Princeton University - Bric A Brac Yearbook (Princeton, NJ)

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Economics 318 Corporate Finance You are sitting around a large, dark stained wood table. If we tender Aztec now for $40 a share, it will only take $100 million to gain effective control. Yes, but how will the market react? If we finance the deal using equity, it might be viewed as diluting our shares. That could ruin the offer be- cause we could drop a few points. I think the combination equity- cash deal is the best. We could float a bond to raise the capital. Also, don ' t forget, we have to file that anti-trust suit against Houston to block their offer. The above is not a transcript from Exxon ' s latest board meeting, but a sample of the type of conversation that transpires among students in- volved in Corp. Fi. ' s Aztec Game. It is a series of acquisitions and merger attempts masterminded by the student. The game, like the whole course, offers one the chance to ap- ply the formulas and concepts in a real situation. In fact, that is the appeal of this course and the reason for its large enrollment. It explains the real world. You learn how Slippery Sam the Flim-Flam Man can give you a loan at 6% and wind up owning your car or house. A student explained it best. In the 28

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would begin to tear it to shreds. Once Ms. Oates drolly remarked, You cer- tainly get a lot of suggestions in this workshop. Not one of them is any good. You were never quite sure whether to take what she said se- riously. In truth, everyone enjoyed the course. Participating in a writing workshop with Joyce was like taking a general relativity course with a Nobel laureate — there was always present the knowledge that we were dealing with one of the most important as well as prolific contemporary American writers. Part of the problem with writ- ing seminars is that you ' re never really sure whether to take the criti- cism you received as meaningful. At least in this course, you knew your work was being complimented or cut down by someone who is good at the game. Sometimes you might choose to ignore the fact that Ms. Oates thought your piece was incoherent, but very often you would find she offered valuable insights for improving a character or redirecting the empha- sis of a work in progress. And then there was Joyce ' s bizarre but amus- ing sense of humor. A random sampl- ing of gems she told our creative writ- ing class: Last year I suggested as an ex- ercise writing in a sex other than your own — if you can find one. I know what a psychological and emotional investment writing a novel is . . . it ' s like when you ' re in the Gobi Desert and you reach for your flask and there ' s a hole in it. I could write a short story every two weeks — I have that kind of per- sonality — but most of my (writer) friends couldn ' t. They ' d be paral- yzed. If one can turn off creativity, it ' s easier to lead a somewhat normal life. And for those who found their works being bombasted by Joyce for no apparent reason, who saw the oth- er members of the workshop missing those points in his or her stories which had seemed so clear and ob- vious, there was always room for con- solation. The Post review of Joyce ' s new novel was a complete and utter pan. 27

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midst of all the academia, Corp. Fi. brings me back to earth. Now I under- stand what all the things mean that I hear about every day: stocks, bonds, interest rates, mortgage rates, depre- ciation, mergers, and tax loopholes. A great deal of the success of the course is due to the teaching of Mr. Richard Spies. He is not an academi- cian, but a member of the University administration, Assistant to the Pro- vost. He brings much of his daily ex- perience to bear on the material at hand. His first hand experiences include watching dollar meters clock off in law- yers ' eyes, the economics of his courtship and marriage, and how to get the most bangs for your bucks. Mr. Spies is also a senior partner in the firm of Filey, Smiley, and Spies, a corporation that presents annual awards for distinction and imagination in the Aztec exercise. This year ' s kudos included a perfect market award (a dartboard), an I like to play God-Daily Princetonian award, and a Creative Accounting award for the Aztec management (now residing in Allenwood) who started their own company and acquired over $150 million worth of another company ' s stock for virtually nothing. Oh well, all ' s fair in love and high finance. 29