Deals

This course focuses on the common economic problems that drive deal structuring and deal contracting. Although deals vary in their details, they share common economic problems, such as issues of rent-seeking, moral hazard, and information asymmetry. This course introduces students to the economic tools necessary to evaluate alternative contractual regimes, including transaction costs, information economics, risk sharing and incentives, property rights, and finance. Then, it applies that knowledge to the evaluation of different real-world deals, with the particular deals selected to give students a range of subject matters in order to highlight a common set of problems and solutions that arises in multiple settings. In the past, Deals courses have included the study of mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings, venture financing, movie financing, spin-offs, and securitizations, among others.