ma-playbook
by alirezarezvanima-playbook is an M&A strategy skill for acquiring companies or preparing to be acquired, with workflows for strategic rationale, due diligence, valuation, deal terms, negotiation, and post-close integration planning.
This skill scores 78/100, making it a solid listing candidate for directory users who want an agent-ready M&A advisory framework. It has clear trigger language, a usable acquirer/acquired-company workflow, and substantive reference materials for due diligence and post-acquisition integration, though users should treat it as a strategic checklist rather than a complete legal, financial, or transaction-management system.
- Clear trigger scope: the description explicitly covers acquisitions, being acquired, due diligence, integration planning, valuation, deal structure, and negotiation.
- Practical M&A structure: the skill separates acquiring-company and being-acquired workflows and starts with decision points such as buy-vs-build, rationale, readiness, and integration complexity.
- Substantive supporting references: dedicated due-diligence and 100-day integration playbook files provide detailed checklists and workstream guidance beyond a generic prompt.
- No install command or README is provided, so directory users may need to infer installation from the repository structure.
- The skill is advisory and checklist-oriented; it does not include scripts, templates, calculators, legal disclaimers, or deal-document automation.
Overview of ma-playbook skill
What ma-playbook is for
ma-playbook is a C-level advisory skill for M&A strategy, covering both sides of a transaction: acquiring a company and preparing to be acquired. It is most useful when you need an AI assistant to structure decisions around acquisition rationale, target evaluation, due diligence, valuation, negotiation, deal terms, and post-close integration.
Best-fit users and decisions
The ma-playbook skill fits founders, CEOs, CFOs, corp dev leads, operators, and advisors who need a practical M&A workflow rather than a generic “analyze this deal” prompt. It is especially relevant for strategic planning when the core question is not just “is this company attractive?” but “does this transaction create value after diligence, negotiation, and integration risk?”
What makes the skill useful
The repository includes a concise SKILL.md plus two high-value reference files: references/due-diligence-checklist.md and references/integration-playbook.md. That matters because M&A work often fails when teams over-focus on valuation and under-plan diligence scope, buyer rationale, red flags, Day 1 decisions, and the first 100 days after close.
Where it is intentionally limited
ma-playbook is not a substitute for legal, tax, accounting, investment banking, or board advice. Use it to organize thinking, pressure-test assumptions, prepare questions, and create working drafts. Do not treat its output as a fairness opinion, legal interpretation, tax plan, or definitive valuation.
How to Use ma-playbook skill
ma-playbook install and repository files to read first
Install the skill from the GitHub skill repository with:
npx skills add alirezarezvani/claude-skills --skill ma-playbook
After installation, read SKILL.md first to understand the acquisition and sale-side workflows. Then open references/due-diligence-checklist.md for diligence domains and references/integration-playbook.md for the post-acquisition 100-day operating plan. The reference files are where much of the practical value sits.
Turn a rough M&A goal into a usable prompt
A weak prompt is: “Should we acquire this company?” A stronger ma-playbook usage prompt includes the deal context, buyer rationale, stage, known risks, and output format:
“Use ma-playbook to evaluate a potential acquisition. We are a B2B SaaS company with $20M ARR considering a $5M ARR vertical SaaS target. Our rationale is market expansion and product adjacency, not acqui-hire. Known concerns: 35% revenue from one customer, aging monolith, and founder dependency. Build a diligence plan, red-flag list, initial valuation considerations, and integration questions for the first management call.”
This works better because the skill can map the deal to strategic rationale, diligence scope, and integration complexity instead of producing a generic M&A checklist.
Suggested workflow for acquiring companies
Start with the skill’s “buy vs build” logic before requesting diligence or valuation. Ask the assistant to identify what you are really buying: talent, technology, customers, product, market access, or financial performance. Then move through target screening, due diligence, valuation assumptions, negotiation posture, and integration planning. For every output, ask for “deal breakers,” “unknowns that change the recommendation,” and “questions to ask before signing an LOI.”
Suggested workflow for being acquired
If you are preparing for acquisition, use ma-playbook to assess readiness before engaging buyers. Provide current financials, customer concentration, IP ownership status, team dependencies, contracts, product roadmap, and data room gaps. Ask for an acquisition-readiness plan, likely buyer concerns, cleanup priorities, and negotiation risks. This is where the skill can help founders avoid surprises before diligence exposes them.
ma-playbook skill FAQ
Is ma-playbook for Strategic Planning or transaction execution?
ma-playbook for Strategic Planning is strongest at the pre-deal and deal-shaping stages: strategic rationale, buyer fit, diligence priorities, red flags, integration planning, and negotiation preparation. It can support transaction execution, but it does not replace lawyers, accountants, bankers, or internal deal governance.
How is ma-playbook different from an ordinary M&A prompt?
A normal prompt may produce broad M&A advice. The ma-playbook skill gives the assistant a reusable structure: acquiring versus being acquired, strategic rationale before diligence, domain-by-domain red flags, and post-close integration. The included reference files reduce guesswork and make outputs more operational.
Can beginners use this skill?
Yes, but beginners should ask for explanations of terms such as LOI, earnout, revenue quality, customer concentration, retention package, IP assignment, and integration workstream. The skill is practical, but it assumes the user can provide business context and make judgment calls with qualified advisors.
When should you not use ma-playbook?
Do not use ma-playbook when you need jurisdiction-specific legal advice, audited financial conclusions, tax structuring, securities compliance, or a final purchase agreement. Also avoid using it if you cannot provide enough context about the target, strategic rationale, transaction stage, and known constraints; the output will become too generic.
How to Improve ma-playbook skill
Improve ma-playbook outputs with sharper inputs
The best ma-playbook results come from specific deal facts: buyer and target profiles, revenue mix, customer concentration, product overlap, team size, cap table issues, IP status, technical stack, contracts, geography, proposed deal structure, timing, and non-negotiables. If facts are uncertain, label them as assumptions and ask the assistant to separate “known,” “unknown,” and “must verify.”
Ask for decision-oriented outputs, not long memos
Instead of requesting a broad report, ask for artifacts used in real M&A work: diligence request lists, red-flag matrices, management interview questions, integration workstreams, Day 1 communication plans, valuation sensitivity drivers, LOI negotiation points, and board-level recommendation summaries. These outputs are easier to review and act on.
Watch for common failure modes
The most common failure is treating diligence as a checklist instead of tying it to the acquisition rationale. For example, an acqui-hire needs deeper people, retention, and culture analysis; a product acquisition needs technical, IP, and roadmap diligence; a market-entry acquisition needs customer, channel, and brand risk analysis. Tell ma-playbook what value driver matters most.
Iterate after the first answer
After the first output, challenge it. Ask: “What would make this deal a bad idea?”, “Which assumptions have the highest downside?”, “What should we verify before an LOI?”, and “What integration decision must be made by Day 1?” This turns ma-playbook from a static guide into a practical M&A planning assistant.