Mergers & Acquisitions

Prof. Duncan Angwin
Spring  -- 0.5 credit
 
In spite of the recent slow down in M&A activity, deal volume continues to be a sizeable part of stock market capitalization of major markets. It is widely expected that mergers and acquisitions will continue to be a major presence in financial markets and corporate strategy in the long term. Many current MBA students are likely to be confronted with a takeover situation in their future career. It is therefore important that those involved in the process are able to analyze a variety of merger and takeover situations critically, based on a thorough understanding of the key M&A issues.

The analysis of mergers and acquisitions draws upon a number of disciplines within management, such as Finance, Accounting, Economics, Strategy, Organizational Behavior, Human Resources Management etc. The aim of this course is to raise awareness of these multiple perspectives and to provide conceptual frameworks for their analysis. In this sense the course is truly interdisciplinary although there will be a greater emphasis upon strategic management than other areas.

The course will be a mixture of interactive lectures, supplemented by case studies and discussions of recent developments in M&A. This will often involve an element of student group work and class presentation of case study results, which will allow students to apply concepts from the lectures to some real world examples.