BFF3351: Investment banking

Joint mergers and acquisitions case study (20%), In-semester test (10%), Exam - 3 hours (70%).

This unit is really fascinating and it really goes into specific theories and concepts about investment banking. Topics covered include mergers and acquisitions, IPOs, share buybacks, project and structured finance. BFF3351 gives you an insight into what it is like to work in investment banking and is like the UBS Investment Banking Challenge in many regards. The most difficult part of the unit, in my view, is the mergers and acquisitions case study. The assignment takes a lot of time, as you have to develop figures and calculations based on the case study to determine whether the M&A should go ahead or not. When I did the unit, the M&A proposal was between David Jones and Myer - a real-life example today. The mergers and acquisitions case study is 2,500 words and should be in a business report format. The exam and mid-semester test are fairly straight-forward, as they are based entirely off tutorial questions. The lecturers and tutors are quite good and they do go into a lot of depth to explain the concepts. Overall, a good unit to undertake, especially if you are considering working in finance or the investment banking sector.

Mr Roger Love and Professor Christine Brown.

Yes, exams from the past four semesters are available.

4 out of 5.

Yes, with screen capture.

No prescribed textbook. Online readings are sufficient.

One two-hour lecture and one one-hour tutorial per week.

Semester 1, 2014.

Distinction.