Corporate Finance

Corporate Finance: A Simple Introduction provides an accessible guide to the principles and methods of corporate finance, with equations and examples, empirical evidence, and diagrams to illustrate the analysis.

Examine the traditional theory of optimal debt and equity financing, how Modigliani and Miller’s theory on capital structure differs, and the impact corporate and personal taxes or market imperfections may have on the optimal capital structure.

Understand dividend irrelevance theory, the factors driving the dividend decision, and why companies may prefer share repurchases to paying dividends.

Explore option theory with long and short calls and puts explained, and the Black-Scholes option pricing model and the factors affecting it detailed. See the variety of ways traders may use options, as speculators make profits betting on price movements, hedgers eliminate risk, and arbitrageurs may make risk-free profits exploiting undervalued options.

Look at why companies seek mergers & acquisitions, the merger process they undertake, how a firm can improve its chances of making an acquisition, and some takeover defences for resistant firms. Empirical evidence on merger performance is presented, and alternative explanations examined.