Structuring Transactions: Financing a Business

2 Credit Hours

Susan Wiles has served as Counselor to the Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration and as a partner at a major Chicago law firm. She will teach students how to structure complex commercial and corporate transactions from the differing points of view of an entrepreneurial venture, a commercial lender and a venture capitalist. Special emphasis will be placed on the negotiation and drafting of financing and equity investment arrangements between start-up companies and Small Business Investment Companies. Students will be exposed to term sheets, letters of intent, loan agreements and various kinds of venture capital and private equity issues. Some time will also be devoted to ethical issues that arise in transactions of this type and federal laws and regulations relating to the activities of SBICs. Students will be expected to draft documents, to engage in classroom discussions and negotiation exercises and to work together in teams from time to time during the semester. Method of Evaluation: Students will be graded on the basis of their written work, classroom participation and attendance.