CIM (Confidential Information Memorandum)
A detailed document prepared by the sell-side advisor describing a company being sold — business overview, financials, market position, management — distributed to prospective buyers under a signed NDA.
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Why CIM (Confidential Information Memorandum) matters in interviews
The CIM is the central document of a sell-side process, and knowing what it is, and how to read it sceptically — is table stakes for both banking and buyside interviews. Analysts spend a great deal of their first year building them.
How it works in practice
The CIM is a detailed marketing document prepared by the sell-side bank describing the target: business overview, market positioning, management team, historical financials and, critically, a set of management projections. It is sent to buyers who have signed an NDA, after the anonymous teaser stage.
It is a selling document, not a diligence report. Projections are management's case, adjusted EBITDA carries the seller's preferred add-backs, and risks are presented in the most favourable available light.
Buyers use it to form an indicative valuation and submit a first-round non-binding offer. Serious diligence — quality of earnings, management meetings, the data room — comes afterwards for shortlisted bidders.
What candidates get wrong
- Confusing the CIM with the teaser. The teaser is a one-to-two page anonymous summary sent before an NDA; the CIM comes after.
- Taking the projections at face value. Reading a CIM well means identifying which assumptions carry the value and testing those.
- Not knowing that adjusted EBITDA in a CIM is where the negotiation starts, not where it ends.
CIM (Confidential Information Memorandum): frequently asked questions
What is a CIM in investment banking?
A Confidential Information Memorandum: the detailed marketing document a sell-side bank prepares for a company being sold, covering the business, market, management, historical financials and management projections. It goes to prospective buyers after they sign a non-disclosure agreement and forms the basis of first-round indicative offers.
What is the difference between a teaser and a CIM?
A teaser is a one-to-two page anonymised summary circulated widely to gauge interest before any confidentiality agreement. The CIM is the full document — typically 50 to 100 pages — released only to parties who have signed an NDA and want to bid.
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