John Colley • Investment Banking Practitioner Series

Private Equity Leveraged Buyout (LBO) Complete Training

Break into Private Equity | Complete LBO Training from a Former PE Dealmaker (25+ Hours)

★★★★½ 4.38 (80 ratings)  |  1,144 students enrolled  |  25.5 hours of video  |  297 lectures
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The promise

“The deepest practitioner-grade LBO training online — 25 hours covering everything from RJR Nabisco to modern dividend recaps and exits.”

4.38★
Rating
1,144
Students
25.5
Hours
297
Lectures
May 2025
Updated

Why this course

If the bootcamp gets you interview-ready, this is the course that makes you genuinely competent. 25 hours, 297 lectures, every angle of the LBO universe covered the way a senior PE dealmaker actually understands it.

We work through the full process: foundational structures and PE strategies, the RJR Nabisco LBO as the pivotal case study, key participants, financing instruments ranked by cost and risk, classic and modern capital structure theory, esoteric debt structures, optimal capital structure, covenants, debt capacity, the deal process, investment committee dynamics, advanced LBO modelling, valuation and debt structuring, management equity incentives, transaction documentation, value creation, exit strategies including IPOs, secondary buyouts, MBOs, partial exits and recapitalisations, and the ethical considerations and controversies that come with leveraged finance.

Trusted by over 1,100 students. This is what you study before, during and after you start a PE career.

What you will master

Every outcome below is built into the course — not a marketing list, the actual curriculum.

Master the foundational structures and strategies of private equity funds
Define leveraged buyouts and their significance in corporate finance
Analyse the key characteristics and frameworks of LBO transactions using the RJR Nabisco case
Assess the impact of economic cycles and financial foundations on LBOs
Identify roles of key participants: PE firms, lenders, management, advisers
Rank LBO financing instruments by cost, risk, security and return
Apply classic and modern capital structure theories within LBO contexts
Examine esoteric and complex debt structures used in real LBO financing
Optimise LBO capital structures to enhance deal stability and profitability
Assess the role and impact of covenants in LBO financing strategies
Understand debt capacity and leverage limits in LBO economic frameworks
Walk the step-by-step PE deal process from sourcing to closing
Build a comprehensive LBO model from first principles
Strategically plan and execute exit strategies — IPO, sale, secondary buyout, MBO, recap, liquidation
Navigate the ethical considerations and controversies surrounding leveraged buyouts

Who this course is for

  • Finance professionals seeking deeper LBO and PE expertise
  • Business students at undergraduate and graduate level specialising in finance
  • Aspiring private equity investors and entrepreneurs entering PE
  • Corporate executives considering LBOs as a growth or exit strategy
  • Investment enthusiasts interested in the mechanics of major financial transactions and corporate restructuring

Requirements

  • Basic understanding of finance — familiarity with financial statements and investment concepts
  • Interest in corporate finance
  • Access to a financial calculator or software useful for the exercises
  • No advanced mathematics required

What students are saying

Verified reviews from students who completed the course on Udemy.

★★★★★

“As always, great and high value. Can’t wait to learn. It helps me a lot at this time in my private equity and investment funds career. Thanks!”

Juan Andrés Lizarazo
Verified Udemy student
★★★★★

“It was a great course, very professional and a lot of very important information.”

Amram Sananes
Verified Udemy student
★★★★★

“Very comprehensive course, great overview! Easy to digest and comprehensible!”

Nicole
Verified Udemy student
Your instructor

John Colley

Investment banker turned educator. 30+ years across Hoare Govett, M&A, private equity and corporate finance. Cambridge graduate, Bayes Business School MBA with Distinction.

Author of the Investment Banking Practitioner’s Handbook Series — the largest practitioner-authored IB content library available online. Trusted by 150,000+ students across 30+ Udemy courses.

Every course is built on real deal experience — not textbook theory. The voice is a senior banker explaining how things actually work, not a lecturer reading notes.

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Part of John Colley’s finance course library on Udemy. More courses at jbdcolley.com