A Pioneering Approach To Networking & Learning By Oxford Saïd and Booth

The team from Chicago University Booth School of Business has won the Oxford Chicago Global Private Equity Challenge that puts students of two business schools in a real life scenario, that of designing a proposal for a private equity LBO (leveraged buyout transaction).

The Challenge is stated to be “a pioneering approach to networking and learning” that gives students access to leading investment banks and private equity firms, mentoring by industry professionals, networking opportunities and a chance to work on real life case scenarios.

Students from each of the schools, seeking to embark on careers in private equity and investment banking are allowed to participate in the challenge to broaden their skills and experience and share expertise and learning from the USA and Europe.

The Challenge is stated to be “a pioneering approach to networking and learning” that gives students access to leading investment banks and private equity firms, mentoring by industry professionals, networking opportunities and a chance to work on real life case scenarios.

The team from Oxford Saïd, Alex Bertoli, Johan Krynauw, and Daniel Schacter from the MBA programme, and Nicolas Hartmann and Julian Müller from the MSc in Financial Economics (MFE) programme, were asked to take up the case of the Italian company Moleskine and present an investment thesis that looked at growth scenarios, marketing transformation, financing, valuation and returns.

The team from Chicago Booth which won the challenge this time, took up the company Planet Fitness in the US.

The challenge is described by Andreas T. Angelopoulos, Executive Director of the Private Equity Institute and Programme Director, Finance Lab in Oxford Saïd as “a three day focused and intensive program”. It gives students access to the best education and network opportunities in finance and private equity, globally.

“Students attended an advanced acquisition finance modelling seminar, worked on a real case by Bain Capital, competed in the PE Challenge, attended the Private Equity Forum and went on a London trek,” he added.

“By partnering with Chicago Booth, we are able to offer students from both schools the opportunity to connect our students and alumni with professionals from leading private equity firms, investment banks, and faculty in Europe and USA,” Angelopoulos said.

Thus, the Oxford students received mentoring from Corsini Manfredi, Managing Director of Rothschild, and Ed Goble and Mayank Kanga, two Oxford alumni from Bridgepoint in the run up to the event.

They then presented their final proposals to an investment committee which included Humphrey Battcock of Advent International, Khaled Saïd of Capital Generation Partners (Oxford alumnus), James Brooks of Goldman Sachs Merchant Bank (Oxford alumnus), and Zeynep Yenel of Goldman Sachs Financial Sponsors Group.

Humphrey Battcock, Managing Partner of Advent International described it as a good opportunity for students to take part in a close to real life exercise in private equity execution.

Oxford team member Johan Krynauw said Moleskine was selected as the buyout candidate as it has a strong brand but a lot of opportunity for further growth, both through geographic and product diversification. “We have worked very hard to put together our proposal and financial model,” he added.

The three-day programme began with Andreas T. Angelopoulos and Tiago Dias, Corporate Finance Vice President of Altice presenting a seminar on acquisition finance modelling.

This was followed by a presentation of a private equity case on the LBO acquisition of TeamSystem in Italy, by Luigi Bartone, Director of Intermediate Capital Group, Luca Bassi, Managing Director of Bain Capital, Federico Leproux, CEO of TeamSystem, and Roberto Ippolito, Managing Partner of RiverRock (Chicago Booth alumnus).

After presenting their proposals to the investment committee panel, the teams had an opportunity to attend the 10th Annual Private Equity Forum in Oxford, that brought together academics and investors like Blackstone GSO, Goldman Sachs Merchant bank, Ardian, Advent and CDC Group to discuss challenges and opportunities facing the private equity sector.
The following day they went on a London trek to visit Goldman Sachs where team members networked and attended an overview of the private equity, mergers & acquisitions and leverage finance landscape presented by Managing Directors of the firm as well as Jamie Rivers, Partner, BC partners (Oxford alumnus), and James Brooks (Oxford alumnus) of Goldman Sachs Merchant Bank.

Oxford Saïd team member, Nicolas Hartmann said the team gained insights from multiple managing directors from investment banks as well as seasoned private equity professionals. “Not only did it help us tremendously to develop our buyout thesis but it was also an outstanding chance to further develop my network in London. Overall, I am very grateful for this opportunity,” he added.

To participate in the Challenge, students must first take part in the ‘Bridgepoint Private Equity Challenge’ sponsored and run by Bridgepoint in association with the Private Equity Institute.

This challenge is aimed at finding the smartest assessment of leveraged buyout opportunities in the UK. Angelopoulos chose the team of five from more than 200 students that participated in the Bridgepoint PE Challenge and mentored them for five weeks in the run up to the Oxford Chicago Global Private Equity Challenge.

To be eligible for the Challenges, students must have registered in the Oxford Saïd Finance Lab, a joint venture between the Private Equity Institute and Oxford Saïd, which allows students to take part in a series of practical workshops on financial and valuation modelling, challenges sponsored by Centerview, Bridgepoint and Hermes, and real-life case studies offered by a number of senior executives in leading banks and funds, providing networking opportunities with company representatives.

On the day, the team from Chicago (Andrew Alexander, Michael Eisinger, Bradley Powell, Michael Vander Roest and Edward White) won the Challenge. Next year, students from Oxford Saïd will have the opportunity to visit Chicago Booth, challenge for the title, and build their network in the US. (Image Courtesy : www.sbs.ox.ac.uk)