The purpose of this skills course is to become familiar with Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As) from a valuation perspective.
After completing the course, you:
1.) understand how M&As can be valued using common scientifically valid valuation approaches;
2.) develop skills to apply valuation techniques to M&A related investment opportunities;
3.) be able to judge whether M&A’s add value;
4.) understand the difference between DCF valuation and real-option approach to valuation;
5.) further develop your presentation and communication skills

Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) have become key drivers of growth and transformation in the modern economy. They offer companies opportunities to expand, achieve synergies, enhance operational efficiency and more.
Despite their prevalence, M&As remain a subject of significant debate. A central question is whether these transactions genuinely create value for the firms involved. Do they lead to measurable increases in firm value and generate wealth for shareholders? While M&As often result in larger and seemingly more influential companies, their actual impact on value creation requires careful examination.
The purpose of this skills course is to become familiar with M&As from a valuation perspective. You will explore the principles of valuation in case studies focused on valuing and assessing M&A deals, identifying synergies, analyzing leveraged buyouts, and evaluating option-like deals.
Through this course, you will develop practical skills to analyze and assess the financial and strategic implications of M&As in the corporate world.

Selection from:
Berk, J. and DeMarzo, P. (2019). Corporate Finance. Global Edition. Pearson.
* Chapter 8: Fundamentals of Capital Budgeting
* Chapter 18: Capital Budgeting and Valuation with Leverage
* Chapter 19: Valuation and Financial Modeling: A Case Study
* Chapter 20: Financial Options
* Chapter 21: Option Valuation
* Chapter 28: Mergers and Acquisitions

Bruner, R. F. (2004). Applied mergers and acquisitions (Vol. 173). John Wiley & Sons.
* Chapter 10: Valuing options
* Chapters 14: Real Options and Their Impact on M&A

Alternative textbooks and chapters that are made freely available online by the authors can be valuable resources:
Welch, I. (2009) Corporate Finance: An Introduction. (Links to an external site.) New York: Prentice Hall.
* Chapter 4: A first encounter with Capital Budgeting Rules
* Chapter 12: Pitfalls in Capital Budgeting
* Chapter 13: From financial statements to economic cash flows
* Chapter 20: ProForma Financial Statements

Damodaran, A. (2002). Investment Valuation, Wiley.
* Chapter 2: Approaches to Valuation: ch2.pdf (nyu.edu) (author website)
* Chapter 5: Option pricing theory and models: ch5.pdf (nyu.edu)
* Chapter 25: acquisitions and takeovers: ch25.pdf (nyu.edu)

Damodaran, A. (2005). "The Value of Synergy", The Value of Synergy by Aswath Damodaran - SSRN

Malmendier, U. and G. Tate (2008). “Who Makes Acquisitions?” CEO Overconfidence and the Market’s Reaction”, Journal of Financial Economics. See Canvas for access details.

Exchange students need to have taken at least one introductory finance course, sufficient first-year finance skills, passing criteria are that all three cases must be completed with a "sufficient" grading.
An advanced level of English