Meridian Capital Partners runs eight to twelve deal processes per year, with management buy-ins accounting for a growing share of volume. The deal team is lean, and Joris owns the full financing methodology on each MBI — sourcing and validating rate data, sizing the debt tranches, and documenting the tax and covenant assumptions that underpin the returns analysis. Unsupported inputs or stale pricing will send the model back from IC for revision.
Two sequential dependencies stalled every MBI financing session
Building a defensible debt-stack model required clearing two blocking dependencies in strict order.
First, the rate data had to be inspected series by series: date coverage confirmed, field structure verified, latest observations checked for staleness. A stale endpoint produces a misleading pricing anchor; the only way to know is to read the files. The manual audit was slow and generated no structured artifact suitable for the IC memo or lender package.
Second, the tax and covenant assumption set — effective tax rate, PIK toggle thresholds, DSCR covenant levels — cannot be derived from rate files. It required a separate resolution step that could only begin once rate validation was complete. One financing methodology session regularly consumed most of a working day.
Energent.ai ran both blocking steps without leaving the tool
The analyst uploaded the rate dataset and reference files. The agent ran the full sequential workflow in one sitting:
- Inventoried which rate series were present and mapped them to the model's pricing anchors
- Inspected each series for date coverage, field structure, and consistency across files
- Flagged coverage endpoints where the latest observation gap suggested staleness
- Produced a consolidated rate coverage summary — current series, gaps, and reliable anchors in one documented artifact
- Resolved the tax and covenant assumption set once rate data cleared, capturing effective tax rate, DSCR thresholds, and PIK toggle triggers in structured, auditable form
No manual spreadsheet audit. No separate follow-on session. No context switch between rate validation and assumption documentation.
Programmatic enforcement, not manual approximation
- Coverage checks ran in code. The agent validated date ranges and field structure in Python inline — systematic enforcement the manual process could not replicate.
- Staleness surfaced before anchors were locked. Coverage endpoint checks flagged stale series at the start of the session, not after the model was already built on them.
- Structured documentation produced as a byproduct. The rate coverage summary and assumption set came out formatted for the IC memo — artifacts the manual process never generated.
- Context stayed intact across both steps. Both dependencies resolved in one session; the analyst never had to rebuild working memory the following morning.
How Joris runs it day-to-day
- Upload the rate dataset and reference files at the start of the MBI session.
- Review the agent's series inventory and coverage flags before locking any pricing anchors.
- Direct the agent through the tax and covenant assumption set, providing deal structure and jurisdiction context.
- Export the rate coverage summary and assumption documentation to the IC memo or lender package.
Two-phase workflow collapsed into a single sitting
- Both blocking dependencies cleared without a session break. Rate validation and assumption documentation — previously separated by hours or an overnight gap — completed in one continuous session.
- Stale-series risk surfaced before anchors were finalized. Coverage checks ran at the start of the session, not as an afterthought.
- IC-ready documentation produced the same day the data was inspected.
- Financing methodology finalized on validated, documented inputs — model ready to run the same afternoon.
"Both dependencies resolved in one sitting — that's what mattered. I didn't have to come back the next morning with stale context and pick up where I left off. The model was ready to run the same afternoon." — Joris Vandenberghe, Senior Analyst at Meridian Capital Partners