Prepare for your Lazard investment banking interview

M&A and financial advisory cases calibrated to Lazard's prestige as an independent boutique and client-intimate advisor.

Socratify AI

The Interview

What Lazard is looking for

M&A Case Interview

M&A & Advisory Cases

01Deal Structuring

02Valuation Frameworks

03Strategic Advisory

04Client Presentation

Behavioral Interview

01Sophisticated Client Thinking

02Attention to Detail

03Judgment Under Complexity

04Advisory Mindset

Leading independent investment bank//Client-intimate advisory approach//High-quality M&A advisory

Practice Library

Lazard exercises

Ready to ace your Lazard investment banking interview?

Prepare for your Lazard investment banking interview

M&A and financial advisory cases calibrated to Lazard's prestige as an independent boutique and client-intimate advisor.

Socratify AI

The Interview

What Lazard is looking for

M&A Case Interview

M&A & Advisory Cases

01Deal Structuring

02Valuation Frameworks

03Strategic Advisory

04Client Presentation

Behavioral Interview

01Sophisticated Client Thinking

02Attention to Detail

03Judgment Under Complexity

04Advisory Mindset

Leading independent investment bank//Client-intimate advisory approach//High-quality M&A advisory

How It Works

Master Lazard IB Interviews

M&A and advisory cases evaluated on Lazard's high bar for sophisticated client counsel and deal expertise. · Click to expand

1Your Investment Banking Goals

M&A Analysis

Practitioner

Valuation Frameworks

Practitioner

2Investment Banking Case Prep

Your mid-cap industrial client is evaluating a $750M acquisition. Walk me through your...

CASE INTERVIEWHard

Lazard

3Frameworks

Framework

Is this acquisition strategically accretive to our client?

What is the combined market opportunity post-merger?

Combined TAM: $45B, growing 18% YoY (vs industry 12%)

Buyer + Target combined market share: 15% (fragmented market)

What revenue and cost synergies can we realistically achieve?

Revenue synergies: $120M from cross-sell + upsell (18-month payoff)

Cost synergies: $45M annually from G&A and R&D consolidation

Are the financial metrics attractive?

Is the purchase price justified by the target's fundamentals?

Target valuation: $500M at 2.5x revenue multiple (vs buyer 6x)

Target EBITDA margin: 28% (vs buyer 35%)

What is the deal payback period including synergies?

Payback: 2.8 years at $50M annual synergies (post-integration costs)

Can we execute the integration successfully?

What are the key integration risks?

Technical debt: Target's legacy platform requires $40M engineering investment

Customer churn risk: 15% historical churn post-acquisition in category

Do we have the talent and bandwidth to integrate?

Integration team: 18 FTE, 18-month timeline (vs buyer's 3 prior deals)

4Feedback

Transaction Structure

Distinctive

Valuation Rigor

Distinctive

Deal Economics

Strong

Communicating Recommendations

Strong

Repeat

Practice Library

Lazard exercises

Your mid-cap industrial client is evaluating a $750M acquisition. Walk me through your...

CASE INTERVIEWHard

Industrials · M&A ValuationLazard

Build the investment thesis for a potential acquisition target in a new market.

LEARNHard

Multi-Sector · Investment ThesisLazard

Design the integration plan and risk mitigation strategy for a $500M deal.

LEARNHard

Multi-Sector · Integration PlanningLazard

Tell me about a time you had to explain a complex recommendation to a sophisticated...

BEHAVIORALMedium

Behavioral · Client PresentationLazard

Describe a situation where you had to balance multiple stakeholder interests in an...

BEHAVIORALMedium

Behavioral · Stakeholder ManagementLazard