For the past five years, the National Capital Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth has hosted a contest for local business school students called the ACG Cup Case Study Competition. The ACG Cup Case Study Competition is designed to give students from leading MBA programs across the country real world experience and invaluable insights into mergers and acquisitions, investment banking, financial advisory and private equity.

Each case study provides students with a unique opportunity to present valuation, capital markets and M&A strategic advice to a panel of seasoned M&A professionals from within the ACG community.

ACG National Capital is currently looking for local area business schools to compete in this year’s Case Study Competition, which will take place on February 7, 2012 and hosted by BDO at their corporate offices in Bethesda, Md.

The competition is carried out through a series of intra-school and regional competitions, with regional winners awarded the prestigious ACG Cup title and cash awards. The contest is open to teams of MBA students from local area universities. Student teams are made up of three to five MBA students, and must be nominated for participation by their universities.

Each team will:

  • Analyze and present their proposed business plan for a complex case that requires a combination of corporate strategy, finance and valuation skills.
  • Be challenged to develop the best solution to a realistic financial problem for a fictional company, weighing the pros and cons of various scenarios, and justify their calculations and recommendations.
  • Compete in front of a panel of select Washington, D.C. area corporate executives representing private equity firms, investment banks, and large and mid-sized businesses involved in corporate growth.

Four of the past five ACG Cup Case Study Competitions have been won by the University of Maryland, Robert H Smith School of Business. Only once, in 2010, was the University of Maryland dethroned by the Georgetown University,  McDonough School of Business.  Previous participating MBA school teams include American University, George Mason University, George Washington University, and Howard University.

If you don’t fear the turtle and think your business school can knock the Robert H. Smith School of Business off of its lofty perch, we welcome you to enter. Fame, glory, cash prizes and an incredible learning experience await you!

For more information about the Cup, visit: http://www.acg.org/global/aboutacgcup.aspx

To register a team from your school of business, contact:

Annabel Bendz
Chapter Representative Director
ACG National Capital
acg@acgcapital.org