Ma Playbook

What it does

When your agent uses it

• Evaluating acquisitions
• Preparing to be acquired
• Conducting due diligence
• Planning integration

Example prompts

• “/ma-playbook”

Requirements

• Python 3

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 4a698e8. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

• Tool permissions

  Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

  From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

• Runs code

  Ships 3 files in scripts/ (Python), which the agent can run.

  Shell commands in SKILL.md call:

  • python

  From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

• Network

  No URLs in SKILL.md.

  From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

• Credentials

  Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

  From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Ma Playbook loads about 5.2k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 61 tokens; SKILL.md has 2,200 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it

~61

When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches

~5.2k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); the scripts in this folder are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from borghei/Claude-Skills at commit 4a698e8, republished under its MIT licence (© borghei). 2,200 words, ~5,212 tokens.

name

ma-playbook

description

M&A strategy for acquiring companies or being acquired. Use when evaluating acquisitions, preparing to be acquired, conducting due diligence, planning integration, or negotiating deal terms (valuation, LOI, earnout, deal structure).

license

MIT + Commons Clause

metadata.version

2.0.0

metadata.author

borghei

metadata.category

c-level

metadata.domain

ma-strategy

metadata.updated

2026-03-09

metadata.frameworks

acquisition-playbook, due-diligence-framework, valuation-methods, integration-100-day, being-acquired-playbook, deal-structure

metadata.triggers

M&A, merger, acquisition, acquire, acqui-hire, due diligence, valuation, LOI, letter of intent, term sheet, earnout, integration, deal structure, buy a…

START: Acquisition opportunity identified
  |
  v
[What are you really buying?]
  |
  +-- TALENT (acqui-hire)
  |     Cost: $1-3M per key engineer
  |     Timeline: 1-3 months
  |     Risk: Key people leave after lockup
  |
  +-- TECHNOLOGY (product/IP)
  |     Cost: Revenue multiple or technology valuation
  |     Timeline: 3-6 months
  |     Risk: Technology doesn't integrate, team leaves
  |
  +-- CUSTOMERS (market share)
  |     Cost: Revenue multiple (higher for sticky customers)
  |     Timeline: 3-6 months
  |     Risk: Customers churn during transition
  |
  +-- MARKET ACCESS (geographic or vertical)
        Cost: Strategic premium
        Timeline: 6-12 months
        Risk: Market assumptions wrong, cultural clash

For ALL types, ask:
  "Can we build this faster and cheaper?" If YES --> Don't acquire.
  "Is integration complexity worth the shortcut?" If NO --> Don't acquire.

© borghei, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 3 other files (scripts) in c-level-advisor/ma-playbook of borghei/Claude-Skills.

• SKILL.md
• scripts/due_diligence_tracker.py
• scripts/integration_planner.py
• scripts/synergy_calculator.py

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 4a698e8