Overview:
- Credits:
- 5.0
- Level:
- 4
- Semester:
- Summer
- Subject:
- Finance
- School:
- Business
- Coordinator:
- John Kelly
FIN41780 Mergers & Acquisitions
Academic Year 2019/2020
This course is focused on the fundamentals of creating, financing, and growing venture capital investments and successfully exiting these investments through M&A.The course follows two converging learning pathways to insure that the student is grounded in both the strategic fundamentals of mergers & acquisitions and in the dynamics of early-stage venture financing.
The module begins with an introduction to the fundamentals of Venture Capital Finance, and progresses to building an understanding of the financing of early-stage ventures and developing an analysis framework for screening venture investments.
In parallel, the course will take an overview all mergers & acquisitions and will explore growth strategies of major corporations, and analyse the synergies, diversifications, and integration strategies of M&A as well as the fundamentals of deal valuation.
Against the above backdrop, participants will then converge on developing a detailed understanding of the exit strategy of early-stage companies as acquisition targets of major players.
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Curricular information is subject to change
Learning Outcomes:
• To understand the key principles driving corporations, of all sizes, seeking growth though mergers & acquisitions.
• To understand, in parallel, the financial dynamics of venture capital and its role in the creation, development, and growth in early-stage technology enabled companies.
• Entry dynamics: To develop a strategic framework for the screening investment opportunities from the perspective of a venture capitalist.
• Exit dynamics: To explore the strategic analysis by which large corporations scan and screen for suitable acquisition targets of early-stage high technology companies.
• To identify the unique financial dynamics of early stage ventures compared with established companies.
• To articulate the rationale of mergers and acquisitions, and explore the specific valuation and strategic fit challenges by which an early-stage venture will be acquired by a larger corporation.
| Student Effort Type | Hours |
|---|---|
| Lectures | 30 |
| Total | 30 |
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations
Not applicable to this module.
Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
Assessment Strategy
| Description | Timing | Component Scale | % of Final Grade | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple Choice Questionnaire: MCQ Objective tests run on Brightspace. This assessment is designed to test your recognition of the module comntent. The timing of the test will be advised in the module. | Unspecified | n/a | Graded | No | 15 |
| Project: Project Paper | Unspecified | n/a | Graded | No | 45 |
| Group Project: A Group Presentation on a topic assigned/agreed with the lecturer | Varies over the Trimester | n/a | Graded | No | 40 |
Carry forward of passed components
No
No
| Remediation Type | Remediation Timing |
|---|---|
| In-Module Resit | Prior to relevant Programme Exam Board |
Feedback Strategy/Strategies
• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment
How will my Feedback be Delivered?
Individual feedback for students as requested.
Main Text: Rankine & Howson (2013) Acquisition Essentials, FT Publishing
Supplemental Texts – Finance
Brealey, Myers & Allen (2020) Principles of Corporate Finance 13th ed., McGraw Hill (Chapter 33)
Koller, Goedhart & Wessels (2005) Valuation 4th ed., Wiley (Chapter 15)
For a more introductory treatment
Brealey, Myers & Marcus (2020) Fundamentals of Corporate Finance 10th ed., McGraw Hill (Chapter 21)
Watson & Head (2019) Corporate Finance Principles & Practice 8th ed. (Chapter 11)
Supplemental Texts –Strategy
Grant (2016) Contemporary Strategy Analysis 9th ed., Wiley (Part IV, esp. Chapter 15)
Grant & Jordan (2015) Foundations of Strategy 2nd ed., Wiley
Magrhetta (2013) What Management Is, Profile Books
Readings:
Christensen, Alton, Rising, Waldeck (2011) The New M&A Playbook, March, HBR
Coyne, Coyne & Coyne (2010) When You’ve Got to Cut Costs—Now, May, HBR
Cullinan, Le Roux & Weddigen (2002) When to Walk Away from a Deal, April, HBR
Kester & Luch (1995) Rehabilitating the Leveraged Buyout, May - June, HBR
Lee Marks, Mirvis, and Ashkenas (2017) Surviving M&A | How to thrive amid the turmoil, March-April, HBR
Martin (2016) M&A: The One Thing You Need to Get Right. June, HBR
Pozen (2007) If Private Equity Sized Up Your Business, Nov, HBR
Rogers, Holland & Haas (2002) Value Acceleration: Lessons from Private-Equity Masters, June, HBR
Supplemental Texts – Finance
Brealey, Myers & Allen (2020) Principles of Corporate Finance 13th ed., McGraw Hill (Chapter 33)
Koller, Goedhart & Wessels (2005) Valuation 4th ed., Wiley (Chapter 15)
For a more introductory treatment
Brealey, Myers & Marcus (2020) Fundamentals of Corporate Finance 10th ed., McGraw Hill (Chapter 21)
Watson & Head (2019) Corporate Finance Principles & Practice 8th ed. (Chapter 11)
Supplemental Texts –Strategy
Grant (2016) Contemporary Strategy Analysis 9th ed., Wiley (Part IV, esp. Chapter 15)
Grant & Jordan (2015) Foundations of Strategy 2nd ed., Wiley
Magrhetta (2013) What Management Is, Profile Books
Readings:
Christensen, Alton, Rising, Waldeck (2011) The New M&A Playbook, March, HBR
Coyne, Coyne & Coyne (2010) When You’ve Got to Cut Costs—Now, May, HBR
Cullinan, Le Roux & Weddigen (2002) When to Walk Away from a Deal, April, HBR
Kester & Luch (1995) Rehabilitating the Leveraged Buyout, May - June, HBR
Lee Marks, Mirvis, and Ashkenas (2017) Surviving M&A | How to thrive amid the turmoil, March-April, HBR
Martin (2016) M&A: The One Thing You Need to Get Right. June, HBR
Pozen (2007) If Private Equity Sized Up Your Business, Nov, HBR
Rogers, Holland & Haas (2002) Value Acceleration: Lessons from Private-Equity Masters, June, HBR
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