There are ways to acquire assets without putting any money down yourself, so definitely possible, though not very easy.
An example: say you acquire a company worth $10m and have no money in the bank. You could pay 50% of it in stock ("you'll be part of an amazing growth story, and the $5m stock you get today will be worth $50m in 5 to 10 years") and then go borrow $5m from a bank (or go through an equity investor) to fund the other 50% of the acquisition price. But often you'll need a binding LoI to get a loan.
Doesn't always work, but if you're someone who is well connected then it's quite doable. I've seen it done.
An example: say you acquire a company worth $10m and have no money in the bank. You could pay 50% of it in stock ("you'll be part of an amazing growth story, and the $5m stock you get today will be worth $50m in 5 to 10 years") and then go borrow $5m from a bank (or go through an equity investor) to fund the other 50% of the acquisition price. But often you'll need a binding LoI to get a loan.
Doesn't always work, but if you're someone who is well connected then it's quite doable. I've seen it done.
Another person that comes to mind is David Baazov: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanvardi/2014/12/01/the-king.... He aligned things well and put deals together, and ended up making a ton of money because of it.