Assess whether working capital should be a walk-away (57458f)
August 31, 2026
SITUATION A sponsor doing confirmatory after a tight auction cannot treat an earnout based on 'adjusted EBITDA' with no dictionary as incidental context on working-capital peg versus seasonal reality. Buy-side QoE lead must close working capital should be from that extract under M&A Due Diligence / Separation and Integration.
DECISION Buy-side QoE lead in a sponsor doing confirmatory after a tight auction must choose Proceed / Reprice / Walk / Hold using working-capital peg versus seasonal reality after an earnout based on 'adjusted EBITDA' with no dictionary.
HYPOTHESES TO TEST 1. Working-capital peg versus seasonal reality reads as Proceed once an earnout based on 'adjusted EBITDA' with no dictionary is lined up to the same M&A Due Diligence population. 2. Working-capital peg versus seasonal reality is closer to Reprice after an earnout based on 'adjusted EBITDA' with no dictionary; Proceed would over-claim this Separation and Integration extract. 3. Walk is still live in working-capital peg versus seasonal reality for buy-side QoE lead in a sponsor doing confirmatory after a tight auction. 4. Working-capital peg versus seasonal reality is missing the fact buy-side QoE lead needs after an earnout based on 'adjusted EBITDA' with no dictionary; stop this M&A Due Diligence close.
ANALYSIS REQUIRED 1. Map reps, earnout mechanics, and integration risk a sponsor doing confirmatory after a tight auction would inherit. 2. Tie quality-of-earnings, working-capital, and contingent items in working-capital peg versus seasonal reality to working capital should be. 3. Name the document buy-side QoE lead still needs before signing. 4. For this M&A Due Diligence Separation and Integration file, read working-capital peg versus seasonal reality against an earnout based on 'adjusted EBITDA' with no dictionary and write the one fact that would move working capital should be for buy-side QoE lead.
RECOMMENDATION Choose Proceed / Reprice / Walk / Hold on this M&A Due Diligence / Separation and Integration packet (working-capital peg versus seasonal reality after an earnout based on 'adjusted EBITDA' with no dictionary). Lead with the M&A Due Diligence option working-capital peg versus seasonal reality can support after an earnout based on 'adjusted EBITDA' with no dictionary, then the two facts that force it, then the Monday action for buy-side QoE lead in a sponsor doing confirmatory after a tight auction.
COMMAND RETURNS - Bottom-line M&A Due Diligence option on working capital should be, then the evidence in working-capital peg versus seasonal reality, then the action for buy-side QoE lead - Hypothesis scorecard against working-capital peg versus seasonal reality: supported / rejected / untestable - What changes working capital should be if an earnout based on 'adjusted EBITDA' with no dictionary is later withdrawn - Named option among Proceed, Reprice, Walk and the fact that kills the others
Explore more
More M&A Due Diligence prompts
- Assess whether a top customer is actually sticky (c97a4c)
- Assess whether regulatory approval is a timing risk or a deal risk (0fe0e1)
- Assess whether related-party sales should be backed out of valuation (f2c303)
- Assess whether the carve-out is operable on day one (bd4a11)
- Assess whether working capital should be a walk-away (393292)
Explore related decision areas
- Whether claimed differentiators would survive a fact check from OCIGovernment RFP
- Assess whether cyber controls claimed are actually in force (b94b9a)Insurance Underwriting
- Assess whether a referral to counsel is warranted after a warehouse countForensic Accounting
See governed multi-model AI on your own prompt
Compare GPT-5, Claude, and Gemini side by side, with human review and a decision record built in.

