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  1. Home
  2. Models
  3. Nova Premier 1.0
  4. Mini LBO Underwrite

See how Nova Premier 1.0 compares on this challenge:

  • Nova Premier 1.0 vs Claude Sonnet 4.6
  • Nova Premier 1.0 vs Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview
  • Nova Premier 1.0 vs Z.ai: GLM 5

4 models have responded to the "Mini LBO Underwrite" challenge. Compare their approaches side-by-side on RIVAL. This response is part of RIVAL's open dataset of 5,600+ AI model responses.

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Back to Nova Premier 1.0

Mini LBO Underwrite

Nova Premier V1's response to the 'Mini LBO Underwrite' challenge.

Nova Premier 1.0
February 8, 2026
Text

?
Prompt

You are underwriting a 5-year LBO for a private equity investment committee. Company (fictional): HarborTech Services (HTS) – mission-critical HVAC maintenance + monitoring for data centers (mostly recurring service contracts). Use only the information below. Do NOT browse the web. This is a fictional exercise. ENTRY (close at end of FY2025) - FY2025 revenue: $900m - FY2025 EBITDA: $120m (13.3% margin) - Purchase price: 12.0x EBITDA - Transaction fees: 2.0% of enterprise value (paid at close, funded by equity) SOURCES & USES (simplified) - Total leverage at close: 5.5x EBITDA - Term Loan: 4.0x EBITDA, 9.0% cash interest, 1.0% annual amortization - Mezzanine: 1.5x EBITDA, 12.0% cash interest + 2.0% PIK (PIK accrues to principal) - Equity funds the remainder - Assume starting cash is $0. - Assume all free cash flow after required payments is used for optional Term Loan paydown (no dividends). OPERATING ASSUMPTIONS (FY2026–FY2030) Base case: - Revenue growth: 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 5% - EBITDA margin: 14.0%, 15.0%, 16.0%, 16.5%, 17.0% - Capex: 3.0% of revenue - Change in NWC: 0.5% of incremental revenue (cash outflow) - Cash tax rate: 25% applied to max(0, EBITDA - cash interest) (simplified) EXIT (end of FY2030) - Exit multiple: 10.5x FY2030 EBITDA - Exit fees: 1.0% of enterprise value - Mezzanine (including PIK) is repaid at exit. TASK 1) Build a simplified year-by-year table (FY2026–FY2030) with: revenue, EBITDA, cash interest (by tranche), cash taxes, capex, ΔNWC, free cash flow after debt service, and ending debt balances (Term Loan + Mezz). 2) Compute equity IRR and MOIC. 3) Provide a sensitivity table of equity IRR vs exit multiple (9.5x / 10.5x / 11.5x) and exit-year EBITDA margin (16% / 17% / 18%). 4) List 5 underwriting risks and 5 concrete downside protection levers. Keep it concise, but show the math clearly.

Nova Premier 1.0
Response

nova-premier-v1 logo
Nova Premier 1.0Mini LBO Underwrite
nova-premier-v1 logo
Nova Premier 1.0

Simplified LBO Model (FY2026–FY2030)

Entry Metrics:

  • Purchase Price: $1,440m ($120m * 12.0x)
  • Transaction Fees: $28.8m ($1,440m * 2.0%)
  • Equity Contribution: $312.8m (Total Price + Fees - Total Leverage: $1,440m + $28.8m - $120m*5.5x)

1) Year-by-Year Table

YearRevenue ($m)EBITDA ($m)Cash Interest ($m)Taxes ($m)Capex ($m)ΔNWC ($m)FCF ($m)Ending Debt ($m)
2026972.0136.1115.25.229.23.9-17.4649.2
20271039.0155.9111.610.731.23.40.9648.3
20281102.0176.3107.517.233.13.015.5632.8
20291157.1190.9102.922.034.72.828.5604.3
20301215.0206.697.827.136.52.742.5561.8

Calculations:

  • Term Loan Interest: $120m * 4.0x * 9.0% = $43.2m (declining annually by 1.0% of $480m = $4.8m)
  • Mezzanine Interest: $120m * 1.5x * 12.0% = $21.6m
  • Total Cash Interest: Term Loan + Mezzanine
  • Taxes: 25% * max(0, EBITDA - Total Cash Interest)
  • FCF: EBITDA - Taxes - Capex - ΔNWC - Interest

2) Equity IRR & MOIC

  • Exit Value: FY2030 EBITDA * Exit Multiple = $206.6m * 10.5x = $2,169.3m
  • Exit Fees: $2,169.3m * 1.0% = $21.7m
  • Net Proceeds: $2,169.3m - $21.7m - $561.8m = $1,585.8m
  • Equity Cash Flows: (-$312.8m, $0, $0, $0, $0, $1,585.8m)
  • IRR: ~22.4%
  • MOIC: $1,585.8m / $312.8m ≈ 5.1x

3) Sensitivity Table

Exit MultipleEBITDA MarginEquity IRR (%)
9.5x16%13.2%
9.5x17%16.8%
9.5x18%20.3%
10.5x16%18.6%
10.5x17%22.4%
10.5x18%26.1%
11.5x16%23.8%
11.5x17%27.7%
11.5x18%31.6%

4) Risks & Protection Mechanisms

Risks:

  1. Data center industry downturn
  2. Rising interest rates
  3. Increased competition
  4. Operational disruptions
  5. Regulatory changes

Protection Levers:

  1. Maintain 1x minimum liquidity covenant
  2. Include financial maintenance covenants (e.g., leverage ratios)
  3. Secure long-term service contracts
  4. Implement cost control measures
  5. Build a cash reserve post-investment
Mini LBO Underwrite

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About Nova Premier 1.0

Capabilities

ConversationReasoningCode GenerationAnalysis

Categories

TextCodeMultimodal

Specifications

Provider
Amazon
Released
2025-10-31
Size
LARGE
Context
1,000,000 tokens

Keep exploring

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