Not available in 2015/16
FM440      Half Unit
Corporate Finance Theory

This information is for the 2015/16 session.

Teacher responsible

Prof David Webb OLD M3.09

Availability

This course is available on the MSc in Accounting and Finance, MSc in Economics and Management, MSc in Finance (full-time), MSc in Finance (part-time), MSc in Finance and Economics, MSc in Finance and Economics (Research) and MSc in Finance and Private Equity. This course is not available as an outside option.

Pre-requisites

Students must have completed Corporate Finance and Asset Markets (FM430).

This is an advanced course; students will be expected to have a strong background in Micro Economics and be comfortable with mathematical arguments. Coverage of the material in FM430 Corporate Finance and Asset Markets is normally required as a prerequisite for this course.

Course content

Provides a thorough grounding in recent developments in the theory of corporate finance. The course involves an advanced development of theories of corporate financial policy and corporate governance, going public, takeovers and insolvency. The development of these theories involves applying the modern theories of agency, asymmetric information and game theoretic ideas. Applications of the economics of incomplete contracts to the problems of ownership and control and financial decisions will also be developed.

Teaching

20 hours of lectures, 3 hours of lectures and 9 hours of seminars in the LT. 4 hours of lectures in the ST.

Formative coursework

Written answers to problems will be expected on a weekly basis. There will also be an unassessed assignment.

Indicative reading

The Theory of Corporate Finance by Jean Tirole (Princeton University Press, 2006) covers much of the material. Some additional material can be found in O D Hart, Firms Contracts and Finance Structure (Oxford University Press, 1995) and C W Smith, The Modern Theory of Corporate Finance (McGraw-Hill, 1990). A set of lecture notes and a study pack of journal articles will be provided.

Assessment

Exam (100%, duration: 2 hours) in the main exam period.

Key facts

Department: Finance

Total students 2014/15: Unavailable

Average class size 2014/15: Unavailable

Controlled access 2014/15: No

Value: Half Unit

Guidelines for interpreting course guide information