Postgraduate Course: Financial Aspects of Mergers & Acquisitions (EMBA) (CMSE11235)
Course Outline
| School | Business School |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | The course aims to promote an understanding of the business environment and the tools to facilitate structured thinking about a business problem making special reference to mergers and acquisitions.
Corporate mergers and acquisitions (M&As) involve realigning the ownership and management of assets. The threat of such change represents the ultimate sanction on existing management by dissatisfied shareholders. Changes both to owners' expectations and management are intended to correct failing business strategies and disappointing financial performance. M&As may also help promote capital market and general economic allocative efficiency. |
| Course description |
Takeovers are major business decisions involving strategy, financial analysis and policy, valuation and decision-making processes and methods both in a theoretical context and a practical setting. After completing this course students should have a good understanding of the issues involved, be able to integrate these, and know how to value an acquisition prospect.
Syllabus
Mergers and acquisitions, and the market for corporate control.
Strategy and Valuation
Negotiating and deal structure
Evaluating M&A outcomes
M&A evidence, alternatives to acquisitions, and governance systems.
Student Learning Experience
The course is delivered through a mix of case studies, lectures, practical exercises and class discussion supported by selected readings from the set texts. Additional reference material will be provided during the lectures. Students are encouraged to contribute their own experiences to the discussions. The approach taken is interactive and participative, involves group work and exploration of live business issues. Issues around mergers and acquisitions are complex and can take time to absorb and students should expect to have to invest time prior to lectures (including having read and prepared the case before class) in order to fully understand and participate in class discussions
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Understand and critically discuss of some of the main strands of theory and the latest trends in research on which mergers and acquisitions depend.
- Critically evaluate merger motives.
- Understand and critically discuss of how firms make mergers and acquisitions and how they structure and finance them.
- Critically evaluate how mergers and acquisitions affect company performance and how investors react to them.
- Understand and critically discuss some of the key success factors of mergers and acquisitions.
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Reading List
Core text:
Sudarsanam, S., (2010), Creating value from mergers and acquisition: The challenges, FT Prentice Hall (Pearson Education), 2nd edition.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Cognitive Skills:
Demonstrate how takeovers and mergers can contribute to firm strategic success and value enhancement.
Evaluate the relevance and practical application of established paradigms and theories.
Critically appraise the importance of good merger and acquisition planning.
Take a holistic approach to solving decision problems and assessing potential outcomes using a financial framework.
Explain choices in financial assessment methods and their rationale for adoption in a particular decision issue.
Subject Specific Skills:
Utilise information and data obtained from a variety of sources, including the library, the internet, databases and management information systems for evaluating a financial problem.
Apply financial methodologies to strategic and operational level decision problems in the specific context of mergers and acquisitions.
Analyse material presented in a variety of ways and structure it into a coherent argument for evidence-based decision making.
Critically analyse problems in business finance and defend the conclusions reached. |
| Keywords | Finance Strategy Mergers Acquisitions Valuation |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Jo Danbolt
Tel: (0131 6)50 2448
Email: Jo.Danbolt@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Tammy French
Tel: (0131 6)50 3475
Email: Tammy.French@ed.ac.uk |
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