Course unit details:
Advanced Corporate Finance

Course unit fact file
Unit code BMAN30111A
Credit rating 20
Unit level Level 3
Teaching period(s) Semester 1
Offered by Alliance Manchester Business School
Available as a free choice unit? No

Overview

Capital raising:

- Theories and evidence of initial public offering (IPO) & seasoned equity offering (SEO) anomalies

- Valuation of IPO companies

Corporate Governance:

- Agency costs of Equity

- Corporate Governance mechanisms (applied also to IPO cases)

Capital structure theories with symmetric information:

- The Modigliani-Miller (MM) irrelevance theorem

- Capital structure with taxes and financial distress costs

- Valuation of debt tax shields

- The trade-off theory

Capital structure theories with asymmetric information and agency considerations:

- Adverse selection and signalling models

- Pecking order theory

- Agency theories (agency costs of debt and equity)

Issuance and valuation of:

- Debt, including both straight and convertible debt

•       Practitioner’s lecture (provisional TBC)

Pre/co-requisites

Unit title Unit code Requirement type Description
Foundations of Finance A BMAN23000 Pre-Requisite Compulsory
Foundations of Finance B BMAN23000B Pre-Requisite Compulsory
Foundations of Finance C BMAN23000C Pre-Requisite Compulsory
BMAN 23000 is a Pre-Requisite of BMAN 30111A/B.

Pre-requisite course units have to be passed by 40% or above at the first attempt unless a higher percentage is indicated within this course outline. If the pre-requisite unit is defined as a compulsory course unit within your programme of study (Maths with Finance, IBFE, Accounting, BA Econ pathways for example) then progression onto the dependent unit is permitted as long as you have gained the appropriate amount of credit to progress on to the following year of your registered undergraduate programme.

 

Aims

The course unit aims to present students with an intermediate/advanced analytical treatment of corporate finance, building on first and second-year finance courses, in particular the second part of BMAN23000 on corporate finance. Where appropriate, there will be some revision of concepts covered in BMAN23000. The approach is analytical rather than mathematical, and the intuition behind theoretical concepts is emphasised throughout. The course unit focuses on the theory of corporate finance and corporate financial policy. Its aim is to provide an understanding (from both a theoretical and an empirical standpoint) of some of the central decision problems in corporate finance: capital raising, capital structure decisions, the effects of conflicts between different types of stakeholders within the firm and corporate ownership and governance issues. This module will help students to apply theoretical concepts to real case scenarios and develop their analytical skills in analysing and discussing case studies of real companies.

Learning outcomes

On completion of this course successful students will be able to:

• Understand how the following factors influence the decisions of companies on capital structure

1. Taxation

2. Information asymmetries

3. Agency costs of debt

4. Agency costs of equity

• Understand the ownership and control structure of firms

1. Impact of agency costs of equity both on IPO process and capital structure decisions;

2. Corporate governance mechanisms

• Understand some of the methods used to value

1. Equity (in Initial Public Offering)

2. Debt (both straight and convertible)

• Discuss and interpret a few case studies in corporate finance

• Grasp the perspective of a private equity fund in evaluating a firm/project.
 

Teaching and learning methods

Lecture Hours: 18

Practical Lectures Hours: 14

Private Study Hours: 168

Total study hours: 200

Please note there will be a several weeks with 4 hours of teaching - 2 hours of lectures and 2 hours of practical lectures.

Informal Contact Methods

1. Office Hours


2. Online Learning Activities (blogs, discussions, self assessment questions)

3. Other : Practical lectures/sessions.

Assessment methods

Unseen 3 hour examination at the end of the semester (100% )
 




 

Feedback methods

- Informal advice and discussion during lectures and seminars.

- Responses to student emails and questions from a member of staff including feedback provided to a group via an online discussion forum.

- Specific course related feedback sessions.

- Generic feedback posted on Blackboard regarding overall examination performance.

 

Recommended reading

Core texts:

The following texts cover (most of) the material taught in this course unit. Students are recommended to purchase one of them.

Hillier, D., Grinblatt, M. and S. Titman (2008), Financial Markets and Corporate Strategy: European Edition, 1st Edition, Irwin/McGraw-Hill. OR

Hillier, D., Grinblatt, M. and S. Titman (2012), Financial Markets and Corporate Strategy: European Edition, 2nd Edition, Irwin/McGraw-Hill.

Grinblatt, M. and S. Titman, 2002, Financial Markets & Corporate Strategy, Irwin/McGraw-Hill, 2nd ed. (the 1st edition of this book was published in 1998).

Berk, J., and P. DeMarzo, (2007). Corporate Finance, Pearson International Edition OR

Berk, J., DeMarzo, P., (2010). Corporate Finance. Pearson Global Edition. OR

Berk, J., DeMarzo, P., (2013). Corporate Finance. Pearson Global Edition (3 edition).

Brealey, R. A.., S. C. Myers and F. Allen, 2006, Principles of Corporate Finance, 8th ed., London: McGraw-Hill. OR

Study hours

Scheduled activity hours
Assessment written exam 2.5
Lectures 18
Practical classes & workshops 14
Independent study hours
Independent study 165.5

Teaching staff

Staff member Role
Maria-Teresa Marchica Unit coordinator
Amedeo De Cesari Unit coordinator

Additional notes

Length of course: 11 weeks

Pre-requisite course units have to be passed by 40% or above at the first attempt unless a higher percentage is indicated within this course outline. If the pre-requisite unit is defined as a compulsory course unit within your programme of study (Maths with Finance, IBFE, Accounting, BA Econ pathways for example) then progression onto the dependent unit is permitted as long as you have gained the appropriate amount of credit to progress on to the following year of your registered undergraduate programme.

Pre-requisites: BMAN23000(A) or (B) Foundations of Finance

Co-requisites: None

Dependent course units: None

Programme Restrictions: There are no programme restrictions for this course providing the pre-requisites listed below are met.

BMAN30111 is available to study abroad and exchange students admitted through the University of Manchester International Programmes Office.

 

Fees and funding

Fees

Tuition fees for home students commencing their studies in September 2027 will be £10,050 per annum. Tuition fees for international students will be £35,300 per annum.

For general information please see the undergraduate finance pages.

You will receive a significant tuition fee discount for the placement year. UK students with a household income of up to £35,000 are also eligible to receive a  cash bursary  worth up to £2,000.

Additional expenses

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme

Policy on additional costs

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

Scholarships/sponsorships

We know that student finance can be complicated. The links below provide further information to help guide you.

Learn more about student finance options for UK students.

Learn more about fees and finance for international students.

As an international student you may be eligible for our Global Futures Scholarships . This is open to students starting their studies in September 2027.

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