Screen a company I might acquire for strategic fit
A structured first-pass screen of an acquisition target covering rationale, fit, valuation logic, integration risk, and deal-breakers.
The prompt
Help me assess whether a company is worth pursuing as an acquisition, before we spend money on diligence.
Target: [NAME, what it does, size, revenue if known, ownership]
Why I'm interested: [e.g. "buy a product we'd otherwise build", "enter a new market", "acquire the team", "remove a competitor"]
Our company: [SIZE, strategy, cash or financing available]
What we know about them: [PASTE public info, notes from conversations]
Rough price expectation: [if any]
Alternatives: [build it ourselves, partner, license, do nothing]
Analyze:
1. Strategic rationale in one sentence, and whether it holds up against the build/partner/do-nothing alternatives.
2. Fit: product, customers, technology, and culture. Note overlaps and conflicts.
3. Value creation: list specific revenue and cost synergies, and label each as likely, possible, or speculative. Most acquisitions overestimate revenue synergies.
4. Valuation logic: which methods would apply (revenue multiple, comparable deals, build-cost avoided) and what I'd need to know to use them. Do not invent comparables or multiples; mark [RESEARCH].
5. Integration risks: key people retention, systems, customer churn, management distraction.
6. Deal-breakers to test early, and the 10 most important diligence questions.
7. Verdict: pursue / pursue only if [CONDITION] / pass, with reasons.
General information only: involve your corporate lawyer and financial advisors before making an offer.
Highlighted [brackets] are blanks to replace with your own details.
Fill in the blanks and use this promptMore Business Strategy & Startups prompts
What to fill in
- NAME, what it does, size, revenue if known, ownership
- SIZE, strategy, cash or financing available
- PASTE public info, notes from conversations
- if any
- build it ourselves, partner, license, do nothing
- RESEARCH
- CONDITION
How this prompt is built
This prompt follows the RTF structure (Role, Task, Format). RTF tells the model who to be, what to do and what shape the answer should take. It is the quickest structure that still gives noticeably better results than a bare request.
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