Teams of 4-6 MBA students each  are given a one week window to develop the financials, strategies and recommendations for a M&A case study provided by Houlihan Lokey. The competition includes two parts. First, students compete against teams at their own schools. These intra-school competitions occur in February-March. The winning team from each school is invited to participate in the finals. This year finals will not take place, normally they are held in Manhattan, with the awards being presented at a regularly-scheduled ACG Forward Reception.  The winning school would normally earn the prestigious ACG NY cup award and the winning MBA student team shares a $8,000 prize. Second place team will share a $2,000 prize. Stay tuned for information on the 2023 ACG Cup!

*Participating schools subject to change.

We are ALSO looking for ACG volunteers in the finance professions familiar with various aspects of M&A transactions – including investment banking, private equity, valuations and debt – to act as judges in the 2021 ACG Cup. You will need to be available to judge at least one of the Round I competitions (2021 dates TBD) and/or the Round II final 2021 TBD. You don’t have to be available on both dates.

The ACG Cup is a case study competition 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 (provided by Houlihan Lokey) gives students 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.  The competition is carried out through a series of intra-school competitions during the months leading up to the final round. The winning team from each school then participates in the inter-school Round II competition where the top team will be awarded the prestigious ACG NY Cup title and a cash award.

ACG New York is looking for a few great mentors from the investment banking community to inspire and coach MBA students competing in the 2021 ACG Cup. We hope that you might consider helping out.  It would involve just a few hours of your time either in person or by conference call.

Source materials including a video and case guidelines will be available in the ACG Cup file room. The ACG Cup mentors will have an MBA school team(s) to mentor at the following points in the competition:

Before Student teams review the first case.  In this instance you will be able to:

• • Review Cup participant video and materials with your assigned school team(s).
  • Answer any questions about case structure, tools and other information in the source materials.
  • Guide students on important issues to address in developing a case.
  • Provide any insights as to how to approach, value, strategize and present a winning case.

After the first round and before the “finals” case is posted you will have the opportunity to guide the winning team by reviewing  round one analytics and presentation and give pointers for round two.

Below is a list of the participating universities.  You may choose to mentor a team from your alma mater or a school that might be geographically convenient for an occasional meet-up. You will have the opportunity to help students understand what goes into “real world” pitching and to give pointers as they refine their presentations.

• • Baruch
  • Columbia
  • Cornell
  • Fordham
  • Hofstra
  • NYU
  • Pace
  • St. Johns

*Participating schools subject to change.

Being an ACG Cup Mentor is a great opportunity to make a huge difference with students who are motivated, talented, and hotly interested in careers in the investment banking community.