Competition Rules

  1. All teams will be given the same case regarding an M&A transaction. You must sell the transaction using quantitative and qualitative analysis.
  2. Only one team from each school is allowed. Teams should consist of a maximum of 4 MBA students with at least 2 first years.
  3. Teams will be given a number for presentation purposes to avoid judging bias. They should only identify themselves by their team number during the presentation.
  4. Teams are required to create and present a pitchbook to support the deal.
  5. External sources must be used to gather information. However, teams are not to receive any outside assistance from the release of the case through the final presentation. Any evidence of cheating is grounds for immediate disqualification.
  6. Research may be used from any available resource provided by the R.H. Smith School of Business, including Bloomberg, Reuters, and the Internet.
  7. Competitors are free to work on their own laptops, and may return to their hotel rooms to work after 9 p.m.
  8. Each team will have their own room in Van Munching Hall in which to prepare their case presentation.
  9. Questions regarding the case will be answered between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Thursday by Sarah Kroncke only, and will be disseminated to all teams. No questions will be answered about the case after this window.
  10. The case and details regarding the content will be confidential until its release on Thursday.
  11. Pre-existing PowerPoint and Excel templates may be used to help develop your pitch.
  12. Presentations must be finalized by 6am Friday and submitted to the Copy Center and Sarah Kroncke at that time.
  13. The pitchbooks must be sent as Team#_M&APitch. e.g. 1_M&APitch
  14. Presentation groupings and order will be randomly selected.
  15. First round presentations will be 15 minutes with a hard stop followed by 10 minutes for judges’ questions. You will be cut off after 25 minutes.
  16. Once the first presentation has begun on Friday teams may no longer rehearse.
  17. Teams may not view each other’s presentations until they have gone through their last presentation of the day.
  18. Teams may not leave Van Munching Hall until the finalists are announced.
  19. Judging criteria will be handed out with the case.
  20. Judges will select the top two teams from each group in the first round to move onto the finals.
  21. The format for the final round presentations will be the same as the first round with an extra 5 minutes for judges’ questions. 30 minutes total.
  22. There is no restriction on the number of presenters for each team. All team members may participate in the question and answer session.