Corporate Restructuring
Mergers
and Acquisitions
Creating Value in Turbulent Times
An improved economic outlook and pent-up demand are creating new opportunities for executives who want to improve their organization's position through corporate restructuring, mergers, and acquisitions. Capturing maximum value requires a thorough understanding of debt and corporate restructuring options, as well as a keen ability to identify strategic opportunities to improve competitive position. In Corporate Restructuring, Mergers, and Acquisitions, you will acquire a portfolio of proven financial management strategies for enhancing and sustaining corporate performance in a recovering economy.
What You Can Expect
Through an illuminating examination of real-life restructurings, you will learn to identify and respond to potential restructuring opportunities and obtain insights into successful strategies. You will gain a sound understanding of ways to create value by repositioning and revitalizing your firm.
Your Course of Study
Immersed in a learning experience that comprises lectures, case studies, and group discussion, you will explore a broad range of restructuring strategies including corporate bankruptcy, recapitalizations, debt restructuring, cost cutting programs, leveraged buyouts, equity spinoffs, employee layoffs/corporate downsizing, mergers, and acquisitions.
Who Is Right for the Program
This executive education program is appropriate for executives from an array of companies and industries. Participants may include CEOs, general managers, CFOs, financial analysts, bankers, consultants, service providers, and others involved in corporate restructuring.
What You Can Expect
Current market conditions have escalated the need for corporate leaders to evaluate their restructuring options. For some, it's a matter of improving performance; for others, it's a matter of survival. Whether in an emerging sector or a mature market, you must understand the complexities of diverse corporate restructuring and their implications before taking decisive action. Choosing creatively among the most effective options for your situation while executing efficiently will enable you to realize the full potential of your company and its offerings.
In Corporate Restructuring, Mergers, and Acquisitions, you and an accomplished group of peers develop an in-depth understanding of the methods for creating value through restructuring. By exploring restructuring strategies from various angles, you will improve your ability to reposition and revitalize your firm, create new opportunities, and maximize value for shareholders. Specifically, you will be better able to:
- Recognize situations in which restructuring can add significant value or create opportunity
- Identify the best restructuring options for a specific problem or challenge
- Use financial valuation and credit analysis to measure the potential value gains available through restructuring
- Manage the complex accounting, tax, legal, and regulatory issues that characterize many restructuring actions, avoiding pitfalls that can delay or derail the process
- Communicate and negotiate effectively with your firm's stakeholders to ensure the success of a restructuring effort
- Implement an effective decision-making and execution process that enables you and your team to formulate and act on restructuring plans in a rational, systematic way
How Will My Organization Benefit?
Executive Education programs at Harvard Business School are a significant investment for both you and your organization. Going far beyond the basic transmission of skills and theories, each leadership development program provides applicable lessons in the classroom that can be implemented successfully within your organization. You will acquire a fresh perspective on global business from our groundbreaking curriculum, world-renowned faculty, and an accomplished group of elite peers from around the world.
"This program helps you to think outside the box. It really brings maximum creativity to bear in solving problems and creating value. Opportunities are created by an understanding of the broad spectrum of value—creating strategies, some of which require a good technical understanding of finance, accounting, and business law."
Mark Schmitz [CFO], Plug Power, U.S.
Your Course of Study
When your company is faced with major competitive or industry challenges, you need to be able to implement financial strategies that maximize the value of your company and capture that value for shareholders. In the HBS Executive Education program Corporate Restructuring, Mergers, and Acquisitions, you will examine a range of restructuring options, including:
- Corporate bankruptcy reorganization
- Debt restructuring
- Leveraged buyouts and recapitalizations
- Cost-cutting and corporate downsizing programs
- Employee layoffs
- Mergers and acquisitions
- Corporate spin-offs
- Divestitures and stock tracking
In a comprehensive leadership development experience that includes faculty lectures, case studies, hands-on exercises, and group discussions, you will examine some of the most innovative and controversial restructurings of the past decade, and deepen your understanding of successful financial strategies.
Designed to provide hands-on experience, the program will help you analyze your company's current situation and design a financial restructuring program that best addresses key issues. You will also discover how to use specific financial analysis tools to identify restructuring opportunities and potential gains. Your new skill set extends to the bargaining table, as you learn how to employ the best negotiating strategies and tactics with creditors, employees, suppliers, shareholders, and other corporate stakeholders.
"Having gone through a major merger myself, I wanted to prepare better for our next acquisition. The program’s main strength is in balancing theory and practice. In particular, I found the complex cases that involved debt, staffing restructuring, and valuations most useful. I definitely expanded my toolkit for the future—and built a stronger foundation for moving the company forward."
Maurizio Capano [Vice President–Northern Alberta], Stuart Olson Dominion Construction, Canada
Who Is Right for the Program
The Harvard Business School Executive Education program Corporate Restructuring, Mergers, and Acquisitions is appropriate for executives in diverse roles, management specialties, and industries. You should have a general understanding of how to interpret a company's financial statements, but do not need specialized skills in valuing companies or analyzing financial data.
Typical participants include, but are not limited to:
- Chief executive officers
- Chief financial officers and treasurers
- General managers
- Financial and strategy consultants
- Investment bankers and commercial bank loan officers
- Turnaround consultants
- Attorneys, accountants, and others providing services to companies in need of restructuring
- Institutional investors and other investors seeking opportunities in restructuring situations
Past Participants Represented:
| Industries | Nationalities | ||||
| 5% | Chem/Pharm/Bio | 10% | Asia/Pacific | ||
| 1% | Communications | 45% | Europe | ||
| 4% | Consumer Products | 7% | Latin America | ||
| 35% | Financial | 38% | North America | ||
| 4% | High Technology | ||||
| 12% | Manufacturing | ||||
| 3% | Nonprofit Services | ||||
| 3% | Other Services | ||||
| 15% | Professional Services | ||||
| 3% | Raw Materials/Energy | ||||
| 7% | Real Estate/Construction | ||||
| 2% | Retail Services | ||||
| 6% | Utilities/Telecommunications | ||||
Participating Companies Have Included:
Akzo Nobel NV |
F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Ltd. |
Meet the Program Faculty
Like all Harvard Business School Executive Education programs, Corporate Restructuring, Mergers, and Acquisitions is developed and taught by a core faculty of HBS professors. Our faculty members are widely recognized as skilled educators, groundbreaking researchers, and award-winning authors.
Through publishing, consulting, and teaching, they leverage their business expertise and field-based research to create new knowledge and enduring concepts that shape the practice of management. The result is a teaching team that exposes participants to multiple perspectives, challenging their thinking and encouraging new practices that result in superior business leadership. For more detailed biographies, click on each faculty name.
Carliss Y. Baldwin, William L. White Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Finance Unit.
C. Fritz Foley, Associate Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Finance Unit.
William E. Fruhan, Jr., Baker Foundation Professor. Member of the Finance Unit.
Stuart C. Gilson, Steven R. Fenster Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Finance Unit; and faculty chair of "Corporate Restructuring, Mergers, and Acquisitions."
Victoria Ivashina, Assistant Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Finance Unit.
Francisco de Asís Martínez-Jerez, Associate Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Accounting and Management Unit.
Clayton S. Rose, Senior Lecturer of Business Administration. Member of the General Management Unit.
Admissions
Because a diverse participant mix is an important part of every HBS Executive Education program, we look for candidates who reflect a broad range of industries, functions, countries, and backgrounds to enrich the learning experience.
Fees, Payments, and Cancellations
The program fee covers tuition, books, case materials, accommodations, and most meals.
No payment is necessary until you have been accepted into an HBS Executive Education program. After admission notification, we will send you an invoice via email; payment is due within 30 days of the invoice date. If admission is within 30 days prior to the start of the program, payment is due upon receipt of the invoice. Payment is required prior to the program start date. We accept payment by company check, bank wire transfer, or credit card (American Express, MasterCard, Visa). Details are included on the program invoice.
If you need to cancel or defer participation, you must submit your request in writing more than 30 days before the start of the program to receive a full refund. Due to program demand and the volume of preprogram preparation, cancellations or deferrals received 14 to 30 days prior to the start of the program are subject to a fee of one-half of the program fee. Requests received within 14 days are subject to full payment.
Requirements
Although there are no formal educational requirements, admission is a selective process based on professional achievement and organizational responsibility. We look for professionals who have demonstrated business talent and leadership potential.
HBS Executive Education programs enrich both participants and their sponsoring organizations, and require full commitment from each party. While participants devote time and intellect to the learning experience, sponsoring organizations agree to relieve individuals of their work responsibilities during the program.
Language Proficiency
We deliberately design our programs to encourage individual growth and to foster productive interaction among participants. For that reason, proficiency in written and spoken English is essential. If English is your second language, or if you have less than one year's experience working in an English-speaking environment, HBS requires a brief statement documenting proficiency in English-language skills, both conversational and written. This may include a list of the English-language certification programs that you have completed; the degrees you have earned at English-speaking colleges and universities; or the results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) exam. The Admissions Committee also may request a telephone interview.
Application Process
Program participants must be nominated and sponsored by their current employer. HBS must receive your application and all required documents in order to prepare the application for review by the Admissions Committee.
To apply, you may use our online form or download an application. You also may request a brochure by mail.
If you submit your application online, we will promptly acknowledge receipt of your submission via email. In the unlikely event that an email acknowledgment is not received, please contact the Admissions Committee by email: exed_admissions@hbs.edu, phone: +1-617-495-6226, or fax: +1-617-496-1731.
If you choose to submit a printed application, be sure to type or print legibly and sign your application. Send the application to the address or fax number listed on the form. Mailed or faxed applications are processed and acknowledged promptly upon receipt via email.
Complete Your Application
Please answer all questions thoroughly—the Admissions Committee will only consider completed applications. After reviewing your application and making the necessary edits or corrections, print or copy the application for your records.
Meet the Deadlines
We request applications at least four weeks in advance of the program start date. Early application does not guarantee admission. Programs often fill to capacity, so early application is recommended.
Notification of Acceptance
We acknowledge receipt of all applications and maintain all application information in strict confidentiality.
To optimize the learning experience and maximize the exchange of ideas, the Admissions Committee selects a class that balances each participant's experience, the scope of his or her current responsibilities, and the type of organization.
The Admissions Committee begins reviewing applications four months before the start date, and qualified candidates are admitted on a rolling, space-available basis. Once the review process has begun, applicants are notified within three weeks via email regarding Admissions Committee decisions. If your application is received within three weeks of the program's start date, the Admissions Committee will notify you of their decision as soon as possible.
Need help?
For further assistance, contact our client service specialists at: 1-800-427-5577 (outside the U.S., dial +1-617-495-6555).