If you’re serious about getting into M&A, read this: AI is already helping people: → Analyze deals in seconds → Detect financial manipulation → Review contracts instantly → Build deal pipelines automatically → Optimize companies after acquisition This means: Less manual work More clarity Better deals Simple. The barrier to entry is dropping fast. 🎥 Watch the full video to understand how And start learning here (free): https://paulseabridge.online/free-dealmaker-training Let’s build 💪

Most people think M&A is about: ❌ Experience ❌ Capital ❌ Network But right now, the real edge is: 👉 AI Imagine being able to: - Find deals before anyone else - Analyze them instantly - Avoid bad acquisitions early - Improve performance post-deal That’s already happening. 🎥 Watch the full video to see how it works And if you want to go deeper: Free course here:https://paulseabridge.online/free-dealmaker-training Quick question: 👉 Which part of M&A do you think AI will disrupt the most?

- Finding deals before they hit the market - Analyzing thousands of companies automatically - Detecting red flags in seconds - Speeding up due diligence massively - Improving businesses after acquisition This isn’t hype. It’s real competitive advantage. 🎥 Watch the full video breakdown here And if you want to learn step-by-step: Free M&A course:https://paulseabridge.online/free-dealmaker-training

There is clearly more to deal making that just numbers on a spreadsheet but I wanted in this article to use the analysis of a real deal that on a spreadsheet stacked up but under real analysis was broken. It is a mistake many inexperienced buyers make – confusing EBITDA for Cash. Lets dive right in: I recently looked at a deal in the UK it’s a £50M Engineering Company. Gross margins have remained stable 26% in 2023, 27% in 2024 and 28% in 2025 and Operating Profits have fluctuated from £1.7m in 2023 to 2.6m in 2025. With depreciation EBITDA is £3m up from £2m the year before, down from £3.5m the year before that. If I took a blended average of £2.8m EBITDA over the three years, multiple by 3 (typical multiples for Engineering SMEs 2.5-3x) and then add the balance sheet of £7.6M to it I get a total deal of £16M. Then from a funding perspective I could raise around £8M at closing using invoice finance so essentially pay 50% upfront, and 50% on a deferred basis. EBITDA currently of £3.2m the debt servicing would be around £1M to the lender and £1.6M to the seller (seller note, £8M over 5 years) total debt servicing £2.6M coverage: 1.23 – just about in the realms of affordability. It’s a bit tight if you factor in Capex at £200k and Tax at around £600k, that brings it down to 0.9 which is not acceptable but with some financial re-engineering you could release around £750k in cash and £200k in profit so it would work. But I just wanted to share some analysis that the spreadsheet doesn’t tell you. On paper, this looks like a perfectly financeable deal. £3.2m of EBITDA, £2.6m of total debt servicing, and a coverage ratio of 1.23x. Tight, but within range. With some working capital optimisation, you might convince yourself this works. The reality is very different. When you go beyond EBITDA and actually look at the cashflow, the whole picture changes. The business only generated around £1.0m of operating cash in the most recent year. That’s not a small variance – that’s a fundamental disconnect between profit and cash. You’re not levering £3.2m of earnings, you’re levering just over £1m of real cash generation.

🚨 Why Sellers ACTUALLY Say Yes (It’s NOT what you think) Most beginners focus on one thing: 👉 “What price should I offer?” But experienced dealmakers know… That’s NOT what closes deals. In this video, I break down exactly how to: ✅ Present an acquisition offer like a pro ✅ Build trust with sellers (this is EVERYTHING) ✅ Structure deals using seller financing & deferred payments ✅ Position yourself—even if you’ve never done a deal ✅ Walk sellers through your plan so they feel confident saying yes 💡 Key takeaway: The buyer matters as much (or more) than the money. If the seller doesn’t trust you…The deal is dead. 🎥 Watch the full video here:https://youtu.be/TMbv7alirR0 🔥 ALSO — We’re hosting a FREE webinar where we show: 👉 How to do deals properly 👉 Step-by-step acquisition framework 👉 How to actually get your first deal across the line Join the waiting list:https://paulseabridge.online/free-dealmaker-training 👇 COMMENT BELOW: What’s the last deal you looked at? (industry + size)