Year 4 · Professional Finance · Capstone Investment / Deal Case
Capstone Investment / Deal Case
Synthesize accounting, valuation, markets, portfolio thinking, deal analysis, risk and professional communication into one end-to-end decision.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
What you should be able to explain after this lesson
01
Turn an ambiguous finance brief into a structured decision process.
02
Diagnose a company using operating, accounting and cash-flow evidence.
03
Build a coherent forecast and identify the assumptions that truly drive value.
04
Triangulate DCF, trading comps and transaction logic rather than relying on one valuation output.
05
Evaluate financing, leverage, accretion/dilution and downside risk.
06
Translate macro and market conditions into company-specific implications.
07
Make a recommendation with explicit catalysts, risks, scenarios and invalidation conditions.
08
Defend the recommendation in an investment-committee or interview-style discussion.
CONCEPT MAPFrom raw case file to defendable decision
Start with the decision, not the spreadsheet
CORE FACTS · SAME IN EVERY MODE
The capstone company is Asterion Payments, a fictional payments platform used to make the case self-contained.
Asterion has $1.20bn revenue, $240m EBITDA, $180m EBIT, $150m free cash flow and $360m net debt.
With 100m diluted shares at $28, equity value is $2.80bn and enterprise value is approximately $3.16bn.
A strategic buyer is considering a $35-per-share cash offer, while your investment committee is also deciding whether to own the stock independently.
BeginnerTeaching style changes, knowledge does not.
Before calculating anything, write down the exact decisions: is the stock attractive at $28, and is a $35 acquisition price financially defensible? Every analysis that follows must help answer one of those questions.
PROFESSIONAL VOCABULARYDecision owner / decision owner / décideur Enterprise value / enterprise value / valeur d’entreprise
Person or committee accountable for the final financial decision.
Value of the operating business attributable to debt and equity capital providers.