Hey! For M&A written exercises I've found the following to work, I'll answer your questions in order:
1. Usually written exercises come in the form of a short case study where you're acting like a junior on an M&A deal. Most of the time, you'll be asked to read some kind of bundle (usually includes emails, heads of terms, extracts from contracts) and flag issues. Here, they are usually testing whether you can spot risks and explain things in an easy and sensible way, rather than if you know every law in detail. Expect a mix of: commercial context (why this deal is happening), legal red flags AND time pressure (they usually want to see how you work under pressure so will give you large amount of info, don't let this stress you out).
2. I'd say the key issues to flag usually include a mix of:
- why the buyer is acquiring the business (is it growth, is it strategy, etc.)
- what could come in the way of the deal (regulatory approval, competition issues, financing)
- major risks that are found in due diligence (litigation, key contracts, risk of insolvency)
- anything that can affect the completion
more minor issues usually include smaller contractual gaps, issues that are easily fixable but still worth noting (like if certain consent is needed, etc.)
3. tips on answering: I've found that no matter how good you are at answering the question itself, its your structure and clarity that will ensure you do well. I'd also say tie everything back to the facts given don't try to make up any info. If you're unsure about something in the case study, flag it as something you'd ask the client to investigate further. ALSO, brush on your commercial awareness and read the news beforehand, this really helps with bringing everything together.
All in all, I'd say show your thinking logically and commercially. Good luck!
