Outline

Overview

Mergers and acquisitions are a fundamental component of the corporate landscape. Through this unit students study the economic and strategic drivers of corporate restructuring activity and their use in the design and analysis of restructuring transactions; evaluate the outcomes from restructuring transactions, both the theory based explanations and the empirical tests of the theories; learn to identify and value synergies in a restructuring transaction using several valuation methods; develop a detailed understanding of the design and economic impacts of deal structures used to effect corporate restructuring transactions; and analyse the process of merger arbitrage and its contribution to the outcome of restructuring transactions. Where possible this unit integrates learning outcomes in an academic and applied context, and develops an appreciation of the regulatory environment for restructuring transactions and the impact of these regulations on the process and outcomes of restructuring transactions.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Finance
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	FINC5001
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	ACCT6011
Assumed knowledge ?	Calculation of free cash flows, trading multiples, discounted cash flow valuation methodology, valuation sensitivities, regression analysis.
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Craig Mellare, craig.mellare@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Supervised exam ?	Final exam Details will be provided on Canvas.	40%	Formal exam period	2 hours
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Assignment 1 Individual assignment, details to be provided on Canvas.	15%	Week 07 Due date: 11 Sep 2023 at 23:59 Closing date: 18 Sep 2023	TBA
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Assignment 2 Group work, details will be provided on Canvas.	30%	Week 13 Due date: 30 Oct 2023 at 23:59 Closing date: 06 Nov 2023	TBA
Outcomes assessed:
Presentation	Group Presentation Group presentation, details will be provided on Canvas	15%	Week 13 Due date: 30 Oct 2023 at 23:59 Closing date: 30 Oct 2023	TBA
Outcomes assessed:
= group assignment ?

Assessment summary

Individual assignment: You will analyse individually the strategic context of a recent M&A case study to provide an initial assessment of deal feasibility and advice whether further consideration of the deal should proceed.
Group assignment and presentation: The group assignment gives you the opportunity to apply your critical reasoning and analytical problem solving skills to a recent M&A case study, while building effective communication and group-work skills. Groups will ideally consist of 4-5 students (5 students at the maximum) and need to be formed by the end of week 4.
Each group will be required to prepare a Powerpoint slide deck and deliver as a group a 'pitch' as a video recording. All group members need to present, and time should be approximately equally allocated to each presenter.
Full details of the deal and assignment requirements will be provided on Canvas.
Final exam: All content from the semester is examinable. Further details for the final exam including practice questions will be available on Canvas.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at an exceptional standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.
Distinction	75 - 84	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at a very high standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.
Credit	65 - 74	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at a good standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.
Pass	50 - 64	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at an acceptable standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.
Fail	0 - 49	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Introduction and overview of the M&A market	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 02	Corporate finance and the agency model	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 03	Assessing M&A outcomes	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 04	Merger waves	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 05	Why, when and how do firms engage in M&A	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 06	Deal valuation and synergies	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 07	Form of payment I	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 08	Form of payment II	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 09	Corporate restructuring	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 10	LBOs and go-private transactions	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 11	Hostile takeovers and defense tactics	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 12	Merger arbitrage	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 13	Shareholder activism	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

See Canvas for weekly required reading list.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. Analyse and discuss the strategic role of mergers and acquisitions to corporations in value creation
LO2. Evaluate how and why corporate restructuring activities are an important part of the efficient operations of financial markets
LO3. Examine particular forms of mergers and acquisitions to determine critical aspects of a deal, as well as provide a recommendation to a particular group of stakeholders
LO4. Measure and analyse the significance of control premium and synergies, identify and justify likely control premium and synergies in a given corporate M&A deal, and determine optimal deal structures. Assess the risks of M&A implementation
LO5. Understand various classes of risk management tools used in M&A and their advantages and weaknesses
LO6. Conduct research using archives, libraries, web-sourced data and other sources of information to produce timely and high-quality work
LO7. Communicate clearly and succinctly issues relating to M&A

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

No major changes have been made since this unit was last offered.

Additional information

Business School Policies

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

FINC6017: Mergers and Acquisitions

Semester 2, 2023 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect