Private Equity Initiative - Courses- Related Electives

RELATED COURSES

HEALTH CARE FINANCE
 Faculty
Christoph Herpfer, Assistant Professor of Business Administration
Course Description
The healthcare sector accounts for more than 20% of the US economy and demands substantial high skill management. This course maps advanced finance topics into the healthcare space, preparing students for a successful career in healthcare management. We examin the tightly regulated and complex structures for payments in healthcare and the political interest impacting financing and investment decisions. We explore the unique financing needs and long-term capital management strategies in this sector and the unique importance and challenges for revenue cycle management. We analyze the unique opportunities and challenges in the healthcare investment landscape, including venture capital and private equity investment, the potential for start-ups and entrepreneurship. We explore this nexus of questions through case studies, guest lectures, and interactive discussions to provide students with practical experience in applying finance concepts to the healthcare industry. Students gain skills and knowledge to succeed both in the healthcare industry directly, and in the fast-growing sector of healthcare specialized professional services such as investment banking solutions, buyouts and venture capital.
Course Objectives
• Understand the nature and volatility of cashflows in healthcare.
• Explore unique financing channels such as royalties and licenses.
• Learn about optimal revenue cycle management.
• Understand how to navigate long investment horizons and high regulation.
• Understand the increasing role of M&A and private equity.
• Study the role of regulatory change and value based care for providers, payors and patients.
MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
Faculty
Michael Ho, Professor of Practice
Course Description
This course examines Mergers and Acquisitions from multiple perspectives: strategic, tactical, financial, tax, legal, corporate governance, etc., thus providing a full picture of the complexity arising during an M&A transaction. The course discusses how to structure a deal and why: how to parse risks among buyer and seller, deal with potential anti-trust issues, and account for strategic and governance forces which may add to the probability of success in an M&A deal. Besides case studies and practitioner-expert presentations the course asks students to research a failed deal and provide learnings in the classroom. The course is important for students interested in Investment Banking, Private Equity, Hedge Funds, Consulting, Corporate Finance as well as General Management. M&A is a fundamental way to grow a business and inevitably business leaders will encounter M&A in their professional lives.
Course Objectives
• Understand the complexity of an M&A transaction and the various aspects impacting the success -strategic, legal, financial, etc.
• Understand the various risks arising in a deal and how to use tools to distribute them among buyer and seller
CORPORATE FINANCING
Faculty
Matthew McBrady, Professor of Practice
Course Description
As the name suggests, Corporate Financing (CF) explores how firms raise funds through external capital markets to finance their operations and strategic objectives. Over the past 20 years there has been a rapid expansion in both the breadth and depth of financial markets worldwide. CF seeks to understand how each type of financing instrument relates to the others, and in particular how different instruments as uniquely suited to meeting the needs of different types of issuers. The course consists of four modules. Module 1 focuses on initial and follow-on equity offerings, covering traditional IPOs as well as newer alternative means of taking companies public (i.e. SPACs and Direct Listings). Module 2 focuses on Convertible bond markets. Module 3 focuses on debt financing (with a particular focus on Leveraged Finance). And Module 4 focuses on special topics concluding with restructuring finance. CF is a primary corporate finance elective for students concentrating in the Corporate Finance track. It is suitable for students interested in pursuing careers as a corporate CFO, Treasurer, Head of Business Development or internal M&A. It is also particularly well-suited for those pursuing careers in investment banking, commercial banking, broader financial services, or consulting.
Course Objectives
• Familiarize students with the breadth and depth of options available to firms in need of external financing.
• Understand both the theoretical and practical considerations that make different types of financing instruments particular well (or poorly) suited to companies in different circumstances.
• Gain broad familiarity with the key institutional setup and market conventions associated with each type of financing instrument.
• Develop a complete understanding of corporate financing transactions from the perspective of issuers, investors, and the intermediaries (i.e. investment bankers) that bring them together.
HOT TOPICS IN FINANCE
Faculty
Pedro Matos, James A. and Stacy Cooper Bicentennial Professor of Business Administration, John G. Macfarlane Family Chair and Academic Director of Richard A. Mayo Center for Asset Management
Course Description
The course gives students the opportunity to hear financial market experts discuss the most current financial issues in the headlines. Topics will span issues of concern to Wall Street as well as corporate America. Each class will feature a new speaker who will either introduce a new issue to the class or will bring a different perspective on the issue of a previous speaker. Students will be asked to prepare readings and/or online research for each class. The course is offered in the fourth quarter in order to serve as a capstone experience for students interested in finance careers in investment banking, corporate finance as well as money management. The content of the course will vary according to what topics are in the news as well as the availability of speakers and will cover all segments of finance and financial markets such as banking, capital market innovations, capital investment trends, CFO challenges, public and private equity investing, M&A trends, etc.
Course Objectives
• Apply the theoretical and practical concepts accumulated from the Darden finance curriculum to current topics of interest to leading practitioners.
• Teach students how to express themselves in the language of practitioners.
• Guide students in intelligent debate with business leaders on critical issues.
• Explore the links between issues and career paths.
VENTURE CAPITAL FINANCE
 Faculty
Rus Abuzov,  Assistant Professor of Business Administration
Course Description
The Venture Capital Finance course focuses on the institutional aspects of early-stage investing, more commonly referred to as venture capital, which is important sector within the broader private equity industry. The course is designed to equip students with a comprehensive set of skills that will allow them to analyze situations of high risk and uncertainty from the investor’s perspective.
The course begins with introductory sessions on how venture capitalists (VCs) operate and make investment decisions. We also discuss institutional details surrounding these decisions by talking about capital flows, limited partners, fund economics and compensation arrangements between general and limited partners. Thereafter, the course focuses primarily on the investment phase of early-stage investments from the earliest seed rounds to later rounds of venture investment through the exit decision.
Course Objectives
• Introduce students to how VCs operate and make investment decisions. Explore institutional details surrounding these decisions by focusing on capital flows within the broader private equity industry, fund economics and compensation arrangements between general and limited partners.
• Unpack how VCs approach evaluation of early-stage companies in a setting with multiple financing rounds.
• Explore most frequently used securities, provisions of equity financing rounds and convertible notes.
• Familiarize students with other sources of startup funding such as venture debt instruments and corporate venture capital
• Assess the choice between different exit routes, primarily between going public and trade sale.
 What Students Say
"The course allowed me to explore different perspectives from what fundraising may look like for an entrepreneur to one of a VC partner looking at a potential investment. After taking it, I gained a much better understanding of the ins and outs of the venture capital landscape as well as the various mechanisms one could use to incentivize entrepreneurs and achieve better returns for investors." Kiana Feliciano MBA Class of 2024
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"The course helped me appreciate the multiple levers entrepreneurs and financiers can pull to mitigate the downside and participate in the upside. It wasn't just numbers - we dove into the human and contractual elements that can make or break a deal and propel or sink a venture." Carlos Saballos MBA Class of 2024
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"This was a fantastic course that effortlessly blended the quantitative modeling and qualitative strategy of venture capital. I left the course with a clear understanding of two key industry aspects: (i) The various vehicles a private investor can used depending on stage, risk tolerance, etc. (ii) The stakeholder alignment or conflict associated with each vehicle’s incentive structure." Will Whitehurst MBA Class of 2024
VENTURE CAPITAL LEADERSHIP
Faculty
Les Alexander, John Glynn Endowed Professor and Professor of Practice in Business Administration
Course Description
The Venture Capital Leadership course explores the role venture capital plays in the private capital ecosystem through case discussions and in class conversations with industry leaders. The course offers students the opportunity to examine current topics impacting the venture capital industry, learn about the various providers of start-up, seed, early, and late-stage capital, explore how funds are raised and why limited partners allocate to this asset class, and evaluate the similarities and differences between venture capital and corporate venture capital. We will also discuss how venture capitalists select investments, engage with their portfolio companies in an attempt to add value, and pursue a liquidity event to return invested capital and profits to their limited partners. Throughout the course we will consider themes such as how private capital investments are different from investing in the public capital markets, how to be selective when evaluating investment opportunities, the role of failure in venture capital, and how venture capital impacts the economy.
Course Objectives
• Explore the unique nature of private capital market investments in general and venture capital investments in particular
• Develop an appreciation for the many different providers of capital to start-up, early, and late-stage businesses
• Gain insight into the impact venture capital makes on the economy and society as well as discuss ways that venture capital could improve in these areas
• Practice the evaluation of investment opportunities and selection of attractive investments
• Understand the similarities and differences between venture capital and corporate venture capital
• Learn ways venture capitalists can engage with and add value to portfolio companies
• Understand the relationship between the fund managers and their limited partners as well as the reasons limited partners invest in venture capital funds and other alternative assets