23 Mar 2017
LBS MBA team beats more than 25 global rivals in a private equity US case competition
A team of five MBA students from London Business School (LBS) have won an annual Wharton MBA Buyout Case Competition, beating more than 25 teams from world-leading business schools. Competitors from business schools such as Harvard, MIT and Columbia made recommendations for a proposed private equity buyout transaction.
The winning team comprised Vasilis Ameranis, Daniele Cozzi, Qinglong Meng, Arif Sidharta and Veronica Tan, who said: “This is one of the most prestigious private equity leveraged buyout competitions for MBAs in North America: we are thrilled to win.”
The finalists were provided with the name of New York Stock Exchange-listed firm Brinker International, an American multinational hospitality company, and asked to complete a detailed leveraged buyout financial model in just 10 days.
LBS’s Private Equity and Venture Capital Club selected the students in earlier rounds, ensuring the best cohort represented the School.
Among the judges were investment tycoons from private equity firms based in the US.
Tan said she would encourage LBS students to participate again next year as it presented a “great opportunity for networking with private equity firms”.
“It was also a great learning experience for anyone who wants to work in a team or break into private equity,” she said, adding that learning about modelling and investment structures from team members with private equity experience, and about presenting skills from another member with consulting experience, had been invaluable.
