The Wharton School is hosting its annual 2010 MBA Buyout Case Competition on Friday, February 26th and the Committee is looking for judges.  The competition brings together teams from leading MBA programs across the country.  All the details are provided below and they are expecting another great turnout.  If you are interested in judging, please reply directly to Peter Yordan at pyordan@wharton.upenn.edu or 917.414.2139.  Peter is also available to answer any questions you may have.

The case will be provided by Harris Williams & Co. Case presentations will address the following areas: investment thesis, buyout rationale, deal merits and considerations, proposed deal structure and financing structure in the current market environment and valuation. The team presentations, which must be under 20 minutes, will be followed by five minutes of questions from judges. No preparation is necessary for judges. The case will be provided to you in advance along with assessment guidelines.

Logistics Details for Judges

When: Friday, February 26th
8:30am – 3:00pm (competition)

Where: The Wharton School
Jon M. Huntsman Hall
3730 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Competition Details:

• Teams will receive the case Monday, February 22rd. Final presentations must be submitted by Wednesday, February 24th. No changes can be made to the presentation after February 24th.
• The competition will consist of a preliminary round and a final round.
• Teams will be split up at random into 3-4 flights which will be announced at the orientation breakfast.
• In the preliminary round, each team will have 20 minutes to present to a group of judges (the “investment committee”) followed by 5 minutes of questions.
• The top performing team from each flight will advance to the final round. Teams that do not advance to the final round are encouraged to watch the final round presentations.
• Representatives from Harris Williams & Co. will present a retrospective on the actual investment following the completion of the competition.

Participants:

Top MBA programs from across the nation have been invited to participate. We have strongly recommended that schools send teams with at least one member with prior private equity experience to maximize the competitiveness of the competition.

Suggested Judging Criteria:
• Investment thesis
• Risks and Merits
• Deal and Financing Structure
• Valuation of Target Company
• Clarity of Communication, Presentation and Responses to Questions