Corporate Finance Strategies

This programme offers a practical approach to corporate finance. It equips participants to understand the rationale underpinning corporate finance strategies and how this drives funding solutions. Participants will learn how corporate finance techniques can be used to identify business development opportunities for clients and to quantify the benefits of alternative financing and business solutions.

Objectives

Anticipate management strategic decisions in response to market conditions and shareholders’ aims and objectives.
Use valuation techniques to assess possibilities to enhance values.
Identify capital structures and financing alternatives that optimise the cost of capital and shareholder value within the client’s own risk parameters.
Recommend client-focused changes to corporate and financial strategies that are value-enhancing and appropriate to current market conditions.

Venues & Dates

Dublin: TBD
London: TBD
Dubai: TBD
Edmonton (CAN): TBD
Lagos/Abuja: TBD

Cost: $4,000 per participant (USD) (=N=)

For Whom

CEOs and Business Owners
Finance & Accountants Managers
Clients in talks with banks and corporate financiers

Snapshot of Course Content

Framework for Evaluating Corporate Finance Strategies

Structured framework: value parameters, value drivers, business strategy, equity and debt valuation, funding strategy
Client-driven perspective: identifying, evaluating and recommending appropriate strategies

Value Parameters

Stakeholders’ aims and financial goalposts
Importance of understanding client perspectives
Shareholder value: drivers and measurement
Financial, strategic and personal goals and their impact on corporate strategy
Role of management in delivering shareholder value
Stakeholders and their respective roles
Cost of capital (WACC): advantages, disadvantages, and alternatives
Cost of equity: systemic and non-systemic risk
Cost of debt: tax benefits and impact of gearing

Value Drivers

Market Drivers

Macroeconomic, political and firm-specific factors influencing strategy
Using external sources: macro data, share prices, bond ratings and prices to anticipate strategy

Sector Drivers

How sectors react to current market conditions
Industry considerations and critical success factors
Impact of drivers on company free cash-flow and business/funding decisions

Business Strategy

Rationale for change
When diversification makes sense…or not
Company Life Cycle: cash or no cash
How business strategy drives organizational structure
Relationship between business and financial risk

Anticipating Corporate Strategy

Impact of value parameters, value drivers and valuation on strategy
Evaluating strategies: growth, de-mergers, dividend policy
Strategic impact of acquisitions and buyer’s model
Risks to lenders in over- and under-valued companies

Equity Valuation

Traditional valuation techniques
Trading and transaction multiples: P/E, EV/EBITDA, dividend growth, free-cash-flow multiples
Discounted cash-flow valuations: components and results assessment

Debt Valuation

Impact of debt pricing on business and funding strategy
Credit pricing: bonds, syndicated loans, bilateral debt markets
Components of cost: government bond yields, swap spreads, LIBOR spreads
Relative value: bond spreads, CDS, benchmarks

Funding Strategy

Target debt structures: market pricing, tenor matching, rating targets, cash-flow and balance sheet measures
Optimising WACC: impact of leverage on debt/equity costs
Debt capacity: discounted cash-flow techniques
Alternative sources of repayment: asset sales, refinance, equity
Refinancing risk: evaluating acceptable levels

Financial Strategy

Financing corporate action and consequences for stakeholders
Interpreting financial strategy: risk appetite, tenor matching, gap management, funding and liquidity needs
Concerns for earnings dilution
Access to debt and equity: capital sources and funding products
Proposing funding solutions balancing client needs and bank risk-return