The skills relevant to analyzing a company’s ongoing activities and corporate transactions

Assignment Task: The objective of this assessment is to help you develop critical analytical skills and apply your understandings into practice. Learning Outcomes: At the completion of this assignment, you are expected to acquire and demonstrate: 1. the skills relevant to analysing a company’s ongoing activities and corporate transactions 2. the ability to apply relevant M&A theories and concepts to a specific deal 3. the ability to collect and compile important financial information about companies involved in an M&A deal 4. to ability to summarize and effectively communicate your analysis to an audience, in this case, prospective clients. Scenario: On June 1, IRESS Limited (ASX:IRE) announced that it had successfully negotiated a merger agreement with OneVue Holdings Limited (ASX:OVH). The merger was to be conducted through a Scheme of Arrangement. On the same day, IRESS also announced an equity raising (through a placement and a share purchase plan) to partially fund the merger. Currently (mid-September), the merger process is still on-going. You are a sell-side analyst working for a Sydney-based brokerage house. Your portfolio covers the financial information and financial technology groups of firms in the ASX, including IRESS and a number of smaller players. It is now time to release your quarterly equity research note on IRESS. Write the research note to provide your clients with the latest updates on IRESS (with focus on the OneVue merger) and your recommendation. Equity Research Note: An equity research report/note is a document prepared by a sell-side analyst for their clients (institutional investors) to help them make appropriate portfolio decisions with respect to a particular firm covered by the analyst. The common areas covered in a report/note are: