Freeman team wins first runner up in Business Valuation Challenge

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A team of Freeman MFIN and MBA students won first runner up at the 2018 Business Valuation Challenge. From left to right, Xiao Li, Xingjin Li, Shuqi Wang, faculty adviser Ryan Peters, Yuqiang Wu and Khyati “Kathy” Rai.

A team of Master of Finance and MBA students from Tulane University’s A. B. Freeman School of Business won first runner up at the 6th annual Business Valuation Challenge, which took place Nov. 17 in Atlanta.

Hosted by Georgia State University's J. Mack Robinson School of Business, the competition challenges students to assess the stand-alone value of a real private company. In earning second place honors, the Freeman students — Xiao Li (MFIN '18), Xingjin Li (MFIN '18), Khyati Rai (MBA '19), Shuqi Wang (MFIN '18) and Yuqiang Wu (MFIN '18) — topped more than 20 business school teams from across the country.

The case involved a publicly traded men's casual retailer considering a takeover bid from a private equity firm. In preparing their presentation, the students worked with a faculty adviser, Assistant Professor of Finance Ryan Peters, as well as Timothy Bovard, an Innovator-in-Residence with the Freeman School's Lepage Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

"More than just having a good answer, the most important thing is being able to think on your feet, respond to hypothetical questions and explain why you chose to analyze the company in the way that you did," said Peters. "I think the team did an outstanding job with their technical analysis and calculating the value of the company, but they also did an excellent job addressing the questions shareholders might have and presenting their recommendations in a clear, concise manner. All in all, they were great representatives of the Freeman School, and I couldn't be happier for them."

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