Advanced Corporate Finance I (University of Zurich)

Abstract

This course develops and refines tools for evaluating investments (capital budgeting), capital structure, and corporate securities. The course seeks to deepen students' understanding of the link between corporate finance theory and practice.

Objective

This course develops and refines tools for evaluating investments (capital budgeting), capital structure, and corporate securities. With respect to capital structure, we start with the famous Miller and Modigliani irrelevance proposition and then move on to study the effects of taxes, bankruptcy costs, information asymmetries between firms and the capital markets, and agency costs. In this context, we will also study how leverage affects some central financial ratios that are often used in practice to assess firms and their stock. Other topics include corporate cash holdings, the use and pricing of convertible bonds, and risk management. The latter two topics involve option pricing. With respect to capital budgeting, the course pays special attention to tax effects in valuation, including in the estimation of the cost of capital. We will also study payout policy (dividends and share repurchases). The course seeks to deepen students' understanding of the link between corporate finance theory and practice. Various cases will be assigned to help reach this objective.

Content

Topics covered 1. Capital structure: Perfect markets and irrelevance 2. Risk, leverage, taxes, and the cost of capital 3. Leverage and financial ratios 4. Payout policy: Dividends and share repurchases 5. Capital structure: Taxes and bankruptcy costs 6. Capital structure: Information asymmetries, agency costs, cash holdings 7. Valuation: DCF, adjusted present value and WACC 8. Valuation using options 9. The use and pricing of convertible bonds 10. Corporate risk management

Resources