Curriculum

February 4, 2019:

Part 1 “Private Equity: Raising Capital and Managing the Business”
Instructor: Mark Hallock, Partner,  M2O Private Fund Advisors

Our first course will cover a number of areas around raising capital for a private equity fund.  Areas covered will include; How Capital is raised today (blind pool, lock up structure, performance compensation, and alternative models), standard terms, the fundraising market (current observations and conditions, investor perspective and the secondary and co-investment markets), as well as the background on a current case study.

 Part 2 "Private Equity 101 & Creativity in the Origination Process"
Instructors: Robert Fitzsimmons, Managing Partner, High Road Capital Partners

Part 2’s session “Private Equity 101”  will help place a context for the rest of the course.  We’ll discuss what private equity truly is, its approximate size, the participants, and what drives successful outcomes.  We will demonstrate how to exercise creativity in the origination process.   Participants will learn how to best build the relationships necessary to source deals, profile targets, and evaluate opportunities in the context of macro-economic and micro-economic trends and to capitalize on marketing opportunities.  In addition, the role of management skills, operations and human resources will be discussed in the context of origination.  This session will also discuss how to ensure that the right pre-diligence steps are taken in advance of a formal review of the investment opportunity by an investment committee or business owners.

February 11, 2019: "Understanding Financials and the Due Diligence Process"
Instructor: Claudine Cohen, Principal and Northeast Team Leader, CohnReznick

Financial Statement Analysis:

Assist the participant with understanding the concepts behind all the balance sheet and income statement accounts and how they interrelate and tie into the cashflow statement.  Including but not limited to the Matching Principle, Historical Cost, Going concern, Comparability,  Assets = Liabilities + Equity, Revenue, Cost of Sales, SG&A and EBITDA.

Due Diligence Process: Understand the analysis behind an acquisition or divestiture including the analysis of the quality of earnings (Adjusted EBITDA), quality of working capital (setting the WC Peg), debt and debt like items and tax issues.  Understand how these items are taken into consideration when negotiating purchase price and the asset/stock purchase agreement.
 

February 25, 2019: "Leveraged Buyout Modeling and Analysis"
Instructor: Fordham Professor Joe Zirpolo

This workshop introduces the principles of leveraged buyout valuation.  From theory to practice, participants will also construct a short-form LBO model.  The focus of the workshop is to get participants quickly up to speed on the unique attributes of LBO valuation and the key       mechanics of LBO models. Currently an Adjunct Professor at Fordham University’ Gabelli School of Business, Professor Zirpolo previously was a Principal at ‘Training the Street” and is Founder and CEO of Oakwood Solutions.

March 4, 2019: CLASS CANCELED DUE TO INCLIMENT WEATHER

March 11, 2019: "Value Enhancement Strategies"
Instructor: Jon Weber, Head of Portfolio Company Management, BlueMountain Capital Management LLC
The class will review how private equity investors identify operational risks in pre-investment due diligence and enhance value of portfolio companies during their holding period.  The pre-investment planning process will be discussed in this class along with post-investment monitoring and management to lay the foundation for future cost savings and revenue growth.  The plan will focus on value enhancement initiatives, including management of personnel, customer retention, and growth strategies.  In addition, the plan will address legal and operational issues and how to engage the Board of Directors in support of the plan.  Another focus will be executive management as recruiting and overseeing management is a critical ability of the successful investor.

March 18, 2019: "The M&A Process and Management"
Instructor: Don Ritucci, Jefferies

In this class, we will illustrate how the M&A sale process works. The class will present how a company is sold with a detailed description of the steps involved with the sale process and how best to manage this process from the perspective of a leading middle market investment banker.

March 25, 2019: "Exiting the Investment”
Instructor: Anthony Caudle, CEO, Red Tail Capital

This class will discuss various alternatives for optimal exit strategies for an investment in a company. A discussion of IPOs, identification of strategic acquirers and equity sponsors will be provided. The exit strategy alternatives will take into account macro- and micro-economic trends, financial performance and structure of the company, and the impact of the strategic plan on choice of exit strategies. Investment bankers, private equity firms, and corporate development professionals will demonstrate how to maximize the exit value while demonstrating to the acquirer their path to growth as part of their investment.

April 1, 2019: "Financing”
Instructors: Ron Kerdasha, Group President, MB Business Capital
Corey Sclar, Managing Partner, Brookside Mezzanine
David Barash, Partner, Cahill Gordon & Reindel

In this class, participants will be exposed to the world of middle marketing lending and financing. We will discuss the different types of financing such as senior, 'uni-tranche,' and mezzanine. The mechanics of acquisition leverage will be presented, as will the institutions that provide different types of debt. Means to determine optimal leverage levels will be reviewed, namely how maximizing equity returns must be tempered by the challenges of supporting leverage in terms of covenant requirements and cash flow to cover both debt interest and principal.

April 8, 2019: "Case Study Presentation"
Instructor: Scott Estill, Partner, Global Financial Services, Lancor

Participants will complete a case study, applying the concepts discussed in the first 6 weeks. Short presentations by teams of participants will be made, outlining their strategic plan and the application of course concepts leading to optimal growth strategies. Upon successful completion of the exam, certificates will be issued to participants.