SYLLABUS
CORPORATE FINANCE (Spring 2015)
PROFESSOR:
Robert J. Rhee
OFFICE:
Office # 378
CONTACT:
352-273-0958
rhee@law.ufl.edu
CLASSROOM:
Room 283
CLASS TIME:
Wednesday: 11:00 AM to 11:50 AM
Thursday: 11:00 AM to 11:50 AM
Friday:
11:00AM to 11:50AM
OFFICE HOURS:
Wednesday: 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Thursday: 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Friday:
3:00 PM to 4:00 PM
FINAL EXAM:
May 4, Monday: Exam available for pick-up in the Dean’s
Office 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Students will have 24 hours to
return the exam to the Dean’s Office. (See below for specific
instructions on Exam Procedure).
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course examines the legal and financial economic aspects of corporate finance.
Course coverage includes foundational finance theories, and legal aspects of capital
structure (including analysis of debt securities, equities, structured finance, and
derivatives). Combined with Corporations, this course is intended to provide students
with a rigorous background in the legal and financial aspects of corporate business.
TEXTBOOKS
Course package and handouts provided by Professor Rhee, which is principally a
manuscript of his forthcoming casebook to be published by Aspen Publishers.
COURSE GRADING
Your grade will be based on 80% final exam, 10% class participation, and 10%
preparedness.
The 10% class participation grade will be based on three levels of assessment at the end
of the course: Superior 10%, Satisfactory 6%, and Minimal 2%. Superior means
consistently participating with high quality comments, insights, and analysis during the
course. Satisfactory means consistently participating with quality comments, insights,
and analysis during the course. Minimal means inconsistent or minimal participation.
The 10% preparedness will be assessed as follows. All students start with 10%, and
during the course this grade will be deducted for each instance of the following: (1)
0.5% for each class absence, excluding religious holidays excused by prior permission
(email suffices); (2) 1% for each instance of a failure to read the class assignment. If you
attend all classes and come prepared, you should be awarded all 10%. Other than
previously excused religious holidays, absences will not be distinguished between
“good” or “no excuse” absences, and all absences will result in a 0.5% penalty. Given
the minimal penalty for any single absence, a few absences, “good” or “no excuse,”
should not substantially affect your final grade in the course. It is only when absences
are many that they may significantly affect your final grade.
The final exam will be a take-home exam. Exam grades are done on a blind basis. All
grades are final. There will be no regrading or revisions from me, except to correct any
mathematical or clerical errors in computing the final score.
FINAL EXAM FORMAT
The final exam will be a take home, open book exam. You may use the class reading
assignments and any handouts, including PowerPoint class notes, and any notes or
outlines you or your peers in the course created. You may not use any other materials,
including such things as internet resources and other published materials including
textbooks and commercial outlines. The exam is a sole effort, and you may not consult
any person during the exam period.
The final exam may have will have at least two essay questions, and may have short
answer and multiple choice questions as well. Short answer and multiple choice
questions are fairly self-explanatory. Essay questions will be an issue-spotting, analysis,
or problem-solving format typically seen in most law school exams. The essay and short
answer questions, if any, will have page limits or other writing restrictions. You will
receive instruction on the specific format of the exam toward the end of the course.
The issues and topics for exam questions will come from the course readings and class
discussions. Accordingly, class attendance and class preparation will be important to
doing well in the course.
EXAM PROCEDURE
The exam will be given on May 4, Monday. Exams will be available for pick-up in the
Dean’s Office from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Monday, May 4. Student will affirmatively
check-out the exam and indicate the time of check-out. Students will then have 24 hours
to return the exam to the Dean’s Office. Upon returning the exam answer, students will
affirmatively check-in and indicate the time of delivery of the exam.
Example: if a student checks out the exam on Monday, May 4 at 1pm, the
exam is due no later than Tuesday, May 5 at 1pm.
If an exam is late, for every 1 hour period, the exam grade will be deducted by 5% of the
total maximum grade of 100%. Any fraction of an hour, regardless of the number of
minutes, will be rounded up to one whole hour.
Example: if a student checks out the exam on Monday, May 4 at 1pm, and
the exam answer is submitted on Tuesday, May 5 at 2:05pm, the exam
would be 1 hour and 5 minutes late. Since the exam would be 2 whole
hours late based on the round up rule, the final grade will be deducted by
10%. Therefore, if the exam had a merit grade of 85% out of 100%, the final
assigned grade for the course will be 75%, which will then be converted
into a letter grade based on the class curve.
No exam will be accepted after 4:30pm, Tuesday, May 5, which will result in a failing
grade. This also means that students who check-out the exam on Monday at 4:30pm or
thereabouts will have no or little option to submit the exam late, and must be absolutely
punctual in returning the exam. Accordingly, it is highly advisable that you check-out
the exam on Monday, May 4, with sufficient time to anticipate any foreseeable or
unforeseeable problems, such as traffic jam, printing problems, and other delays.
Barring some exigent circumstance, Professor Rhee and the Dean’s Office will not
accept email delivery. Exams must be delivered in printed physical form. Please note
also that email to Professor Rhee will necessarily compromise anonymity.
CLASS CANCELATION AND MAKEUP
Due to my role in the law school’s Dean Search Committee, I will have unavoidable
conflicts with class schedule. At the moment of writing this syllabus, I need to cancel
class on the following days:
Friday, February 27
Friday, March 13
These classes will be made up via prerecorded video lectures that you must watch.
I anticipate that after March 13, I will also need to cancel several more classes, though I
do not know the schedule that far in advance. When I become aware of a committee
conflict, I will let you know and take steps to prerecord video lectures. I thank students
for their understanding and cooperation in this process.
ASSIGNMENTS
Class
#
1
Date
Wed.
Jan. 7
Topics, Issues, and Cases
Reading





Introduction
Balance sheet
Income statement
Bolt v. Merrimack Pharmaceuticals
Review Alcoa balance sheet and statement
consolidated operations at the end of the chapter
Intro
Ch. 1
Pages
13-39
55-56
of
2
Thurs.
Jan. 8




Cash flow statement
Shareholder’s equity
Financial statement analysis
Review Alcoa cash flow statement and statement of
changes in consolidated equity at the end of the chapter
Ch. 1
Pages
39-54
57-58
3
Fri.
Jan. 9


Risk and return
Time value of money
Ch. 2
Pages
59-77
4
Wed.
Jan. 14




In re Vanderveer Estates Holding LLC
Cost of capital
Cede & Co. v. Technicolor, Inc.
Security market line
Ch. 2
Pages
77-104
5
Thurs.
Jan. 15




Market multiples
Agranoff v. Miller
Discounted cash flow analysis
Cede & Co. v. Technicolor, Inc.
Ch. 2
Pages
105-130
6
Fri.
Jan. 16




Valuation process
Cede & Co. v. Technicolor, Inc.
In re Pullman Const. Indus. Inc.
Valuation of bonds
Ch. 3
Pages
130-168