Across the globe, mergers and acquisitions are reshaping the corporate and competitive landscape. To help companies gain a strategic advantage and expand market share, this M&A program takes you inside the process—from strategy and valuation to execution and post-merger management. Whether your company is private or public, or looking to buy or to sell, you will emerge with new ability to broker powerful deals and create shareholder value.

Summary: Across the globe, mergers and acquisitions are reshaping the corporate and competitive landscape. To help companies gain a strategic advantage and expand market share, this M&A program takes you inside the process—from strategy and valuation to execution and post-merger management. Whether your company is private or public, or looking to buy or to sell, you will emerge with new ability to broker powerful deals and create shareholder value.

Key Benefits

Completing a successful merger or acquisition is a multifaceted project that involves managing major teams across the organization. In this M&A course, you will acquire a critical cross-functional perspective of the mergers and acquisitions process. Through global case studies on the best practices of leading companies, you will learn how to forge strategic partnerships, navigate complex negotiations, and drive corporate growth.

DetailsExpand All Collapse All

Enable growth through an effective M&A process Enable growth through an effective M&A process

Build stronger M&A strategies
Identify the right targets, assess business value accurately, and perform meaningful due diligence
Negotiate complex multi-party, multi-issue deals that boost corporate performance
Integrate new acquisitions efficiently and effectively

Expand your personal and professional network Expand your personal and professional network

Extend your network by living and working with accomplished executives from various backgrounds, industries, and countries across the globe
Build relationships with a diverse group of peers who can provide wide-ranging insights into your business challenges and career decisions

Key Benefits

Details

Enable growth through an effective M&A process

Build stronger M&A strategies
Identify the right targets, assess business value accurately, and perform meaningful due diligence
Negotiate complex multi-party, multi-issue deals that boost corporate performance
Integrate new acquisitions efficiently and effectively

Expand your personal and professional network

Extend your network by living and working with accomplished executives from various backgrounds, industries, and countries across the globe
Build relationships with a diverse group of peers who can provide wide-ranging insights into your business challenges and career decisions

Who Should Attend

This mergers and acquisitions course is designed for senior executives involved in M&A activity who want to broaden their knowledge of financial business valuation methods, negotiation strategies, and deal process design.

Participating Companies Have Included:

Barclays

Coca-Cola

ECCO Sko A/S

Intel

Kohler

Lam Research Corporation

Raymond Limited

Rockwell Automation

Dive Deeper into the Experience

We Celebrate New Ways of Thinking. Are You Ready?

Thrive in a learning environment that welcomes diverse ideas and perspectives.

Experience the Case Method in the Classroom

Watch participants debate the issues and present their viewpoints.

Discover more about business. And yourself.

Global perspectives > Leadership growth > Organizational impact.

Who Should Attend

This program is of particular interest to:

Senior executives in the C-Suite
Directors of public and private companies
Board chairs and directors
Heads of strategy and corporate development
Key executives involved in integration, such as heads of human resources or information technology
Founders and CEOs of established startups
Investment bankers, transactional lawyers, and private equity investors

Attendance by multiple company representatives will foster teamwork and amplify the program's impact across your organization.

Participating Companies Have Included:

Barclays

Coca-Cola

ECCO Sko A/S

Intel

Kohler

Lam Research Corporation

Raymond Limited

Rockwell Automation

Dive Deeper into the Experience

We Celebrate New Ways of Thinking. Are You Ready?

Thrive in a learning environment that welcomes diverse ideas and perspectives.

Experience the Case Method in the Classroom

Watch participants debate the issues and present their viewpoints.

Discover more about business. And yourself.

Global perspectives > Leadership growth > Organizational impact.

Learning and Living at HBS

When you participate in an Executive Education program on the HBS campus, you enter an immersive experience where every aspect of the learning model has been carefully designed to facilitate your growth. Your learning will take place on your own, in your living group, and in the larger classroom, driven by the renowned HBS case method.

Learning and Living at HBS: When you participate in an Executive Education program on the HBS campus, you enter an immersive experience where every aspect of the learning model has been carefully designed to facilitate your growth. Your learning will take place on your own, in your living group, and in the larger classroom, driven by the renowned HBS case method.

Admissions Criteria and Process

We admit candidates to specific sessions on a rolling, space-available basis, and encourage you to apply as early as possible. Although most programs have no formal educational requirements, admission is a selective process based on your professional achievement and organizational responsibilities.

Admissions Criteria and Process

Answering Your Questions

Our Program Advising team can help you at any stage of the admissions process—starting with identifying the program that best addresses your learning and development goals. Contact a program advisor via email or call 1.800.427.5577 (outside the U.S., call +1.617.495.6555).

Application Submission

We recommend that you apply at least four weeks before the program start date. You may use our online form or download an application. HBS maintains all application information in strict confidentiality. We acknowledge receipt of applications via email. In the unlikely event that you do not receive an acknowledgment, please email us at exed_admissions@hbs.edu or call us at +1.617.495.6226.

Application Review

To optimize the learning experience and maximize the exchange of ideas, our Admissions Committee makes selections that balance each participant's experience, scope of current responsibilities, and type of organization. HBS seeks candidates who reflect a broad range of industries, functions, countries, and backgrounds. We review applications monthly and will contact you via email with the Admissions Committee's decision.

Fee, Payment, and Cancellations

The program fee covers tuition, books, case materials, accommodations, and most meals. No payment is necessary until you have been accepted. Payment is required prior to the program start date. 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. 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.

What You Will Learn

This mergers and acquisitions program provides a holistic view of the M&A process—from front-end target selection and search processes to approach strategies and execution to post-merger integration and management. Your rich learning experience will include faculty presentations, global case studies, valuation exercises, negotiation simulations, small group projects, and dynamic discussions.

In the process, you will delve into the challenges and opportunities presented by hedge fund activism, hostile takeovers, cross-border deals, corporate inversions, earn-outs, spin-offs, restructurings, and corporate governance. You also will examine different strategic approaches suited to private versus public companies in developed, emerging, and distressed economies.

What You Will Learn

Key TopicsExpand All Collapse All

Valuation Valuation

Considering valuation through the lens of a consumer rather than a producer
Understanding the discounted cash flow (DCF) valuation
Applying comparable company analysis (CCA)
Analyzing financial statements and financial plans
Evaluating corporate and management performance

Negotiation Negotiation

Building a negotiation toolkit around interest and option generation
Using the Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA) assessment to achieve a better bottom line
Managing the complexities and cultural aspects of negotiation in cross-border deals
Considering the ethical and legal repercussions to ensure a win-win outcome

Finance Finance

Optimizing tax benefits
Structuring earn-outs in private company deals
Identifying the right context for using earn-outs
Examining government influence and legal issues
Exploring regulatory and cultural barriers

Strategy Strategy

Achieving strategic clarity
Understanding deal process design
Managing auction processes
Using sell-side and buy-side strategies
Stress-testing the business model

Post-merger management Post-merger management

Ensuring the best operational and cultural fit
Managing the integration of accounting systems
Structuring reporting lines and responsibilities
Selecting the right person to lead the integration team

Valuation 101 (Optional)Valuation 101 (Optional)

Understanding financial accounting principles and valuation techniques

Key Topics

Valuation

Considering valuation through the lens of a consumer rather than a producer
Understanding the discounted cash flow (DCF) valuation
Applying comparable company analysis (CCA)
Analyzing financial statements and financial plans
Evaluating corporate and management performance

Negotiation

Building a negotiation toolkit around interest and option generation
Using the Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA) assessment to achieve a better bottom line
Managing the complexities and cultural aspects of negotiation in cross-border deals
Considering the ethical and legal repercussions to ensure a win-win outcome

Finance

Optimizing tax benefits
Structuring earn-outs in private company deals
Identifying the right context for using earn-outs
Examining government influence and legal issues
Exploring regulatory and cultural barriers

Strategy

Achieving strategic clarity
Understanding deal process design
Managing auction processes
Using sell-side and buy-side strategies
Stress-testing the business model

Post-merger management

Ensuring the best operational and cultural fit
Managing the integration of accounting systems
Structuring reporting lines and responsibilities
Selecting the right person to lead the integration team

Valuation 101 (Optional)

Understanding financial accounting principles and valuation techniques

Faculty

Our Executive Education programs are developed and taught by HBS faculty who are widely recognized as skilled educators, groundbreaking researchers, and award-winning authors. Through their board memberships, consulting, and field-based research, they address the complex challenges facing business leaders across the globe.

Faculty Chair

Guhan Subramanian

H. Douglas Weaver Professor of Business Law, Harvard Business School, and Joseph Flom Professor of Law and Business, Harvard Law School. Member of the Negotiation, Organizations & Markets Unit; and Faculty Chair of "Mergers and Aquisitions."

How mastering negotiation skills can set you apart as a business leader.

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Faculty

David G. Fubini

Senior Lecturer of Business Administration. Member of the Organizational Behavior Unit; and faculty cochair of "Leading Professional Service Firms."

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Stuart C. Gilson

Steven R. Fenster Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Finance Unit.

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Kevin P. Mohan

Senior Lecturer of Business Administration. Member of the Negotiation, Organizations & Markets Unit.

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Meg Rithmire

F. Warren McFarlan Associate Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Business, Government, and International Economy Unit.

Read Full Bio

Faculty: Our Executive Education programs are developed and taught by HBS faculty who are widely recognized as skilled educators, groundbreaking researchers, and award-winning authors. Through their board memberships, consulting, and field-based research, they address the complex challenges facing business leaders across the globe.

Faculty Chair

Guhan Subramanian

H. Douglas Weaver Professor of Business Law, Harvard Business School, and Joseph Flom Professor of Law and Business, Harvard Law School. Member of the Negotiation, Organizations & Markets Unit; and Faculty Chair of "Mergers and Aquisitions."

How mastering negotiation skills can set you apart as a business leader.

Read Full BioWatch the VideoWatch the Video

Faculty

David G. Fubini

Senior Lecturer of Business Administration. Member of the Organizational Behavior Unit; and faculty cochair of "Leading Professional Service Firms."

Read Full Bio

Stuart C. Gilson

Steven R. Fenster Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Finance Unit.

Read Full Bio

Kevin P. Mohan

Senior Lecturer of Business Administration. Member of the Negotiation, Organizations & Markets Unit.

Read Full Bio

Meg Rithmire

F. Warren McFarlan Associate Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Business, Government, and International Economy Unit.

Read Full Bio

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More Admissions Information

Program content, dates, fees, and faculty are subject to change. In accordance with Harvard University policy, Harvard Business School does not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color, sex or sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, age, national or ethnic origin, political beliefs, veteran status, or disability in admission to, access to, treatment in, or employment in its programs and activities.

Need Help? Contact Us:

Program Advising team

Email: executive_education@hbs.edu

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