Hello,
I have an interview with the PE practice at MBB coming up. I was wondering if anyone could recommend some PE-focused cases to practice?
Thank you!
Hi there,
1) Search on M&A here: https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases?language=en&topic%5B%5D=1&topic%5B%5D=19&sort=real-case-desc&page=1&perPage=20
2) Google and casebooks are your friend. Go to the various company sections to find M&A cases
3) Here's a case I wrote that is similar to what you might expect: https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/candidate-led-usual-style/intermediate/roma-solutions-senior-expert-level-tech-case-240
Here's some advice/reading regarding case prep: https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/how-to-shift-your-mindset-to-ace-the-case
And here's some advice/reading regarding fit prep:
https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/tell-me-about-yourself-interview-question
(edited)
Building on Benjamin:
I have gone through the interviews for PE groups across MBB and had 0 PE focused cases.
Case-wise: Consider it as a generalist application (i.e., prepare for all type of cases)
Fit-wise: Prepare for questions such as “why PE team”, “what relevant prior experience”, etc.
Hopefully this helps.
Jorn
(edited)
Feel free to schedule a coaching session with me.
I have been in PE practice both at Bain and AlixPartners and I now run a PE fund.
Best
Hi,
Agree that similar to other case studies, PE focused ones test similar qualities and bar is not different. However, useful to have a few to understand the nuances.
Happy to help 1:1 if you want to focus on PE cases. I’ve done +20 DDs in the last years, and have been recruiting using PE case myself.
Best of luck
Hi there,
I was an interviewer for BCG PE practice in SEA. Note that at least for BCG SEA, the bottom-line is that ringfence candidates should be at the minimum, evaluated on and be able to pass the generalists evaluation.
This means that you are graded (mostly) on the same metrics, and your interviewer may give you a PE specific case, or your interviewer may use the same (non PE specific) case he/she uses for generalist candidates.
The above might differ in other geographies/firms - and I’m happy to help you practice with a PE type case (CDD, portfolio ops), just drop me a message
Thank you so much, Benjamin! Is there any chance you could share some of those PE-focused cases, if they are in a casebook format?
Hi!
No. Why would you do this? Firstly, PE cases are in no way different from anything else. The same principles apply. If you have to rely on “sector knowlegde” to solve cases, you will have a big problem in MBB - no matter whether you interview for a specific practice or not. MBB firms are looking for superior problem solvers. The interviewer needs to be confident that you have a REPEATABLE process to understand and solve ANY issue - no matter you have prior knowledge or not. So invest in learning how to do rigorous problem solving, instead of wasting your time trying to acquire sector specific kowledge.
And by the way - very often, even if you interview for a specific practice, the cases you solve in the interviews have NOTHING to do with this practice. The reason is what I wrote above - MBB firms are looking for principle skills. And these are completely independent of the context a case is placed into.
Cheers, Sidi
