Top 10 Executive Courses on M&A

Mergers and Acquisitions, a course put on by Stanford in California, tackles the entire M&A process using a cross-disciplinary syllabus and a hands-on, week-long group simulation. Stanford combines expertise in strategy, finance, accounting and organizational behaviour to teach the course. At the end of each day, participants put theory into practice, applying key concepts to a simulated deal.

INSEAD puts on the M&As and Corporate Strategy course for executives who come to either Fontainebleau in France or Singapore for four and a half days of training. Participants will become more reflective about their corporate growth strategy through acquisitions, and return to their organizations equipped with a financial toolkit and post-merger integration frameworks needed for executing deals.

New York’s Columbia Business School runs an online course, Mergers and Acquisitions: Strategize and Execute Successful Deals, delivered over five days in April. The executives on the program learn how to capture value through M&A and create synergies of revenue and cost. They also examine best practices of due diligence, deal documentation, and transaction structuring.

Mergers and Acquisitions is an executive program run by London Business School that aims to help participants boost shareholder value and generate maximum returns from deals. Run over five days in London, or online, the program offers a comprehensive understanding of how M&A adds value to an organization. Participants learn how to identify opportunities and manage the cultural challenges of integration.

Kellogg’s Merger Week course has been running for more than 40 years. Participants in the class learn the entire process of making successful acquisitions. This includes learning how to search for acquisition targets, value them using economic models, and how to successfully negotiate transactions and integrate companies. They also study the tax, legal and governance issues. The program is delivered in-person over six days in either May or October.

Vlerick Business School puts on the four-day Creating Value Through M&A course in Ghent, Belgium each April. Participants explore various aspects of M&A before, during and after acquisition. This includes strategic rationales, due diligence processes and integration. The executives hear from seasoned experts who share their lessons on successful dealmaking.

Aalto University Executive Education offers the Mergers and Acquisitions program. Participants come to Helsinki, Finland, to gain a good understanding of the entire M&A process and each of its phases. The executives also acquire the practical tools, including templates and workbooks for valuation and integration. The course credits can be transferred to the school’s MBA and executive MBA programs.

London’s Imperial College Business School runs the online Mergers & Acquisitions program for 11 weeks, part-time. It takes learners through the financial and strategic aspects of corporate restructuring. Participants identify the functions, benefits and challenges of various forms of deals. They leave equipped to identify the benefits of deals, and how to establish a valuation and leverage bidding techniques.

SMU Cox runs Mergers & Acquisitions, a practical course that uses leading industry practitioners from companies such as Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, in addition to renowned academics, as teachers. Participants learn a playbook of M&A best practices including how to minimize tax consequences and maximize legal benefits. The program is available in an online format or in Dallas, Texas.

LSE offers The Law and Economics of Mergers and Acquisitions, a program which gives participants a holistic overview of the key concepts, drivers and frameworks of corporate transactions. Executives will learn to understand the structures and navigate the issues of corporate transactions, including private M&A, hostile takeovers and hedge fund activism.