17-tab template, two worked Micron examples (through-cycle + AI-cycle), reverse-LBO and reverse-DCF baked in. Free.
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Solve the LBO backward. Start with the price the public market is asking and a target sponsor IRR. Out comes the maximum entry multiple a financial buyer would pay β and the implied take-private price per share. If the implied price sits above the current quote, private capital would step in. If it sits below, the public is paying more than patient capital.
The highlighted row matches your headline target. Higher IRR thresholds require lower entry multiples β that's the trade-off between sponsor return and the price they'll pay.
Rows = target IRR. Columns = EBITDA growth assumption. Center cell uses your current inputs. Green = above current price (sponsor would pay up); red = below current (public is rich vs. sponsor); yellow = inside Β±5%.
Pre-loaded scorecards on cyclicals where the methodology disagreement is the recommendation. Click to load; the calculator above re-runs.
The forward LBO. Pick an entry multiple. Entry EV = entry mult Γ EBITDA. New term debt = leverage Γ EBITDA. Sponsor equity plugs the gap (plus 2% transaction fees). Run a year-by-year debt schedule with cash sweep, capex, NWC, taxes. At year H, exit EV = exit mult Γ terminal EBITDA. Sponsor IRR is the rate that makes the present value of (βequity in, +exit equity) equal zero.
The reverse direction. Fix the exit multiple, the leverage, the operating path, and the target IRR. Bisect on entry multiple until sponsor IRR hits the target. Convert the resulting entry EV into a per-share take-private price: Implied price = (Entry EV β Net Debt) / Shares. That's the headline output above.
The interpretation. If implied take-private price > current price, the public is paying less than a sponsor at your target IRR would — the kind of name a sponsor might bid for. If implied price < current price, the public is paying more than patient capital would; sponsors won't bid until either price falls or the operating story improves. The premium column tells you how much above current the take-private math justifies.
What this is useful for, even if no LBO is coming. Reverse-LBO is the cleanest way to ground a public-market thesis in capital-structure reality. It tells you "below price X, this name is takeable" β a real floor under the stock if the operating story holds. It also disciplines bull cases: if your bull thesis requires a multiple that no sponsor would underwrite at 20% IRR, you should at least know that.
What it isn't. The output is illustrative. Sponsors face availability of debt, regulatory friction, management cooperation, and price discovery dynamics that the math here doesn't capture. The disclaimer covers this in detail.
The full LBO/M&A template ships with two worked Micron examples (through-cycle + AI-cycle) so methodology disagreement is explicit, plus full sources & uses, year-by-year debt schedule with covenant tracking, returns attribution, peer-blended comps, accretion/dilution. Free.
β Open the LBO & M&A template"Reverse-LBO in five minutes" walks through the intuition, the typical mistakes, and where the framework breaks down. Then come back here.
β Read the postNothing on this page is investment advice or a take-private prediction. Built by Brandon Leon. See the full disclaimer — especially the section on screening tools and take-private analysis.