StretchLearn Course

Grow by Acquisition, Without Guessing

From strategic rationale to a 100-day integration plan, learn how real M&A deals are scoped, valued, and executed.

Beginner9 hr 35 minSelf PacedRegistered

Course Overview

What this course is designed to develop

This course demystifies mergers and acquisitions for founders, operators, and managers who are not finance specialists. It covers the strategic logic behind buying a company, the major deal structures, how buyers value targets, what due diligence actually checks, and how integration is planned so the deal delivers the synergies it promised. It also gives equal weight to growth paths that are not acquisitions, so you can tell when M&A is the right tool and when it is not.

Learning Outcomes

What the learner should be able to understand, build, or execute.

Articulate the strategic rationale behind an acquisition using a clear buy-versus-build-versus-partner test

Distinguish among asset deals, stock deals, mergers, and the main horizontal, vertical, and conglomerate strategies

Estimate a target's value using EBITDA multiples and a simple discounted cash flow, and adjust for synergies and control premium

Run a structured due diligence checklist across financial, legal, commercial, and people dimensions

Build a 100-day integration plan that protects revenue, retains talent, and captures planned synergies

Compare M&A against organic growth, joint ventures, and licensing to choose the right growth lever

Curriculum Preview

Inside the curriculum: a structured path from fundamentals to execution.

Preview the course structure, see how the modules build on one another, and understand the path this program is designed to take you through.

Module 1

Module 1: Why Companies Acquire: Strategy and Growth Levers

Establishes the strategic logic of M&A and positions it against organic growth and partnerships so you know when buying a company is actually the right move.

3 lessons

The Three Ways to Grow: Build, Buy, or PartnerContent · 45 min

Preview Enabled

Strategic Rationales That Actually Create ValueContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Synergies: Where the Extra Value Is Supposed to Come FromContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 2

Module 2: Deal Types and Structures

Explains the strategic categories of deals and the legal structures used to execute them, so you can read a transaction and understand what is actually changing hands.

3 lessons

Horizontal, Vertical, and Conglomerate DealsContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Asset Deal vs. Stock Deal vs. MergerContent · 50 min

LMS Access

The Deal Process and Its DocumentsContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 3

Module 3: Valuation and Due Diligence

Teaches how buyers put a price on a target and how they verify the business is what the seller claims before committing.

3 lessons

Valuing a Target: Multiples and Discounted Cash FlowContent · 55 min

LMS Access

The Control Premium and Synergy-Adjusted PriceContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Due Diligence: Verifying What You Are BuyingContent · 55 min

LMS Access

Module 4

Module 4: Integration and Choosing the Right Growth Path

Covers the post-close work that determines whether a deal succeeds, and steps back to compare M&A against alternative growth strategies.

3 lessons

The First 100 Days: Integration PlanningContent · 55 min

LMS Access

Why Deals Fail, and How to Improve the OddsContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Alternatives to Acquisition: Organic, Joint Venture, and LicenseContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Built for Application

A complete learning path, not a one-off inspiration hit.

This program is designed around progression: focused lessons, structured modules, applied resources, assessments, and a course rhythm that turns information into usable capability.

mergers and acquisitionsgrowth strategydue diligencebusiness valuationdeal structurepost-merger integrationsynergiescorporate development