Official government website of the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia How to verify

Links to official Saudi educational websites end with edu.sa

All links to official educational websites of government agencies in Saudi Arabia end with .edu.sa.

protocol for encryption and security. HTTPS for encryption and security.

Secure websites in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia use the HTTPS protocol for encryption.

Registered with the Digital Government Authority with no: 20250413538

Colleges

Section list

Mergers and acquisitions

Course Description: This is an advanced finance course that prepares students for the world of mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Students will gain a comprehensive understanding of M&A trends, merger types, deal structuring, merger negotiations, and the legal framework governing M&A. The course examines M&A strategies, including growth, synergy, and diversification, as well as the motivations for mergers and acquisitions. Students will also explore hostile takeovers, anti-takeover defenses, and acquisition tactics such as tender offers, open market purchases, and proxy contests. The course covers leveraged buyouts and corporate restructuring, including divestitures, spin-offs, and bankruptcy reorganizations. Students will study corporate governance in the context of M&A and the roles of the board of directors. The course also addresses joint ventures, strategic alliances, valuation methods in M&A environments, including discount rates, control premiums, and stock swaps, as well as tax issues in M&A transactions.

Credit hours: 3

Objectives of the course :

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:
Describe merger and acquisition trends, types of mergers, merger negotiations, the legal framework governing mergers and acquisitions, and antitrust laws.
Explain the strategy of mergers, including growth, synergy, diversification, hostile takeovers, anti-takeover defenses, and take-over tactics such as tender offers, open market purchases, and proxy fights.
Analysis of leveraged buyouts, private equity markets, and corporate restructuring, including rundown of investments, spin-offs, and bankruptcies.
Study of corporate governance in the context of mergers and acquisitions, including board of directors' roles, management compensation, agency costs, as well as joint ventures and strategic alliances.
Apply valuation methods in the M&A environment, including discount rates, control premiums, equity swaps, and assessing tax implications in M&A transactions.

Course outputs :

Knowledge and understanding:
 Differentiate between mergers and acquisitions concepts, including types of mergers, merger strategies, hostile takeover processes, and acquisition tactics.
It discusses the principles of leveraged buyouts, the private equity market, corporate restructuring, restructuring in cases of bankruptcy, corporate governance, joint ventures, and strategic alliances in the context of mergers and acquisitions.
 Evaluates mergers and acquisitions opportunities by applying valuation methods, including discount rates, control premiums, equity swaps, and estimating the role of tax issues in M&A deals.
2) Skills:
Applies problem-solving and critical thinking skills to solve complex and advanced problems in the field of mergers and acquisitions.
Critically evaluates research in mergers and acquisitions and draws conclusions.
Communicates advanced merger and acquisition information and findings verbally.

Additional information:

Last updated: 2026-04-26