Exit Strategy Deck

About this template

An exit conversation runs in a different order

Twelve slides with three divider-plus-body sections: exit scenarios, potential acquirers, and valuation, followed by a comparison slide on trade sale versus IPO, four metric cards, a chart and a closing slide. That is the right length for a first conversation with an acquirer or an IPO underwriter. Once diligence starts, the data room takes over.

The agenda already matches the file

The agenda on slide 2 has six items – exit scenarios, potential acquirers, valuation, trade sale versus IPO, key metrics, trend – numbered 01 to 06, and every one of them has a slide. The first three are divider-plus-body pairs (3-4, 5-6, 7-8); the last three are single slides (9, 10, 11). If the other side asks for shareholder structure, diligence readiness or a timeline, duplicate a divider-plus-body pair, put it at the end, and add the matching agenda line. Extending the agenda without building the slide is what makes an agenda lie in the middle of a meeting.

The three sections are already the exit logic

1. Exit scenarios ships with a 24-month trade sale, a 36-month KOSDAQ listing, and a partial secondary sale. Only durations are given, so add an expected proceeds range to each line and the two routes become comparable.
2. Potential acquirers lists three domestic conglomerates contacted, two overseas peers interested, and cross-sell synergy estimated. Add the stage of each contact; if names cannot be used, give sector and size with the date of contact.
3. Valuation puts an EV/EBITDA multiple of 12x first, then five comparable transactions, then a base case of KRW 95B. Footnote the date and size of each comparable.

The valuation is already on a metric card

The metric cards on slide 10 read 12x EV/EBITDA, KRW 95B base enterprise value, 24 months to sale, and five parties in negotiation, with a footnote saying the values are examples. One judgement is needed here: naming a price in the first conversation sets your own ceiling. If several buyers can be put in competition, replace the enterprise value card with gross margin or top-three customer concentration. If a range has already been discussed, keep it, but state on the card or in a footnote which EBITDA period the 12x applies to – trailing twelve months or next-year estimate. “Five parties” collides with the five comparable transactions on slide 8, so make the label explicit.

Four scenario bars

Slide 11 holds conservative 60, base 95, optimistic 140 and strategic acquisition 180, captioned as an index against 100. It compares scenarios rather than time, so retitle it. Index values invite suspicion in a negotiation, so convert them to actual amounts – KRW 60B, 95B, 140B, 180B – and say in the caption what the base of 100 is. The base of 95 corresponds to the KRW 95B card, so any mismatch draws the first question. The highest bar needs one line stating the conditions under which it is reachable.

Cover and closing

Replace the template blurb on the cover with a one-line description and your adviser, and name only the person who will actually run the negotiation. On the closing slide, state the deal structure you want, such as willingness to stay through a two-year transition. The organization-name placeholder that repeats on every divider from slide 3, and the DETAIL and COMPARE labels, should be removed or rebranded before the file goes out.

Common mistakes

• Cramming three financial statements into twelve slides instead of sending them separately.
• Padding one side of slide 9. The two columns are matched on the same axes – three to four years against five or more, founder lock-up against continuous disclosure – and stretching one side only invites the question about the other.
• Stating 24 months to close without showing you are funded for those 24 months; that runway is your leverage.
• Naming five candidates without ranking them, which lets the calendar rather than the price drive the process.