What is PE deal screening?

Deal screening is the early filter where investors decide whether a target deserves deeper diligence. You weigh growth quality, margins, leverage capacity, and risk before spending IC time.

Is this the same as a paper LBO?

No. A paper LBO tests return arithmetic. This challenge tests judgment under incomplete information and a mid-process shock.

Do I need an account?

No. Start immediately with no signup. Download a memo summary or continue into the free timed demo.

How is the score calculated?

You earn points for quality-score alignment, leverage fit, bid discipline, diligence prioritization, and an IC decision that responds to the risk event. Stretch bids with aggressive leverage are penalized when the shock hits.

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Judgment drill

Deal Screening Challenge

Walk an investment committee memo loop. Review a teaser, score quality, set capital structure, respond to a shock, and decide: advance, reprice, or pass.

Educational decision practice only. All targets are fictional. Not a recommendation on any real company or live transaction.

1Mode1
2Teaser2
3Quality3
4Structure4
5Shock5
6IC vote6

Pick a fictional teaser on the left. All companies are educational constructs.

Method

Deal screening is where PE judgment starts. This drill compresses teaser review, quality scoring, capital structure choice, diligence prioritization, and an IC vote into one coherent loop.

Scoring rewards coherent underwriting: quality scores that track the teaser, leverage that fits cash flow quality, a bid that respects fair value, diligence asks that would change the vote, and an IC decision that matches the risk event.

Strong screeners separate quality of earnings from story quality. Recurring software with concentration risk is not the same as a cash-converting distributor with cyclical volume. Leverage should scale with predictability: sticky cash flows can support more debt, but only if you still have room when a customer or payor shock arrives. Bid posture is the second filter. Stretching entry multiples leaves little room for multiple compression later. When a shock hits mid-process, the IC call should update the underwriting, not defend the original thesis by default. Reprice when the asset remains interesting at a lower entry. Pass when the risk changes the risk-return shape too far. Use this drill to rehearse that judgment loop, then practice full lifecycle consequences in the Super Simulator.

FAQ

Ready for the full deal room

Free tools build judgment under time. The Super Simulator puts that judgment into 20+ integrated workspaces across the PE lifecycle.

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