This course will focus on advanced topics in business transactions generally, and M&A in particular. As a consequence, M&A is a prerequisite.
That said, this will not be “M&A II,” insofar as the curriculum won’t simply follow the architecture of a casebook in lockstep. In fact, there will be no casebook, as the course will highlight recent innovations, issues and challenges by and facing deal makers, of the sort which are so new that they have yet to appear in casebooks.
Assigned reading will be comprised of articles and similar materials, and don’t be surprised if the syllabus changes week-to-week. If something novel of import and interest emerges mid-semester, we’ll pivot and address it.
As an example, had this course been offered in the fall of 2020, it would have been organized most prominently around the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on M&A deal terms and activity, as well as the SPAC craze. In 2021, it’s anticipated that those matters will remain on the table, as their respective ripple effects will continue, but there will most certainly be new phenomena in the mix.
All this being said, this is not merely a “current events” course. While the curriculum will indeed be anchored by contemporary activity, the matters discussed will be grounded in the sort of deal fundamentals which consistently appear in business transactions of every shape and sort, regardless of moment and era.