ma-playbook
M&A strategy for acquiring companies or being acquired. Due diligence, valuation, integration, and deal structure. Use when evaluating acquisitions, preparing for acquisition, M&A due diligence, integration planning, or deal negotiation.
Install via CLI (Recommended)
clawhub install openclaw/skills/skills/alirezarezvani/ma-playbookM&A Playbook
Frameworks for both sides of M&A: acquiring companies and being acquired.
Keywords
M&A, mergers and acquisitions, due diligence, acquisition, acqui-hire, integration, deal structure, valuation, LOI, term sheet, earnout
Quick Start
Acquiring: Start with strategic rationale → target screening → due diligence → valuation → negotiation → integration.
Being Acquired: Start with readiness assessment → data room prep → advisor selection → negotiation → transition.
When You're Acquiring
Strategic Rationale (answer before anything else)
- Buy vs Build: Can you build this faster/cheaper? If yes, don't acquire.
- Acqui-hire vs Product vs Market: What are you really buying? Talent? Technology? Customers?
- Integration complexity: How hard is it to merge this into your company?
Due Diligence Checklist
| Domain | Key Questions | Red Flags |
|---|---|---|
| Financial | Revenue quality, customer concentration, burn rate | >30% revenue from 1 customer |
| Technical | Code quality, tech debt, architecture fit | Monolith with no tests |
| Legal | IP ownership, pending litigation, contracts | Key IP owned by individuals |
| People | Key person risk, culture fit, retention risk | Founders have no lockup/earnout |
| Market | Market position, competitive threats | Declining market share |
| Customers | Churn rate, NPS, contract terms | High churn, short contracts |
Valuation Approaches
- Revenue multiple: Industry-dependent (2-15x ARR for SaaS)
- Comparable transactions: What similar companies sold for
- DCF: For profitable companies only (most startups: use multiples)
- Acqui-hire: $1-3M per engineer in hot markets
Integration Frameworks
See references/integration-playbook.md for the 100-day integration plan.
When You're Being Acquired
Readiness Signals
- Inbound interest from strategic buyers
- Market consolidation happening around you
- Fundraising becomes harder than operating
- Founder ready for a transition
Preparation (6-12 months before)
- Clean up financials (audited if possible)
- Document all IP and contracts
- Reduce customer concentration
- Lock up key employees
- Build the data room
- Engage an M&A advisor
Negotiation Points
| Term | What to Watch | Your Leverage |
|---|---|---|
| Valuation | Earnout traps (unreachable targets) | Multiple competing offers |
| Earnout | Milestone definitions, measurement period | Cash-heavy vs earnout-heavy split |
| Lockup | Duration, conditions | Your replaceability |
| Rep & warranties | Scope of liability | Escrow vs indemnification cap |
| Employee retention | Who gets offers, at what terms | Key person dependencies |
Red Flags (Both Sides)
Metadata
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{
"plugins": {
"official-alirezarezvani-ma-playbook": {
"enabled": true,
"auto_update": true
}
}
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