1. Why were hedge funds developed? What role do they play in the market today?
2. What were some of the reasons for corporate deleveraging despite the low Federal Reserve rates?
3. What created the change in the activist acquisition targets?
4. Why is Jeff Smith known as one of the most aggressive activists? What was the result of his actions?
5. What is the difference between a leveraged buyout and a going-private transaction?
6. How have the trends in leveraged buyouts changed since their origination in the 1980’s?
7. RJR Nabisco is ranked as one of the largest leveraged buyouts; discuss another recent leveraged buyout. How
does this LBO differ from what happened at Nabisco?
8. Discuss some of the potential conflicts of interest that take place in a management buyout.
9. How does debt have a lower cost than equity? How does this impact the company’s tax position?
10. List at least two ways of financing a leveraged buyout. Which method would you choose if you were brokering
the LBO?
