This course examines the corporate acquisitions from a transactional and financial perspective. It begins with a review of a corporate acquisition agreement, the document at the center of a friendly transaction. We then consider a variety of explanations for how corporate acquisitions may promise to create value, and think about why they often fail to meet that expectation. In doing so, we will review the basics of accounting for acquisitions and their tax treatment. From there we move on to the corporate law side of acquisitions – the different forms the transaction can take, the rules governing hostile transactions, freezeouts of minority shareholders, and proxy fights. Elements used in grading: Final exam.