebuild the bridge.
More questions
Two more prompts stay closed until you commit to an answer. Round and group labels come from the workbook source, not a fixed interview script.
Tech Add-OnIB (Technology)M&A
4. Company A: NI $200, 50 shares, 10x P/E. Company B: NI $40, 40 shares, 15x P/E. A acquires B in all stock - accretive or dilutive?
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Company A's equity is worth 200 x 10 = $2,000, so each of its 50 shares is $40 and EPS is $4. Company B's equity is worth 40 x 15 = $600, so A issues 600 / 40 = 15 new shares. Pro forma: net income 240 over 65 shares gives EPS of $3.69, about 7.7% dilutive.
The quick rule agrees: a buyer paying with stock trading at a lower P/E than the target's deal P/E dilutes. Assume no fees, no unstated synergies and an unchanged buyer share price. EPS accretion is not the same as economic value creation.
Tech Add-OnIB (Technology)Valuation & Multiples
5. How would you value a software company with a 100% CAGR and negative cash flows?
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A DCF can include negative cash flows now; it does not require two positive years first. The real work is deciding whether losses come from temporary cyclicality, scalable growth investment or structurally unprofitable unit economics, then forecasting explicitly through a credible stable state. Illustrative: UFCF of -10, -5, +5, +10 over four years with 3% growth thereafter at a 15% WACC gives a year-4 terminal value of 10(1.03)/(0.15-0.03) = 85.8 and an EV near $45.6M. That is an assumed path, not proof the losses reverse.
A 100% CAGR cannot reasonably be extrapolated forever: estimate cohorts, retention, sales capacity and market size, then fade growth, and stress slower growth plus financing dilution. If profitability is never credible, value liquidation assets or options separately rather than forcing a positive terminal perpetuity.
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The full workbook
The paid file contains 32 source prompts collected from 2020 onward: 25 Qatalyst source prompts plus 7 clearly labeled tech add-ons - 19 worked answers, 9 practice frameworks and 4 research checklists. Every prompt has a recorded round. Filter by round, group, type, and topic.
Rounds: Phone Screen 11, Superday 11, Tech Add-On 7, First Round 3. Group: all 32 prompts sit in IB (Technology). Largest topics: M&A 6 and Valuation & Multiples 6, then Accounting 5.