Advanced corporate finance

The course aims at providing students with theoretical knowledge and practical skills on selected advanced concepts in corporate finance. In the first part of the course attention will be devoted to how companies make sophisticated investment decisions based on advanced valuation techniques. Specifically, students will learn how market imperfections (such as taxes, financial distress and agency costs) influence companies' optimal capital structure, as well as advanced capital budgeting techniques adapt to different capital structures. The concept of options will be introduced and used first to price financial options and then to include real options in sophisticated capital budgeting processes. In the second part of the course, students will focus on how companies raise long term financing, including equity (initial public offerings, equity seasoned offerings, private placement etc) and debt (bonds offering and private placements, loans). Lastly, the course presents the most relevant corporate governance best practices. The course will have a strong practical components, based on numerical exercises and review of real case studies.

By the end of the course, the students will be able to:
·illustrate how market imperfections influence capital structure
·include different capital structures in capital budgeting decisions and in companies' valuation
·price financial options and illustrate why explain might decide to include them in their investment portfolio
·evaluate real options and include them in capital budgeting decisions
·illustrate the different fundraising options available to companies: distinguish between different types of equity and debt issues, understand their process and evaluate their costs and benefits
·justify the need for good corporate governance, illustrate challenges, best practices, and regulation for corporate governance.