Module LAWM100 for 2019/0
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Postgraduate Module Descriptor
LAWM100: Mergers and Acquisitions
This module descriptor refers to the 2019/0 academic year.
Module Aims
The aim of the module is to provide you with a comprehensive introduction to mergers and acquisitions (M&A), so that you gain an in-depth knowledge of the reasons for which acquisitions occur, the risks, the structuring of transactions and the regulation thereof. Points will be illustrated using recent mergers and acquisitions (M & A) deals and should develop a critical understanding of the kinds of issue that are frequently encountered by lawyers in commercial practice.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
---|---|
Module-Specific Skills | 1. demonstrate detailed and systematic knowledge of the appropriate ways of structuring a takeover or merger; 2. demonstrate detailed and systematic knowledge of the legal regulatory framework applicable to M&A transactions; 3. advise accurately and comprehensively on the important risks of M&A activity from political and corporate perspectives; |
Discipline-Specific Skills | 4. select and apply statutory materials, case law and critical legal literature in examining M & A transactions effectively and autonomously; 5. analyse effectively and comprehensively, through structured and discursive writing, key issues in M & A transactions and subject these to critical evaluation; |
Personal and Key Skills | 6. communicate key legal concepts to professional and business audiences effectively, confidently and autonomously; and 7. research and synthesize legal requirements applicable in the business sphere independently and efficiently. |
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 |
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 |
Indicative Reading List
This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.
Basic reading:
City Code on Takeovers and Mergers (11th ed, May 2013)
C Bradley, ‘Corporate Control: Markets and Rules’ (1990) 53 Modern Law Review 170
A Johnson, ‘Takeover Regulation: Historical and Theoretical Perspectives on the City Code’ (2007) 66 Cambridge Law Journal 422
David Kershaw, Principles of takeover regulation (Oxford: OUP 2016)