CBS Students at the East Coast Venture Challenge Finals
Curriculum
Private equity electives, which build on the MBA Program’s solid core of courses, are much in demand. There are elective offerings in credit markets, later stage buy outs, restructuring, and venture capital.
Credit Markets:
Private Equity, the Credit Markets and Leveraged Buyouts
The course begins with a review of credit market conditions leading up
to the credit crisis of 2007. By discussing high-profile leveraged
buyouts, students become familiar with this financing technique. Also
discussed is the outlook for the credit markets and for leveraged
buyouts in 2008. The course familiarizes students with private equity
and its partners in the leveraged-buyout process. By looking at
specific transactions, the course also examines whole-company
securitization, asset-based finance, commercial mortgage–backed
securities and PIK/Toggles as a means of facilitating leveraged buyouts.
Later Stage Buy Outs:
Private Equity: the asset class, its investments and its markets
This course explores private equity, which has become an important
dimension of investors' portfolio allocations and a key driver of
M&A and financing activity. The course discusses the private
equity markets, focusing on key strategies, economic drivers, fund
structures, investors and regulatory backdrop. It also explores
underlying approaches to private equity valuation and the sources of
investment in buyouts. Finally, current topics, including the global
proliferation of private equity funds and firms, the interplay with
other alternative investments and public market liquidity options, are
discussed.
Master Class in Private Equity
The master class is an unique opportunity for students to dissect one
company’s evolution from subsidiary of a Fortune 100 company to taken
private to introduction into the public equity markets. During the
semester, guest speakers from the company, from the many capital market
players and from the investment banking and legal professions will come
to class and bring the process to life, providing unique insights for
the students and offering the class the opportunity to interact with
the senior professionals responsible for stewarding a firm’s growth.
For the final assignment, each student team will write a case about
this company.
Restructuring:
Seminar in Distressed Value Investing
This course provides an introduction to distressed investing, including
a comprehensive review of investing styles, markets and company
situations. The goal of the class is to provide students with
broad-based exposure to what is one of the most complex and
intellectually stimulating areas of the market.
Turnaround Management
This course provides students with a perspective on identifying and
remedying turnaround business situations. Students learn, from the
standpoint of a general manager, how to distinguish between “troubled”
and “crisis” companies and how to use both qualitative and quantitative
tools to effect solutions.
Venture Capital:
Venture Capital: Risks/Opportunity
This course focuses on the role of venture capital, and the venture capitalist, in identifying, selecting, funding and developing emerging companies. Students should expect to complete the course with a basic understanding of the processes, incentives, structures and activities employed by those making the risk-reward determinations to fund new and growing companies. In addition, the course touches upon the opportunities and hurdles surrounding the internationalization of venture capital.
Venture Capital Seminar
The course is designed to give students an overview of the venture capital industry and a detailed understanding of the workings of a venture capital partnership. Although the course emphasizes early-stage venture capital investing, all stages of investing, including leveraged buyouts, are discussed.
Other Electives of Interest
Innovate or DieEnterprises must create and re-create themselves to establish and maintain competitive advantage. This course examines the people and processes behind innovation. Through a combination of cases, articles and videos the course provides a historical foundation and geopolitical perspective on innovation, and then looks at the techniques and people, entrepreneurs and corporate executives (successful and not so successful) whose ideas, creativity, passion and perseverance have tried to move the world forward. This nonquantitative course focuses on the activities and challenges faced by entrepreneurs and corporations, in the United States and internationally, as they have struggled to create and implement their ideas. We will focus on examples from the worlds of information technology, consumer products/retailing, government, media and the arts, while looking in detail at enterprises as diverse as Apple Inc., Segway, IKEA, Children’s Television Workshop (Sesame Street), Napster and Cirque du Soleil and at entrepreneurs ranging from Ted Turner (CNN) and Hugh Hefner (Playboy) to Milton Hershey and Howard Schultz (Starbucks). Classes will feature a combination of company evaluation, lectures, videos, guest speakers and group discussions. The course should prove useful to those interested in entrepreneurship, corporate strategy, venture capital, general management and leadership.
Master Class students with Hertz CEO Mark Frissora
CBS Students win SVC Competition
From left to right: Evan Berger '09, April Allderdice '01, Emi Kubota '08, Aynsley Toole '08, Hillary Garris '09, Abigail Barrett, Sakura Takano '09, James Dailey
