ChatGPT Prompts for Investment Banking

Strategic-buyer longlist + diligence question tree

Early-stage sell-side or a pitch: you need a defensible universe of logical acquirers and the diligence questions each raises.

You are an M&A associate building a buyer universe for a target I describe. Produce two things:

A) A strategic + financial buyer LONGLIST. For each buyer give: name, buyer type (strategic / PE / infra / family office), the specific strategic rationale (what capability, geography, product, or customer set they gain), likely deal appetite, and any obvious antitrust or ownership blocker. Group by 'most logical', 'plausible', and 'wildcard'. Do not pad the list — quality over count.
B) A DILIGENCE QUESTION TREE for the target, organized by: commercial, financial, legal/regulatory, tech/IP, people, and integration. Under each, the 5-8 questions that would most change the valuation, ordered by materiality.

Call out where you are inferring versus certain, and flag any claim I should independently verify before using it externally. Here is the target:
[DESCRIBE TARGET: sector, size, geography, what it does, why it might sell]

Rules: Do not invent, estimate, or extrapolate any figure — if a number is not in what I give you, write "not provided" and flag it. Mark every claim I should verify externally before relying on it. Never use, infer, or request material non-public information (MNPI) or client-confidential data.

Precedent-transactions screen + adjusted-multiples framing

You need a defensible set of precedent M&A deals for a target and a clean read on what buyers actually paid.

You are an M&A associate building a precedent-transactions analysis for a target I describe: [TARGET, sector, size, geography]. Produce:
1. A TABLE of candidate precedent deals (columns: acquirer, target, announced date, deal value, EV/Revenue, EV/EBITDA, % premium, strategic vs financial buyer, rationale). Include only deals you can name a real basis for; where a figure is not provided to you, write "verify".
2. A short note on which deals are the TIGHTEST comparables and why (size, business model, cycle timing).
3. A CLEAN-vs-ADJUSTED flag per multiple: which are distorted by synergies, control premia, or one-time items and should be normalized.
4. The 2-3 questions to resolve before quoting any multiple to a client.

Rules: Do not invent, estimate, or extrapolate any figure — if a number is not in what I give you, write "not provided" and flag it. Mark every claim I should verify externally before relying on it. Never use, infer, or request material non-public information (MNPI) or client-confidential data.

Comparable-companies universe + clean-vs-adjusted multiples grid

Building trading comps and you want a peer set you can defend plus multiples flagged clean vs adjusted.

You are an equity/IB analyst constructing a trading-comps universe for [TARGET]. Do the following in order:
1. Propose a peer SET grouped into tiers (pure-play, adjacent, aspirational) with a one-line inclusion rationale each.
2. Build a comps TABLE (columns: company, market cap, EV, EV/Revenue, EV/EBITDA, P/E, revenue growth, EBITDA margin). Where I have not given you a figure, write "pull" — never fabricate.
3. Flag each multiple as CLEAN or ADJUSTED (SBC, one-offs, lease treatment, non-GAAP bridges) and say what normalization it needs.
4. Give the defensible median/mean framing and note which peers you would exclude as outliers and why.

Rules: Do not invent, estimate, or extrapolate any figure — if a number is not in what I give you, write "not provided" and flag it. Mark every claim I should verify externally before relying on it. Never use, infer, or request material non-public information (MNPI) or client-confidential data.

M&A sell-side process timeline + workstream tracker

Kicking off or running a sell-side process and need the phase map plus who-owns-what so nothing slips.

You are a deal-team associate. For a sell-side M&A process on [TARGET, expected timeline in months], produce:
1. A phased TIMELINE (Preparation, Marke

CIM outline + one-page teaser draft

You have a data pack on a target and need a structured CIM skeleton plus a blind teaser you can send.

You are an IB associate drafting marketing materials for [TARGET]. I will paste the key facts/data pack. Produce:
1. A CIM OUTLINE with numbered secti

Accretion / dilution first-pass sanity check

You want a quick, structured read on whether a deal is accretive before building the full model.

You are an M&A analyst running a FIRST-PASS accretion/dilution check. I will give acquirer and target [EPS, net income, shares, offer price, % cash vs

Football-field valuation range synthesis

You have several valuation methods and need to synthesize them into a defensible range with a clear story.

You are an IB associate building a football-field valuation summary for [TARGET]. I will paste the ranges from each method (DCF, trading comps, preced

LBO feasibility + debt-capacity quick screen

You want to know fast whether a target could support an LBO and roughly what return a sponsor might see.

You are a leveraged-finance analyst running a QUICK LBO feasibility screen on [TARGET: EBITDA, growth, margin, capex, expected entry multiple, prevail

Management-presentation question bank

You have a management meeting or diligence session coming and need a sharp, non-generic question set.

You are a deal-team member preparing for a management presentation / diligence session on [TARGET, sector, deal context]. Produce a QUESTION BANK orga

Data-room index red-flag scan + diligence priority list

You have a data-room index (or document list) and need to triage where the diligence risk concentrates.

You are a diligence lead triaging a data room for [TARGET]. I will paste the index/document list. Produce:
1. A PRIORITY TABLE grouping documents by r

Sources & uses + pro forma capitalization bridge

You have a proposed deal and need a clean sources-and-uses table plus the pro forma cap structure before the model exists.

You are an M&A / financing associate building a SOURCES & USES and a pro forma capitalization bridge for a transaction I describe: [DEAL: target, purc

ECM offering-structure options grid

A client needs to raise equity and you want a defensible menu of structures with the real trade-offs before you recommend one.

You are an equity capital markets banker framing FINANCING STRUCTURE OPTIONS for an issuer I describe: [ISSUER: size, listing status, ownership, use o

Leveraged-loan / term-sheet covenant interrogation

You have a debt term sheet or credit agreement summary and need the covenant package and the missing protections surfaced.

You are a leveraged-finance associate reviewing a DEBT TERM SHEET I paste: [PASTE TERM SHEET / CREDIT-AGREEMENT SUMMARY: tranches, pricing, covenants,

Synergy case build + realization phasing

A deal rests on synergies and you need a credible, phased build that a skeptical IC or board will not laugh out of the room.

You are an M&A associate building a SYNERGY CASE for a combination I describe: [ACQUIRER + TARGET: overlap, cost base, revenue lines, integration cont

Activist-defense vulnerability assessment

You are advising a company (or prepping a pitch) and need to see the business the way an activist would before they do.

You are a defense advisor stress-testing a company through an ACTIVIST'S EYES. Company: [DESCRIBE: business, segments, balance sheet, governance, rece