alirezarezvani/ma-playbook
c-level-advisor/skills/ma-playbook/SKILL.md
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 --global
skillsauthnpx skillsauth add alirezarezvani/claude-skills ma-playbookInstall this skill globally with one command. Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and Windsurf.
Security Scan Results
3 of 9 scanners reported clean
Some scanners were skipped, did not run, or reported a non-clean status. Review each row below.
3
Scanners Passed
9
Scanners in report
Clean
TrivyContainer and dependency vulnerability scanner
95%
Clean
SemgrepStatic code analysis for vulnerabilities
95%
Clean
mcp-scan (Snyk)Model Context Protocol security validation
95%
Skipped
Snyk (dep)Open source security scanning
50%
Skipped
Socket.devSupply chain security analysis
50%
Skipped
VirusTotalMulti-engine malware detection
50%
Skipped
CrowdStrikeAdvanced threat intelligence
50%
Skipped
OSV-ScannerOpen Source Vulnerability database check
50%
Skipped
OWASP Dep-Check
50%
Last scanned: Jun 13, 2026, 4:19 AM310.0s3 files scanned
SKILL.md
- name:
- ma-playbook
- description:
- 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.
- license:
- MIT
- version:
- 1.0.0
- author:
- Alireza Rezvani
- category:
- c-level
- domain:
- ma-strategy
- updated:
- 2026-03-05
M&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
The ranges below are illustrative, not current market data — always verify against current market comps before using them in a model or negotiation.
- Revenue multiple: Industry-dependent (illustrative range: 2-15x ARR for SaaS, varying with growth rate, NRR, and rate environment)
- Comparable transactions: What similar companies sold for — the most defensible anchor
- DCF: For profitable companies only (most startups: use multiples)
- Acqui-hire: Illustrative range: $1-3M per engineer in hot talent markets
Sources to verify against (check the latest edition): the SaaS Capital Index (private SaaS revenue multiples, updated monthly), Software Equity Group (SEG) Annual/Quarterly SaaS M&A Reports (transaction multiples), and Aventis Advisors' SaaS valuation multiples reports. Cross-check at least two before anchoring a price.
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)
- No clear strategic rationale beyond "it's a good deal"
- Culture clash visible during due diligence and ignored
- Key people not locked in before close
- Integration plan doesn't exist or is "we'll figure it out"
- Valuation based on projections, not actuals
Verification Loop (before any LOI or signature)
This skill frames the deal; two sibling skills verify it. Hand off — don't duplicate:
- Legal terms →
general-counsel-advisor: run the LOI/term sheet through../general-counsel-advisor/scripts/term_sheet_analyzer.py(12-dimension 0-100 score) and the definitive docs through../general-counsel-advisor/scripts/contract_risk_scanner.py(12 founder-killer patterns: earnout traps, uncapped indemnity, vague IP, etc.). Any 🔴 finding goes to outside counsel before signing. - Data diligence →
chief-data-officer-advisor: run../chief-data-officer-advisor/scripts/ai_training_data_audit.py(training-data rights, GDPR Art. 6 basis) and../chief-data-officer-advisor/scripts/data_asset_valuator.py(data-asset value, M&A multiplier with carve-out penalties) on the target's data estate. Undocumented consent provenance is a price-reduction or walk-away item. - Valuation math →
cfo-advisortools for the quantitative model; this playbook stays qualitative.
Loop the findings back into the negotiation-points table above before the next counter.
Integration with C-Suite Roles
| Role | Contribution to M&A | |------|-------------------| | CEO | Strategic rationale, negotiation lead | | CFO | Valuation, deal structure, financing | | GC | LOI/term sheet review, contract risk scan, regulatory triggers | | CDO | Data diligence: training-data rights, data-asset valuation | | CTO | Technical due diligence, integration architecture | | CHRO | People due diligence, retention planning | | COO | Integration execution, process merge | | CPO | Product roadmap impact, customer overlap |
Resources
references/integration-playbook.md— 100-day post-acquisition integration planreferences/due-diligence-checklist.md— comprehensive DD checklist by domain../general-counsel-advisor/SKILL.md— term sheet analyzer + contract risk scanner../chief-data-officer-advisor/SKILL.md— data diligence + data-asset valuation
Related Skills
alirezarezvani/collab-proof
data-ai
VerifiedTrustedCommunity
Use when you want to understand what Claude contributed vs what you drove in a session. Triggers on: /collab-proof, session retrospective, ai contribution analysis, collaboration evidence, what did claude do.
17,936SKILL.mdUpdated Jun 13, 2026
alirezarezvani/claude-coach
data-ai
VerifiedTrustedCommunity
Personal coach that teaches users to become Claude power users. Use this skill the FIRST time a user asks to "learn Claude", "be a power user", "coach me", "teach me Claude tricks", "what can Claude do", "make me better at prompting", or any variation. After activation, also use it on EVERY subsequent turn to detect missed optimization opportunities (vague prompts, ignored capabilities, manual work Claude could automate) and surface a single power-user tip. Trigger generously — most users do not know what they do not know, so err on the side of coaching.
17,936SKILL.mdUpdated May 23, 2026
alirezarezvani/pricing-strategist
development
VerifiedTrustedCommunity
Use when designing or revisiting product pricing — selecting a pricing model (subscription seat-based, usage-based, value-based, freemium, or hybrid), running Van Westendorp Price Sensitivity Meter analysis on WTP survey data, or designing Good/Better/Best packaging tiers. Recommends a model and a price range with trade-offs, never a single number. For Commercial leads, Product Marketing, and CMOs at the pricing-design moment — not deal-by-deal discounting, not brand positioning.
17,936SKILL.mdUpdated May 20, 2026
alirezarezvani/partnerships-architect
testing
VerifiedTrustedCommunity
Use when a startup is approached by a prospective partner and someone has to decide should we sign this partner, at what partner tier (referral / reseller / OEM / SI-consulting / strategic alliance), with what joint GTM commitment, and at what revshare. Classifies partner tier from independent-demand evidence vs. preferential-terms hunting, designs a 90-day joint GTM plan, models revshare against direct-sale margin, and surfaces kill criteria for unwinding under-performing partnerships. For Head of Partnerships, Head of BD, and Founder-CEOs doing reseller agreement, OEM deal, or strategic alliance review — not technical sale enablement, not channel cost economics, not M&A.
17,936SKILL.mdUpdated May 20, 2026