Postgraduate Module Descriptor

LAWM100: Mergers and Acquisitions

This module descriptor refers to the 2017/8 academic year.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

While the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is anticipated that the following topics will be covered:

• Introduction to topic

• Economic impact of mergers and acquisitions

• Forms of business combination

• Schemes of arrangements and mergers

• Institutional background

• Regulating the takeover process

• Hostile Takeovers and the Non-Frustration Rule

• Deal Risks

• EU and UK competition law issues

• Appraisal and conclusions

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
33	267	0

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	33	11 x 3 hour seminars led by the lecturer. Students will need to prepare for each seminar and will be expected to contribute to class discussions
Guided independent study	177	Reading and preparation for seminars.
Guided independent study	90	Reading, research and preparation for essays. Students would be expected to spend about 20 hours on the formative essay and about 55 hours on the summative essay.

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).

ELE – http://vle.exeter.ac.uk.

Takeover Panel: http://www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk/

UK Listing Authority: http://www.fca.org.uk/firms/markets/ukla

Financial Conduct Authority: http://www.fca.org.uk/

Competition Commission: http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/

EC, DG Competition: http://ec.europa.eu/competition/index_en.html

Robert Goddard: http://www.corporatelawandgovernance.blogspot.com

How this Module is Assessed

In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.

Formative Assessment

A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.

Form of assessment	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Essay	2000 words	1-7	Written comments and, where requested, further oral guidance

Summative Assessment

A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.

Coursework	Written exams	Practical exams
70	30	0

...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.

Form of assessment	% of credit	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Essay	70	5,250 words	1-7	Written comments and, where requested, further oral guidance
Multiple-Choice Test	30	Forty questions (40 minutes)	1-4	Answers reviewed in lecture post-examination
	0
	0
	0
	0
	0
	0

Re-assessment

Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.

Original form of assessment	Form of re-assessment	ILOs re-assessed	Timescale for re-assessment
Essay	Essay (5,250 words)	1-7	August/September assessment period
Multiple-Choice Test	Forty questions (40 minutes)	1-4	August/September assessment period