Dr Amil Dasgupta OLD 3.45, Prof Christopher Polk OLD 4.23 and Prof Daniel Ferreira OLD M2.17

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

Aimed at people with a good undergraduate degree and good quantitative skills, with some knowledge of economics.

The course is divided into two parts. The first part is called Financing and investigates how companies should optimally finance their activities. The aim is to understand what factors determine "optimal" capital structure and how the interplay of these factors can affect financing decisions in a way that creates value on the right hand side of the balance sheet. The second part consists of (a) Valuation, which focuses on how to create value on the left hand side of the balance sheet, i.e. explains how companies should select the set of investable assets; and (b) A number of topics covering other important corporate finance decisions, such as mergers and acquisitions and initial public offerings. Each part takes up 50% of the course.

40 hours of lectures and 20 hours of classes. MSc Finance (part-time) taught MT and LT (evenings). MSc Finance (full-time) taught MT (daytime).

Regular classworks will be completed, handed in and marked as part of formative assessment for this course.

The recommended textbooks for this course are Berk and DeMarzo, Corporate Finance 2008 and Higgins, Analysis for Financial Management, 9th Edition. Other recommended readings from relevant journal articles will be included in a study pack.

Exam (80%, duration: 3 hours) in the main exam period.
In class assessment (20%) in the MT and LT.