Mergers and Acquisitions

This course focuses on identifying ways to increase firm value through mergers and acquisitions (M&A). We will survey the drivers of success and failure in M&A transactions, develop your skills in deal design, explore the deal process, and develop LBO and merger models similar to those used by investment bankers. Other topics addressed in the course are M&A regulation, the sell-side and buy-side M&A process, valuations, takeover strategies and antitakeover defenses, structuring of transactions to minimize tax consequences, the acquisition method of accounting, merger arbitrage, and auction vs negotiation sale processes.