| Unit name | International Corporate Finance |
|---|---|
| Unit code | LAWDM0116 |
| Credit points | 30 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24) |
| Unit director | Professor. Albert Sanchez Graells |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | University of Bristol Law School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
This unit will explore the legal rules that govern the procedures followed by companies when they want to raise funds to launch or expand their activities, as well as the mechanisms for the protection of investors and creditors that supply those funds. It will cover two major sources of corporate finance: a) equity financing: the raising of capital following corporate law rules (minimum capital requirements, capital variations, the protection of shareholder rights when raising capital, the issuance of shares, financial assistance, etc.) and the raising of capital through the markets under securities regulations (IPOs, prospectus disclosure, ongoing disclosure of listed companies, market abuse, etc.) and b) debt financing, including contractual and bankruptcy rules covering issues such as: debentures, fixed and floating charges, specialised forms of finance such as project finance and trade finance, security, bonds, insolvency issues and priority for the payment, pari passu clauses, registration requirements, etc. The unit not only covers traditional approaches to corporate finance, but also emerging practices in the context of Fintech, such as crowdsourcing, including ICOs, peer to peer lending and alternative banking services offered by challenger banks.
Through the examination of both equity and debt-based sources of corporate finance, this unit offers a fruitful combination of company law, securities regulation, banking and bankruptcy study, under both a national and international perspective. The unit is focused on UK law, and this includes retained EU law in the post-Brexit context, as well as broader issues regarding the function of international capital markets and the UK’s position therein. The unit also includes critical perspectives, such as in relation to emerging policy trends to re-orient corporate finance to support sustainability goals, or to harness capital markets for economic recovery purposes in the context of recent and ongoing economic crises.
Unit aims
The unit will be of particular interest to those who wish to work in a financial centre whether as a solicitor, barrister, banker, journalist or regulator. Although a prior understanding/ appreciation of basic economic concepts may prove helpful, it is by no means essential.
The unit will complement students taking ‘Financial Markets and Banking Regulation’ and ‘Banking Conduct and Law’, and possibly also those studying ‘Company Law’, ‘Insolvency Law’, or ‘Corporate Governance’.
On the completion of this unit, students will be able to demonstrate:
Teaching will be delivered through a variety of asynchronous and synchronous activities
2 x summative assessments: 2x coursework with a specified word count (50% each)
The assessment will assess all of the intended learning outcomes for this unit.
The course is largely designed on the basis of Louise Gullifer and Jennifer Payne, Corporate Finance Law: Principles and Policy (3rd edn, Hart Publishing 2020). However, there is no single book that covers all relevant issues. Students will be provided a detailed reading list for each learning block within the unit.
