The Beginner’s and Intermediate’s (Complete) Guide to M&A

With a Side Dish of Accounting, Finance, and Corporate Law.

Created by: Jerome ("J") Egan
Professor of Business, Law & Economics

What Will I Learn?

• Get a "Crash Course" in the accounting, finance, and legal principles underlying M&A.
• Understand the difference between a “merger" and an "acquisition”, what drives M&A activity, and how value is created (or destroyed) through an M&A transaction.
• Know the difference between a public and private company and the process by which a private company "goes public".
• Recognize the potential impact of state and federal laws on M&A transactions.
• Understand what's meant by a company's "capital structure".
• Learn the steps in the M&A process.
• Understand "deal structuring" and the structures used in an M&A transaction (Asset Purchase, Stock Purchase, and Merger).
• Learn what makes an M&A transaction “friendly” or “hostile,” the steps and tactics for each, and what takeover defenses are available to a Target company.
• Appreciate the importance of business valuation in the M&A process and the three most common methods used to value a Target company in an M&A transaction.
• Answer the question: "Do M&A transactions create shareholder value?"

Requirements

• The course is designed for those with a business background that covers basic accounting and finance conceptsin Most of the accounting, finance, and legal concepts necessary for the course are covered in Section 2's "Crash Course - The Life (and Death?) of a U.S. Public Company". In that Section, we follow a business, from start-up phase through bankruptcy.

Target audience

• Someone with an intermediate level of business knowledge who is interested in learning more about M&A transactions through a basic, but thorough, introduction to the subject.
• Current business and law students who are taking/planning to take an M&A course.
• Those currently working in a business or legal position who want to accelerate their career and/or expand their base of knowledge.
• Those with an advanced level of business knowledge who want to focus on M&A.