Term Paper

Overview

You are the head of financial analysis for a Holding Company, with significant liquidity, and a strong appetite for portfolio acquisitions. Your mandate is to either take control of a company, or purchase enough shares to get representation on the board. You have been told to analyze a potential acquisition.

Please analyze and discuss the company and its industry, from the perspective of a potential shareholder.

Your final product will be a report that shows your various analyses, discusses the pros and cons, and ultimately recommends either going ahead with the acquisition, or not. (Please see discussion of Content, below.)

You will be rewarded by your senior manager based on the logic of your conclusion, and how well supported it is.

Guidelines

· This is an individual assignment.

· You must choose one of the companies from the attached list.

· You must use the most recent, publicly available information and financial statements. This information should be readily available online, as well as or from industry reference books, such as Dun & Bradstreet, Moody’s or Value Line. Refer to the Bobst Library for additional resources.

Content

The following items are required to be incorporated into your report, each in a section of its own.

1. Present a high-level overview of your target company and its industry. Focus on the key drivers of success (i.e., shareholder value maximization), including products, markets, ability to capture market share and competition. (5% of Term Paper grade)

The purpose of this section is only to provide context for your financial analysis . It may not exceed 12 pages.

2. Perform a detailed ratio analysis of your target company, specifically from the perspective of a shareholder. (30% of Term Paper grade)Overview
You are the head of financial analysis for a Holding Company, with significant liquidity, and a strong appetite for portfolio acquisitions. Your mandate is to either take control of a company, or purchase enough shares to get representation on the board. You have been told to analyze a potential acquisition.
Please analyze and discuss the company and its industry, from the perspective of a potential shareholder.
Your final product will be a report that shows your various analyses, discusses the pros and cons, and ultimately recommends either going ahead with the acquisition, or not. (Please see discussion of Content, below.)
You will be rewarded by your senior manager based on the logic of your conclusion, and how well supported it is.