AEES Executive Certificate in Mergers, acquisitions and disposals

The capabilities the assessment attests if you pass.

• Decide to buy or walk away
• Frame a due diligence
• Integrate or dispose without destroying
• Decide to walk if the file does not hold
• Sell or close without leaving a hidden liability
• Say why this target

This is the European Commission’s classification of skills, competences, qualifications and occupations. This certificate is linked to it through the skills below. Each link opens the official record.

• mergers and acquisitions http://data.europa.eu/esco/skill/075c68d7-efe4-4466-be4a-9acc726504df
• handle mergers and acquisitions http://data.europa.eu/esco/skill/7eb4c570-9dc7-4f4d-83d2-f4c4c87b6e49
• investment analysis http://data.europa.eu/esco/skill/bf12b461-1c53-4d81-a395-8ba77f7483c4

1. Thesis: Why This Target, And Why Not Another Before you model price or open a data room, you must decide whether the target is the right one for your strategy and capital plan. A thesis answers three questions: why this target, why now, and why not another option. It links your company’s ambition to a concrete business logic for value creation, shows the boundary conditions that must be met, and names the reasons you will walk away if they are not. It is short, evidence based, and testable. If you cannot write it on one page before diligence, you are not ready to engage. A strong thesis comes from outside in thinking. Start with the market problem and the position you want to hold in the value chain, not the asset that happens to be for sale. Use structured comparisons versus build and partner, map adjacencies and capabilities, and rank targets against the same criteria. Treat regulatory feasibility, capital intensity, and execution capacity as first order filters. Regulators publish how they think about market power and national security, and accounting standards define what you will later recognize as goodwill and intangible assets. Use these public, stable reference points to ground your case.
2. Module 2: Price In M&A, the number everyone remembers is the multiple. It is quick, comparable and often wrong in practice. Price is a set of moving parts. The economics depend on how you define debt, where you set working capital, which mechanism you choose, what you defer, and the risks you accept. If you do not map these parts, you can pay the multiple twice: once to the seller and again through post-closing cash needs. This module gives you a method to deconstruct headline value into enterprise value, equity value and total cash outlay. You will see how accounting choices affect EBITDA and debt, how purchase price adjustments work, and how earn-outs or rollover equity change what you pay and when. You will also learn how caps, escrows, representations and warranties insurance and conditions precedent shift value between parties.
3. Module 3/6, Due Diligence Due diligence is not a search for comfort. It is a disciplined test of the deal thesis through disconfirming evidence. The mindset is simple: assume the deal is flawed until the facts prove it robust, or prove it should be reshaped or abandoned. Your job is to define the kill criteria up front, focus work on what can actually break value or legality, and make a documented decision on that basis. Working adults face constraints: compressed timelines, limited access to data, and pressure to endorse management’s enthusiasm. A professional buyer resists that pressure by setting materiality thresholds, running short iterations, and asking questions that can produce a hard no. You will learn how to frame the scope, run the work, and turn findings into concrete deal actions: reprice, re-structure, protect in the contract, or walk.
4. Module 4, Walk-away: Deciding to step back when the deal does not hold Every disciplined acquirer needs the ability to stop. Walking away is not a failure; it is a choice to protect capital, reputation, and strategic focus. This module gives you a practical way to reach a no-go decision that will stand up to scrutiny in your investment committee, in later audits, and in public if the deal becomes visible. You will learn to frame the walk-away as a deliberate outcome. That means defining red lines, aligning them to your thesis, quantifying risk-adjusted value, testing mitigations, and deciding on a timeline. It also means knowing when conditions such as antitrust risk, compliance exposure, or integration constraints make the transaction unworkable regardless of price.
5. Module 5: Integration, Steering the First 100 Days Integration is the bridge between the deal you priced and the business you actually own. It protects the core of what you bought, sets the conditions for growth, and prevents value leakage through operational disruption, key talent loss, customer churn, and compliance failures. Good integration is deliberate and paced. It starts before closing with a plan for Day 1, then moves decisively but carefully through the first 100 days. This module is built for practitioners. You will learn where to start, what to lock first, what to leave untouched, and how to coordinate legal, finance, people, commercial, technology, and compliance work without breaking antitrust and data protection rules. You will also learn how to track synergies, manage transition service agreements, and stabilise the acquired business while you install your governance and controls.
6. Disposal: Sell or Close Without Hidden Liability Disposals end executive careers when they leave surprises. The discipline is to surface, allocate, and exit risks before closing. This module gives you a practical route to sell or to close in a way that reduces residual exposures and keeps your reputation intact. You will define the perimeter, select the path, and prepare a file that buyers can underwrite. You will also decide when to shut down and how to do it safely. The focus is on risk mapping, documentation, consents, separation, disclosures, and measurable post close obligations.