Mergers Acquisitions

1.5 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

This course is geared towards students majoring in finance or accounting and is meant to serve as an introduction to the mergers and acquisitions landscape from a practitioner’s perspective. The emphasis will be on the middle market and how mergers and acquisitions play an important role for a variety of business owners and constituents. The course will encourage creative and critical thinking with imperfect information. Topics covered include: • Purpose - What is the rationale for mergers and acquisitions? What are the different types of sellers? How are the motivations for M&A similar and disperse? What are the major differences between large public M&A and M&A in the middle market? • Process - How does a company prepare for sale and go to market? What is the process of marketing a company? What are some key considerations before marketing? How does the type of sale impact process? • Buyers – What are major buyer motivations for M&A? Who are the different camps of buyers? How has the growth of private equity changed the selling dynamic? • Valuation – What are the different modes of valuation? What are their limitations? What are synergy considerations? How can synergies be valued? What are strategies to bridge valuation gaps between buyers and sellers? • Deal Structuring & Financing – How are considerations for corporate buyers similar and different from private equity buyers? How has the growth of private equity and private credit changed structing and financing options and considerations? What are capital structure considerations? How are they modeled? What are the limitations of financial modeling? • Due Diligence and Documentation – What are the key aspects to diligence a company? What is the process? What is the role of third-party advisors? What are the key legal structures and core business terms in purchase agreements? Why are they relevant? • Integration – What elements lead to success in M&A? What leads to failure? What are the lessons learned?