Private Equity

67 questions across 22 core, 37 common, 8 occasional

Core

Common

Occasional

Total

Core Questions

Essential fundamentals every candidate should know

CoreHARDSources & Uses ConstructionTECHNICAL

If you buy a company for 8x EBITDA and EBITDA is $50M, walk me through the sources and uses.

CoreHARDLBO Debt Schedule ModelingTECHNICAL

How do you model a debt schedule in an LBO?

CoreEASYPresent-Past-Future + PE MotivationBEHAVIORAL

Tell me about yourself and why private equity.

CoreMEDIUMLBO Candidate AssessmentTECHNICAL

What makes a good LBO candidate?

CoreMEDIUMQuality of EarningsTECHNICAL

What is a quality of earnings analysis and why is it important?

CoreMEDIUMPE Operational Value CreationTECHNICAL

How do PE firms create operational value in portfolio companies?

CoreHARDLBO Model WalkthroughTECHNICAL

Walk me through an LBO model.

CoreHARDPE Due Diligence ProcessTECHNICAL

How would you conduct due diligence on a potential acquisition target?

CoreHARDPaper LBO Quick MathTECHNICAL

Walk me through a paper LBO.

CoreMEDIUMPE Value Creation FrameworkTECHNICAL

Walk me through the three value creation levers in private equity.

CoreMEDIUMPE Return MetricsTECHNICAL

Explain the concept of IRR and MOIC. How do they relate?

CoreMEDIUMPE Market OverviewTECHNICAL

What is the current state of the PE market?

CoreMEDIUMPE Exit StrategiesTECHNICAL

What are the different exit strategies for a PE investment?

CoreMEDIUMDeal Discussion FrameworkBEHAVIORAL

Describe a deal you find interesting and why.

CoreMEDIUMCash Flow Quality AnalysisTECHNICAL

How do you calculate and interpret free cash flow conversion?

CoreMEDIUMLBO MechanicsTECHNICAL

Walk me through the sources and uses table in an LBO.

CoreMEDIUMDebt TermsTECHNICAL

Explain the concept of a debt covenant and why covenants are important in an LBO.

CoreMEDIUMManagement AssessmentBEHAVIORAL

How do you evaluate a company's management team during due diligence?

CoreMEDIUMPE Market AwarenessCULTURE FIT

What is your view on the current M&A environment for PE?

CoreHARDDue DiligenceTECHNICAL

What is a quality of earnings (QoE) analysis and what are you looking for?

CoreEASYPE Sub-StrategiesTECHNICAL

What are the key differences between growth equity and leveraged buyout?

CoreHARDCommercial Due DiligenceTECHNICAL

Walk me through how you would conduct commercial due diligence on a target company.

Common Questions

Frequently asked in interviews

CommonMEDIUMDebt Covenants in Leveraged FinanceTECHNICAL

Explain the concept of a debt covenant and why covenants matter in an LBO.

CommonEASYCareer Vision in PEBEHAVIORAL

Where do you see yourself in five years?

CommonHARDLBO Capital StructureTECHNICAL

How would you think about the right capital structure for an LBO?

CommonEASYDebt Instruments in LBOsTECHNICAL

What is the difference between a term loan and a revolver?

CommonMEDIUMManagement Incentive AlignmentTECHNICAL

How do you think about management incentives in a PE-backed company?

CommonMEDIUMManagement Assessment in PETECHNICAL

How do you evaluate a management team during due diligence?

CommonMEDIUMESG in PETECHNICAL

How do you think about ESG in private equity investing?

CommonMEDIUMRecurring Revenue AnalysisTECHNICAL

How would you assess a company's recurring revenue quality?

CommonHARDPE Buy-and-Build StrategyTECHNICAL

Walk me through a buy-and-build strategy.

CommonMEDIUMDividend Recap MechanicsTECHNICAL

What is a dividend recapitalization and when would a PE firm do one?

CommonEASYPE Fee Structure and ReturnsTECHNICAL

What is the difference between gross and net returns in PE?

CommonEASYPE M&A StrategyTECHNICAL

What is the difference between a platform and a bolt-on acquisition?

CommonMEDIUMInterest Rate Impact on PETECHNICAL

How do rising interest rates affect PE deal economics?

CommonEASYSTAR Method - Persuasion Under ScrutinyBEHAVIORAL

Tell me about a time you had to convince a skeptical audience.

CommonEASYSTAR Method - Time ManagementBEHAVIORAL

Tell me about a time you had to work on multiple projects with competing deadlines.

CommonMEDIUMPost-Acquisition Integration PlanTECHNICAL

What is a 100-day plan for a newly acquired portfolio company?

CommonHARDSaaS LBO AnalysisTECHNICAL

How would you analyze a SaaS company for a potential LBO?

CommonMEDIUMAuction DynamicsTECHNICAL

What is the difference between a financial sponsor and a strategic buyer in an auction?

CommonMEDIUMCompetitive Defensibility AssessmentTECHNICAL

How do you assess a company's defensibility against competition?

CommonEASYGrowth Equity vs BuyoutTECHNICAL

What are the key differences between growth equity and buyout?

CommonEASYPE Associate CompetenciesCULTURE FIT

What do you think is the most important skill for a PE associate?

CommonHARDManufacturing Margin ImprovementCASE

How would you improve the margins of a manufacturing company?

CommonHARDBolt-On Acquisition SizingTECHNICAL

Walk me through how you would size an add-on acquisition.

CommonEASYManagement Presentation DiligenceTECHNICAL

What is a management presentation and what do you focus on?

CommonMEDIUMPE Risk AssessmentTECHNICAL

What are the key risks in a PE investment and how do you mitigate them?

CommonMEDIUMPortfolio Company TurnaroundBEHAVIORAL

How would you handle a portfolio company that is underperforming its business plan?

CommonMEDIUMPE Sector AttractivenessTECHNICAL

What industries are particularly attractive for PE investment right now?

CommonMEDIUMDeal Structuring - Earn-OutsTECHNICAL

What is an earn-out and when would you use one in a PE deal?

CommonHARDSaaS Due DiligenceTECHNICAL

How would you evaluate a SaaS company for a potential PE investment?

CommonMEDIUMRisk IdentificationBEHAVIORAL

Tell me about a time you identified a risk that others had overlooked.

CommonHARDManagement IncentivesTECHNICAL

How would you structure a management incentive plan for a PE portfolio company?

CommonEASYLBO MetricsTECHNICAL

How do you calculate and interpret the debt-to-equity ratio in the context of an LBO?

CommonHARDOperational Value CreationCASE

How would you approach operational improvement at a newly acquired manufacturing company?

CommonMEDIUMPE Financial EngineeringTECHNICAL

Walk me through a dividend recapitalization. When and why would a PE firm do one?

CommonMEDIUMPE Fund EconomicsTECHNICAL

What is the J-curve in private equity and how does it affect investor returns?

CommonMEDIUMTechnology in PEBEHAVIORAL

What is your view on the role of AI in private equity value creation?

CommonMEDIUMGP-Led SecondariesTECHNICAL

What is a continuation fund and why have they become popular in PE?

Occasional Questions

Asked for specific roles or levels

OccasionalHARDNegative EBITDA ValuationTECHNICAL

How would you approach valuing a company with negative EBITDA?

OccasionalHARDGP-Led SecondariesTECHNICAL

What are continuation vehicles and why have they become popular?

OccasionalHARDPE Fund Distribution MechanicsTECHNICAL

What is a waterfall distribution in PE fund structure?

OccasionalMEDIUMPE Sector StrategyTECHNICAL

How do you think about sector specialization in PE?

OccasionalMEDIUMPE Co-Investment StructureTECHNICAL

Explain the concept of a co-investment in PE.

OccasionalMEDIUMPrivate Credit in PETECHNICAL

What is the role of private credit in PE transactions?

OccasionalHARDPublic-to-Private LBOTECHNICAL

What is a take-private transaction and what are the key considerations?

OccasionalHARDPortfolio StrategyTECHNICAL

Private Equity

Core Questions

If you buy a company for 8x EBITDA and EBITDA is $50M, walk me through the sources and uses.

How do you model a debt schedule in an LBO?

Tell me about yourself and why private equity.

What makes a good LBO candidate?

What is a quality of earnings analysis and why is it important?

How do PE firms create operational value in portfolio companies?

Walk me through an LBO model.

How would you conduct due diligence on a potential acquisition target?

Walk me through a paper LBO.

Walk me through the three value creation levers in private equity.

Explain the concept of IRR and MOIC. How do they relate?

What is the current state of the PE market?

What are the different exit strategies for a PE investment?

Describe a deal you find interesting and why.

How do you calculate and interpret free cash flow conversion?

Walk me through the sources and uses table in an LBO.

Explain the concept of a debt covenant and why covenants are important in an LBO.

How do you evaluate a company's management team during due diligence?

What is your view on the current M&A environment for PE?

What is a quality of earnings (QoE) analysis and what are you looking for?

What are the key differences between growth equity and leveraged buyout?

Walk me through how you would conduct commercial due diligence on a target company.

Common Questions

Explain the concept of a debt covenant and why covenants matter in an LBO.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

How would you think about the right capital structure for an LBO?

What is the difference between a term loan and a revolver?

How do you think about management incentives in a PE-backed company?

How do you evaluate a management team during due diligence?

How do you think about ESG in private equity investing?

How would you assess a company's recurring revenue quality?

Walk me through a buy-and-build strategy.

What is a dividend recapitalization and when would a PE firm do one?

What is the difference between gross and net returns in PE?

What is the difference between a platform and a bolt-on acquisition?

How do rising interest rates affect PE deal economics?

Tell me about a time you had to convince a skeptical audience.

Tell me about a time you had to work on multiple projects with competing deadlines.

What is a 100-day plan for a newly acquired portfolio company?

How would you analyze a SaaS company for a potential LBO?

What is the difference between a financial sponsor and a strategic buyer in an auction?

How do you assess a company's defensibility against competition?

What are the key differences between growth equity and buyout?

What do you think is the most important skill for a PE associate?

How would you improve the margins of a manufacturing company?

Walk me through how you would size an add-on acquisition.

What is a management presentation and what do you focus on?

What are the key risks in a PE investment and how do you mitigate them?

How would you handle a portfolio company that is underperforming its business plan?

What industries are particularly attractive for PE investment right now?

What is an earn-out and when would you use one in a PE deal?

How would you evaluate a SaaS company for a potential PE investment?

Tell me about a time you identified a risk that others had overlooked.

How would you structure a management incentive plan for a PE portfolio company?

How do you calculate and interpret the debt-to-equity ratio in the context of an LBO?

How would you approach operational improvement at a newly acquired manufacturing company?

Walk me through a dividend recapitalization. When and why would a PE firm do one?

What is the J-curve in private equity and how does it affect investor returns?

What is your view on the role of AI in private equity value creation?

What is a continuation fund and why have they become popular in PE?

Occasional Questions

How would you approach valuing a company with negative EBITDA?

What are continuation vehicles and why have they become popular?

What is a waterfall distribution in PE fund structure?

How do you think about sector specialization in PE?

Explain the concept of a co-investment in PE.

What is the role of private credit in PE transactions?

What is a take-private transaction and what are the key considerations?

How do you think about portfolio construction at a PE fund level?

Private Equity

Core Questions

If you buy a company for 8x EBITDA and EBITDA is $50M, walk me through the sources and uses.

How do you model a debt schedule in an LBO?

Tell me about yourself and why private equity.

What makes a good LBO candidate?

What is a quality of earnings analysis and why is it important?

How do PE firms create operational value in portfolio companies?

Walk me through an LBO model.