Customer Reviews

Investment Banking: Valuation, Leveraged Buyouts, and Mergers and Acquisitions (Wiley Finance)

5 star:		(192)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you want to learn how academics think valuation should be done, read Damodaran's "Investment Valuation". If you want to know how valuation is carried out in practice in the M&A market, read this excelent book (don't misunderstand me, Damodaran's book is also very good).

As a detailed discussion of valuation in the M&A context, this book is a gem. It summarizes the various approaches, and the chapter on the M&A process is correct and adequately detailed. The links to online models were especially helpful, and we are making this book required reading for new analysts at our boutique M&A shop.

For those interested in understanding the theory behind valuation, Aswath Damodaran, "Investment Valuation" still has first place. And for those who need to value non-standard assets (oil & gas, real estate, insurance companies) Jeffrey Hooke, "Security Analysis on Wall Street" remains essential.

Investment banking is one of those industries where the only constant is change. The books I had from just a few years ago now seem hopelessly out-of-date. That's why I'm so happy I found this book - it's my bible for the finance world. I've already bought copies for friends - I even got one for my financial advisor and he loved it! I'm definitely going to send a copy to everyone I know who's preparing for Wall Street interviews now. The concepts are sophisticated but the book is so well-written it makes complex valuation seem like second nature.

This is an excellent book on the heart of investment banking. There are many fun books that introduce the worlds of investment banking, what it is, what they do, etc. Once one has learned about the basics of the industry, the next step is to master the technical skill set, or the art, or financial modeling and analysis. Everything that bankers do is grounded in valuation theory and corporate finance. These are the hard skill sets that are not taught in either undergraduate curriculum or even graduate school, regardless of if you go to HBS or MIT or INSEAD. Coincidentally, most of the end users of such books on modeling and valuation are the very same students that attend the like of Wharton that aspire to become senior career bankers.

When I first got into this world there were no books on the subject (roughly back in the early 90s). Now with this one book anyone aspiring to be a world class technical banker can acquire the skills thru self study. I have also used the same financial modeling vendors that the actual banks use to train new Analysts and Associates. This one book is an excellent addition to the limited literature on self-study financial modeling and analysis done, which is the core transferable skill set at the junior banker level. The heart of modeling is what helps departing Analysts transition to buy side positions such as hedge funds, mutual funds, buy-side research, endowments, and other institutional investors.

This book is perfect for the completely uninitiated. Whereas I had already had an extensive background in the subject, I honestly feel this is the perfect unassuming intro for all the liberal arts majors that want to experience life in high finance. Literally everyone agrees that mastering banking is a "craft" and apprenticeship business in which the senior most banker passed on his expertise and judgement to the junior resources. However, books such this one allow enterprising junior resources to master most of the technical, hard skill aspects of the job without spending 3 years as an Analyst or Associate. Nothing beats actual deal experience, but this book makes the learning curve much less step in a very intimidating and challenging industry for new hires.

On a final note, this book is technical enough that someone with a very extensive background can still benefit from the material. Despite having been self taught most of the valuation methods and mastering them, this book single handedly is my reference in actual consulting projects that I do in my part time. I would refer this book to any undergraduate, MBA student, newly minted M&A lawyer, accountant, corporate development professional, or anyone else because the essential skill set of financial modeling and valuation theory is at the heart of all these disparate types of positions.

With this one book I can mentor all my friend that are majoring in finance and teach them what took me years to learn piece meal when such information was non-existent and extremely proprietary and difficult to come by.

The book is recommended and you will easily find enough reviews for this book.

A note to be added is the resolution of Kindle book. I notice it is a general problem of all Kindle book that when the contents come with a big chart or table, most of them can be hardly read as the resolution is not enough for zooming in. I tried it on my iPad and laptop, and I am sure it is not the problem of my screen resolution.

In addition, it will be great if the charts and tables in Kindle books are allowed to be rotated.

Amazon, please fix it. Otherwise, most of these books are useless as the charts and tables inside are the crucial part of the content.

Love the i-banking book. I do middle-market M&A so I haven't been exposed to LBO models and the classic trading and tx comps that a typical wall street banker would do. But I found the book really engaging and really appreciate the worksheets that you uploaded. I hope you all come up with a second volume or come out with more books in the future.

Josh:

Recently, I purchased your book "Investment Banking" and have enjoyed reading it so far. I am a 6+ year commercial/operations business professional with a Fortune 20 firm seeking to move into the BD/M&A function either within or outside of the current firm. The content you all have layed out is very detailed and beneficial, similar to the in-person training completed last year in the intensive valuation/modeling program run by the Investment Banking Institute.

Thanks for creating this guidebook to Invesment Banking. Look forward to reading further.

Best wishes,
Andrew

This book is amazing!! It takes you step-by-step from A to Z on how to value target companies using the most popular valuation methods currently used on Wall Street. If you are a beginner seeking to gain an edge on your interviews, during your summer internship or even in your first few years in IB, this book will give you that edge.

When I first decided to change careers and get into finance I knew I was at a distinct disadvantage for not having spent years in the trenches as an analyst and associate at a major i-bank. I had none of the experience that goes into developing a banker and I did not know where to start. Therefore I am thankful that Pearl and Rosenblaum have successfully codified in one volume knowledge that was traditionally passed down from senior-banker to junior-banker. Their book has gone farther than any other textbook in educating me what is needed to build the foundation for getting deals done. I will keep this book close by for future reference. Well done.

This book is the best guide available for those looking to embark on careers in finance as well as those who are already working in the field of finance. The work is particularly useful because it is written by actual finance professionals. This translates into a highly effective book that focuses on the topics that matter most in real investment banking and other finance positions. For those looking to get jobs at investment banks, private equity shops, or hedge funds, this book is an essential guide.