M&A Case Interview Example: Synergies and Max Price (2026)

An M&A case interview example asks whether a buyer should acquire a target, and at what price. Here Ironleaf Foods is asked to buy Sprout Kitchen for $290M: $252M standalone value plus $72M of synergies minus $24M of integration cost is a $300M ceiling, so the answer is a conditional yes, with a bid near $275M.

This guide covers the clarifying questions, the implied multiple, the maximum price, the integration risks and the recommendation out loud.

Use it as a full merger and acquisition case interview example and an M&A case study example to rehearse.

Practice it live: NorthStar Logistics Acquisition of RouteWave TMS is a different client with its own data, so you can run the same skills on a case you have not seen. The full list of M&A practice cases is further down.

What does an M&A case interview example look like?

A good M&A case interview example has six parts: a prompt with a price on it, a short round of clarifying questions, a structure, one or two calculations, an exhibit to read, and a spoken recommendation with a walk-away price. The case below has all six. It is fictional: the client, the numbers and the synergy inputs were written for practice, so treat the 80% capture rate and the 6x value of synergies as case inputs, not market facts.

For the general method behind it, see the M&A case framework. This page is the other half: one case, worked end to end, with every number shown.

Try the first two minutes on your own: what would you ask, and what is your first instinct on price? Then read on.

Exhibit 1: Sprout Kitchen financials, 2022 to 2024 ($M)

Read it before you calculate. Revenue is up 67% in two years (90 to 150), margin is rising, but growth is slowing from 31.1% to 27.1%. That sets up the price debate: the seller will point at growth, and you will ask what a buyer should pay for it.

Which clarifying questions should you ask, and what do the answers say?

Ask for the facts that change the price, not for background. These six are enough, with the interviewer's answers as they would come in the room. If you want a longer bank of openers, see clarifying questions in a case interview.

You: What exactly does the $290M cover?
Interviewer: Enterprise value for 100% of Sprout Kitchen, debt-free and cash-free.

You: Does the base case include revenue synergies, like selling Sprout through Ironleaf's accounts?
Interviewer: No. Leadership will only underwrite cost synergies for now.

You: How does Ironleaf value a target?
Interviewer: At the median EV/EBITDA multiple of public peers. Cost synergies are valued separately, at 6 times the run-rate you capture, because they are less certain than earnings.

You: How big are the cost synergies, and how much usually gets captured?
Interviewer: About $15M a year at full run-rate, from purchasing, co-packing and shared distribution. Finance haircuts that to 80% in the base case.

You: What does integration cost, and how long does it take?
Interviewer: $24M of one-time cost: systems, plant retooling and retention bonuses. Synergies ramp over 24 months.

You: Any limit on what Ironleaf can pay?
Interviewer: The CFO can finance up to $310M without breaching leverage limits. There is no confirmed rival bidder.

Notice what the answers did. They gave you a valuation rule (peer median), a synergy rule (6x on captured run-rate) and a ceiling on financing ($310M). They also took revenue synergies off the table, which is the most common way candidates overpay in their head.

How do you structure an M&A case?

Use four branches and put the case's numbers on them, so the structure doubles as your plan for the next ten minutes.

Say the structure out loud in about 30 seconds and state the order: "I will test fit first, value Sprout on its own, add what only Ironleaf can add, then check whether integration can deliver it." This is the same sequence as the M&A framework, compressed. A one-line strategic-fit answer is enough here: plant-based is a growth category Ironleaf does not own, and buying it is faster than building a brand.

What multiple does the $290M ask imply?

The ask implies 13.8 times EBITDA, 15% above the peer median of 12.0x. That is the first number to compute, because it tells you how much of the seller's story you are being asked to pay for.

The math: $290M / $21M = 13.81x. Against the 12.0x median: 13.81 / 12.0 - 1 = 15.1%.

Exhibit 2: Peer multiples versus growth

The median multiple is 12.0x and the median growth is 12%. Sprout grows 27.1%, faster than every peer, and the two fastest peers trade at 13.0x and 14.5x. So the ask sits inside the range a growth story can defend. A candidate who says "13.8x is too high, walk away" is wrong on the evidence; one who says "13.8x is fair because it grows fast" has stopped before the real question.

The interviewer may push: "So is $290M a fair price?" The strong reply separates two questions. Standalone, the price is arguable. For Ironleaf, the right test is whether the deal still clears after paying for the synergies Ironleaf creates, because that value belongs to the buyer unless it gets handed to the seller in the price. Ironleaf's own rule is to value standalone at the peer median, so the growth premium is upside to negotiate with, not base case.

What is the maximum price Ironleaf should pay?

The maximum price is standalone value plus the value of captured synergies, minus one-time integration cost: $252M + $72M - $24M = $300M. The ask is $290M, so there is $10M of headroom, only 3% of the ask.

Exhibit 3: Value bridge to the maximum price ($M)

Say the answer in one sentence: "The most we can justify is about $300M, so at $290M we would keep only $10M of the value we create, which is thin." If your arithmetic is shaky under pressure, rehearse it with case interview math practice before your next mock.

What if the synergies come in lower? The sensitivity grid

A single ceiling hides the real risk. The ceiling moves one-for-one with integration cost and by $0.9M for each point of synergy capture, because $15M x 6 = $90M at full capture. The formula is: ceiling = 252 + 90 x capture - integration cost.

Every cell marked "under ask" is a deal that destroys value at $290M. Three readings matter:

• Break-even capture at the ask: with $24M of integration cost, (290 - 252 + 24) / 90 = 62 / 90 = 68.9%. Base capture is 80%, so the slack is 11 points.
• Break-even integration cost at 80% capture: 252 + 72 - 290 = $34M, only $10M above the $24M plan.
• What a lower bid buys you: at $275M the break-even capture falls to (275 - 252 + 24) / 90 = 47 / 90 = 52.2%. The deal then survives a miss of nearly 28 points.

That last line is the argument for negotiating. The grid turns "I think the price is a bit high" into "every $15M we shave off the price buys 17 points of safety on the synergy plan." If you want to see this method applied to a different industry, the healthcare M&A case interview example runs the same logic with its own numbers.

What integration risks should you put guardrails on?

Pick the two risks that can erase the $72M of synergy value and attach a control to each. Do not list five.

Exhibit 4: Integration risk by workstream (1 = low, 5 = high)

The risk scores are case inputs. The skill is linking each risk to a number: if brand trust slips and sales fall, the purchasing and co-packing synergies still arrive, but the $15M target could shrink, which is exactly the capture-rate axis on the grid. For a deeper view of how buyers test this before signing, see the due diligence framework.

What does the recommendation sound like out loud?

Interviewers usually give you a minute to think and then ask for your answer as if speaking to the CEO. Lead with the decision, give the numbers, name the risk and end with a next step. The format follows the case interview synthesis structure.

Two details make this strong. It gives a price and a walk-away price, not just "yes". And it uses the grid: the buyer's real protection is a lower price, not optimism about synergies.

How do interviewers score an M&A case?

Interviewers score the order of your logic and the realism of your assumptions more than the final yes or no. Four things separate a pass from a miss.

Inside Road to Offer, every debrief scores seven categories: structure (25% of the score), quantitative analysis (20%), business judgment (15%), and problem understanding, exhibit reading, communication and synthesis (10% each). An M&A case leans on the first three. A clean structure is worth more than a rounding error, and the business judgment is the walk-away price.

What are the common mistakes in an M&A case?

What does a second M&A case study example look like?

A shorter deal tests the same ideas with payback instead of valuation. Ironleaf now eyes Barrowfield Sauces (fictional), a $40M-revenue sauce maker. Its EBITDA is $8M, and the owners want $64M. Ironleaf expects $2M a year of cost synergies and $6M of integration cost, and its rule is to accept payback of 7 years or less.

• Standalone payback: $64M / $8M = 8.0 years, which fails.
• With synergies: $64M / ($8M + $2M) = 6.4 years, which passes.
• With integration cost included: ($64M + $6M) / $10M = 7.0 years, right on the line.

The honest answer is "it passes only if the $2M of synergies is real, and it has no margin." Payback is a sanity check, not a valuation: it ignores growth and the time value of money, so say that when you use it. For a worked payback case with debt and distribution synergies, see the consumer goods M&A case interview example.

Which M&A case interview example should you do next?

Do a different industry each time so you practice the method, not the answer. These four are real library cases, each with a different test: the first is the closest cousin to the Ironleaf case, the others change what the price depends on.

Case (style, industry)	Quant difficulty	Qualitative difficulty	The math you run	Median time
NorthStar Logistics Acquisition of RouteWave TMS (BCG, logistics software). 8 (2 with math), 4 exhibits.logistics softwareQuant difficulty mediumQualitative difficulty hard20 min· 19 voice runsTry free	medium	hard	EV/EBITDA multiple, maximum justified price	20 min19 voice runs20 min, 19 voice runs	Try free
HarborHealth Acquisition of MedLink Virtual Care (BCG, digital health). 8 (2 with math), 4 exhibits.digital healthQuant difficulty mediumQualitative difficulty hard27 min· 28 voice runsTry free	medium	hard	EV/EBITDA multiple, maximum justified offer	27 min28 voice runs27 min, 28 voice runs	Try free
Craft Beverage Acquisition (Bain, beverages). 8 (4 with math), 3 exhibits.beveragesBainQuant difficulty mediumQualitative difficulty medium24 min· 14 voice runsTry free	medium	medium	Target profit, payback, synergy-adjusted payback	24 min14 voice runs24 min, 14 voice runs	Try free
Smart Radiators Acquisition (Bain, home heating). 7 (1 with math), 2 exhibits.home heatingBainQuant difficulty mediumQualitative difficulty mediumFewer than 10 runsTry free	medium	medium	Target EBITDA, multiple-based value	Fewer than 10 runsFewer than 10 runs	Try free

More are in the case library, 92 cases in all. Median times come from completed runs between June 25 and September 22, 2026, and count runs, not people. Your first full case is free when you create an account.

How do real merger and acquisition case studies differ from interview cases?

A real merger and acquisition case study is a retrospective: it uses a named deal, public filings and years of hindsight to ask why a price was right or wrong. An interview case gives you a few numbers and 25 to 35 minutes and asks for a decision. Both teach the same lesson. Harvard Business Review's 2011 article "The Big Idea: The New M&A Playbook" states that studies put the failure rate of mergers and acquisitions between 70% and 90% (checked November 2026). That is why interviewers push on the walk-away price and the integration plan, not on the headline yes or no.

If your interview is at a bank rather than a consulting firm, the questions are different (accretion, dilution, goodwill). Use merger model interview questions for that, and the private equity case interview guide if the buyer is a fund, not a strategic acquirer.

Where to go next

• M&A case framework: the five-step method, the acquirer types and a second worked deal (MedCore and DataPulse).
• Case interview examples: twelve solved cases across every type, including a buyout.
• Case interview frameworks guide: which structure to use for which prompt.
• Profitability framework and market entry framework: the two types you will most often meet alongside M&A.
• Firm practice pages: McKinsey practice cases, BCG case interview practice and Bain practice cases.

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Sources

• Harvard Business Review, "The Big Idea: The New M&A Playbook" (failure rate of mergers and acquisitions; checked November 7, 2026): hbr.org/2011/03/the-big-idea-the-new-ma-playbook
• The Ironleaf Foods, Sprout Kitchen and Barrowfield Sauces cases are fictional and written for practice. Every figure, including the peer multiples, the 80% capture rate, the 6x value of synergies and the integration cost, is a case input, not market data.