A CIM is a confidential information memorandum: the document a sell-side process sends to buyers once they have signed an NDA. It is the same thing in investment banking and in business generally, and the confusion is usually about scope rather than about the acronym. It is not a pitch deck, not a prospectus and not a set of accounts. This page sets out what it contains, who reads it and what producing one costs.
What it is, and what it is not
A structured description of a business, prepared by the seller's adviser, sent under confidentiality to buyers who have expressed interest. It is not a regulated offering document, so nothing in it is filed anywhere, and it is not a set of accounts: the financial section is a presentation of them with the adjustments the seller believes are fair.
What it contains
Executive summary, market, products or services, customers, operations, people, historical financials, projections and the process itself. Nine sections is a common shape and about six pages each is typical, which is why a CIM lands near 54 pages before appendices.
Who reads it and what they do with it
Analysts at potential buyers, building a model and a list of questions. A CIM that answers the questions a serious buyer would otherwise ask on a call is what compresses a timetable, and one that reads as marketing produces a second round of twenty separate conversations instead.
What it costs to produce
On this site's worked example, nine sections at six pages drafted at 1.8 analyst hours a page plus 24 hours of partner and client review at $95 an hour is 121.2 hours and $11,514, at $171 for every page drafted. A tenth section nobody asked for stops being free once it has that number on it.
Questions people ask about what is a cim
What does CIM stand for?
Confidential information memorandum: the document a sell-side process sends to buyers after they sign an NDA.
Is a CIM a legal offering document?
No. Nothing in it is filed anywhere. It is a structured description prepared by the seller's adviser under confidentiality.
How long is one?
Around 54 pages on the worked example here, nine sections at six pages each, before appendices.