Deal Lab · Buyout model 1.0
Cisco Systems, Inc. Buyout Model
A buyout of Cisco Systems, Inc. on its published figures for fiscal 2026, in US dollars: revenue flat, the margin and the shares of revenue of that period, entry and exit at 10.0x EBITDA, exit after 5 years.
Returns
Internal rate of return
6.3%
Multiple of money
1.36x
Sponsor's equity
$94.1bn
Enterprise value
$175bn
Proceeds at exit
$128bn
Sources and Uses
| Uses | Amount |
|---|---|
| Equity price | $167bn |
| Borrowings refinanced | $22.9bn |
| Transaction costs | $3.5bn |
| Financing fees | $1.7bn |
| Minimum cash | $1.3bn |
| Uses | $196bn |
| Sources | Amount |
|---|---|
| Senior loan | $64.5bn |
| Subordinated notes | $21.5bn |
| Cash of the company | $15.9bn |
| Sponsor's equity | $94.1bn |
| Sources | $196bn |
Projection
| Closing | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $63.3bn | $63.3bn | $63.3bn | $63.3bn | $63.3bn | $63.3bn |
| EBITDA of the case | $17.5bn | $17.5bn | $17.5bn | $17.5bn | $17.5bn | $17.5bn |
| Cash cost of leases | $536m | $536m | $536m | $536m | $536m | $536m |
| Depreciation and amortisation | $1.6bn | $1.6bn | $1.6bn | $1.6bn | $1.6bn | |
| Capital expenditure | $1.0bn | $1.0bn | $1.0bn | $1.0bn | $1.0bn | |
| Increase in working capital | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
| Interest | $6.9bn | $6.4bn | $5.8bn | $5.3bn | $4.7bn | |
| Tax | $2.2bn | $2.3bn | $2.4bn | $2.6bn | $2.7bn | |
| Cash available for debt service | $13.8bn | $13.7bn | $13.5bn | $13.4bn | $13.2bn |
Debt Schedule
| Closing | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senior loan | $64.5bn | $57.5bn | $50.2bn | $42.5bn | $34.4bn | $25.8bn |
| Subordinated notes | $21.5bn | $21.5bn | $21.5bn | $21.5bn | $21.5bn | $21.5bn |
| Revolving facility | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Cash | $1.3bn | $1.3bn | $1.3bn | $1.3bn | $1.3bn | $1.3bn |
| Debt to EBITDA | 5.00x | 4.60x | 4.19x | 3.75x | 3.28x | 2.79x |
| EBITDA to interest | 2.55x | 2.75x | 3.01x | 3.33x | 3.76x |
Covenants and the Credit View
| Closing | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Limit of debt to EBITDA | 6.50x | |||||
| Lease-adjusted debt to EBITDA | 5.00x | 4.60x | 4.19x | 3.75x | 3.28x | 2.79x |
| Band of debt to EBITDA | Highly leveraged | Aggressive | Aggressive | Significant | Significant | Intermediate |
Return Bridge
| Amount | |
|---|---|
| Sponsor's equity | $94.1bn |
| EBITDA growth | $0 |
| Change of multiple | $0 |
| Net debt repaid | +$38.7bn |
| Non-controlling interests | $0 |
| Costs at closing | −$5.2bn |
| Management and limited liability | $0 |
| Proceeds at exit | $128bn |
Sensitivity Tables
| Entry by exit | 8.00x | 9.00x | 10.0x | 11.0x | 12.0x |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8.00x | 9.5% | 13.2% | 16.4% | 19.4% | 22.0% |
| 9.00x | 3.9% | 7.6% | 10.8% | 13.7% | 16.4% |
| 10.0x | −0.3% | 3.2% | 6.3% | 9.0% | 11.6% |
| 11.0x | −3.7% | −0.4% | 2.6% | 5.3% | 7.7% |
| 12.0x | −6.6% | −3.3% | −0.4% | 2.2% | 4.6% |
| Debt by growth | −4.0% | −2.0% | 0.0% | 2.0% | 4.0% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.00x | 0.3% | 3.4% | 6.3% | 9.1% | 11.8% |
| 4.50x | −0.2% | 3.1% | 6.3% | 9.3% | 12.2% |
| 5.00x | −0.9% | 2.8% | 6.3% | 9.6% | 12.7% |
| 5.50x | −1.8% | 2.4% | 6.3% | 9.9% | 13.3% |
| 6.00x | −2.9% | 1.9% | 6.3% | 10.2% | 14.0% |
Solvers
Highest entry multiple for a return of 20.0%
4.28x
The target return
Revenue growth a year for a return of 20.0%
8.9%
The target return
Debt capacity at closing, times EBITDA
6.00x
The loan to value limit
Assumptions and Their Origins
| Group | Assumption | Value | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transaction | Entry multiple | 10.0x | Convention of buyout 1.0 |
| Transaction | Years to exit | 5 years | Convention of buyout 1.0 |
| Transaction | Transaction costs | 2.0% | Convention of buyout 1.0 |
| Transaction | Financing fees | 2.0% | Convention of buyout 1.0 |
| Transaction | Minimum cash, of revenue | 2.0% | Convention of buyout 1.0 |
| Financing | Debt at closing, times EBITDA | 5.00x | Convention of buyout 1.0 |
| Financing | Debt at most, of the enterprise value | 60.0% | Convention of buyout 1.0 |
| Financing | Senior loan, of the new debt | 75.0% | Convention of buyout 1.0 |
| Financing | Senior loan repaid each year | 1.0% | Convention of buyout 1.0 |
| Financing | Cash sweep | 100% | Convention of buyout 1.0 |
| Financing | Revolving facility, times EBITDA | 1.00x | Convention of buyout 1.0 |
| Financing | Base rate | 3.9% | Policy rate of the United States, BIS central bank policy rates, 20 October 2026 |
| Financing | Senior loan spread | 3.5% | Convention of buyout 1.0 |
| Financing | Subordinated notes spread | 6.0% | Convention of buyout 1.0 |
| Financing | Revolving facility spread | 3.0% | Convention of buyout 1.0 |
| Financing | Covenant headroom on debt to EBITDA | 30.0% | Convention of buyout 1.0 |
| Financing | Minimum EBITDA to interest | 2.00x | Convention of buyout 1.0 |
| Operations | Revenue growth a year | 0.0% | Convention of buyout 1.0 |
| Operations | EBITDA margin | 27.7% | EBITDA over revenue, fiscal 2026 |
| Operations | Cash cost of leases, of revenue | 0.8% | Cash cost of leases over revenue, fiscal 2026 |
| Operations | Depreciation and amortisation, of revenue | 2.6% | Depreciation and amortisation over revenue, fiscal 2026 |
| Operations | Capital expenditure, of revenue | 1.6% | Median capital expenditure over revenue, fiscal 2024 to 2026 |
| Operations | Working capital, of revenue | 15.5% | Working capital over revenue, end of the fiscal 2026 |
| Operations | Leases as debt | Yes | Leases as debt, the basis of the credit metrics |
| Operations | Share-based pay added back | No | Convention of buyout 1.0 |
| Taxes | Tax rate | 25.5% | Combined statutory rate of corporate income tax of the United States, OECD Corporate Tax Statistics, 2026 |
| Taxes | Interest deducted up to 30% of EBITDA | No | Convention of buyout 1.0 |
| Exit | Exit multiple | 10.0x | Convention of buyout 1.0 |
| Exit | Management share of the proceeds | 0.0% | Convention of buyout 1.0 |
| Exit | Target return | 20.0% | Convention of buyout 1.0 |
Inputs and Their Documents
Published figures of fiscal 2026, each with the documents it comes from.
| Input | Value | Method | Documents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adjusted EBITDA | $21.4bn | Adjusted EBITDA of the company page | 10-K 2026-07 |
| Share-based pay | $3.8bn | Share-based pay that adjusted EBITDA adds back | 10-K 2026-07 |
| EBITDA after share-based pay | $17.5bn | Adjusted EBITDA less share-based pay | 10-K 2026-07 |
| Depreciation and amortisation | $1.6bn | Depreciation and amortisation of adjusted EBITDA | 10-K 2026-07 |
| Revenue | $63.3bn | Revenue of the base period | 10-K 2026-07 |
| Operating lease cost | $536m | Operating lease cost | 10-K 2026-07 |
| Borrowings | $22.9bn | Total debt less lease liabilities | 10-K 2026-07 |
| Lease liabilities | $1.7bn | Lease liabilities | 10-K 2026-07 |
| Cash and short-term investments | $15.9bn | Cash and short-term investments | 10-K 2026-07 |
| Non-controlling interests | $0 | The balance sheet reports none | n/a |
| Receivables | $7.5bn | Receivables | 10-K 2026-07 |
| Payables | $3.4bn | Payables | 10-K 2026-07 |
| Inventories | $5.7bn | Inventories | 10-K 2026-07 |
| Capital expenditure | $1.4bn | Capital expenditure of the latest fiscal year | 10-K 2026-07 |
Checks of the Model
- Sources equal uses
- The equity price is above nil
- The sponsor's equity is above nil
- Each balance of debt stays between nil and its amount at closing
- Cash is the cash of the year before and the cash flow of the year
- Cash stays at the minimum unless a shortfall is stated
- The 6 parts of the bridge add up to the proceeds less the sponsor's equity
- The cash flows at the internal rate of return have a present value of nil
Deal Lab computes arithmetic on published figures and on the assumptions of the user. It values no company, recommends no transaction and forecasts no result.