Teaching

The course is intended as an introduction to research in sustainable and empirical corporate finance. It covers both topics and methods. Methods will be covered theoretically and then we will consider the use of the method in the literature. Additionally, the course will introduce students to the available data sources of IBF-UZH and how to use these resources effectively. Finally, assignments using the data that has been introduced will provide practical experience.

The course combines empirical analysis and theoretical foundations in modern asset pricing. In the empirical part, we explore financial data using tools such as event studies, variance ratio tests, testing CAPM, and Fama-French factor models. The theory section covers portfolio theory, CAPM, no-arbitrage, Arrow-Debreu pricing, complete markets, and incomplete markets within a coherent framework.

This course studies mergers and corporate restructuring. The question addressed include: what are the motives for mergers? Which mergers create value? What are the different methods of payment and what motivates their use? What are divestitures and spin-offs and what motivates their use? The course will cover various takeover defenses available to firms. We will examine the motives for going private and leveraged buyouts. Finally, the course will cover the relation between the market for corporate control and corporate governance. To understand whether a particular type of merger or corporate event improves shareholder wealth we develop tools to calculate abnormal returns associated with the event and test whether these returns are statistically significant. Additionally, we will look at valuation in the context of acquisitions and restructurings, using standard valuation techniques such as adjusted present value.