BFF5580 - Mergers and acquisitions - 2018

This unit examines the concept of mergers and acquisitions from two perspectives - the relevant areas of finance and the basic taxation, accounting and legal issues. The aim is to provide students with a practical understanding of this major corporate strategy. The finance issues will involve an examination of basic theory and empirical findings associated with mergers and acquisitions, the valuation of firms under a range of techniques, the structuring of bids from a financing perspective and defensive strategies. The taxation, accounting and legal issues include a review of the taxation effects from the position of both the bidder and the target's shareholders, the legal responsibilities of the Board and senior management of both target and bidder companies, the role of the Takeover Panel in relation to both defensive and negotiating strategies, the use of independent experts, the application of the Trade Practices Act and the effect of the accounting asset impairment tests.

The learning goals associated with this unit are to:

1. define the purposes and scope of mergers and acquisitions in terms of the legal and economic consequences
2. evaluate the impact of mergers and acquisitions on the participating parties
3. describe the differences between mergers, hostile acquisitions and private equity involvement
4. communicate clearly and in an organised manner the findings from both case studies and academic studies on the issues raised in the preceding goals
5. critically analyse the strategies and financial worth of a nominated M & A corporate example
6. apply critical thinking, problem solving and presentation skills to individual and/or group activities dealing with mergers and acquisitions and demonstrate in an individual summative assessment task the acquisition of a comprehensive understanding of the topics covered in BFF5580.

Within semester assessment: 50% + Examination: 50%

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. Independent study may include associated readings, assessment and preparation for scheduled activities. The unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

See also Unit timetable information