Name _____________________________ Bocconi ID #___________________________________

Please type your answers below each question and respect the maximum length (6 rows per
answer). Try to use your own words.
Please upload this form completed in the place where you downloaded it empty in the course
blackboard before Oct 3rd 10.30 a.m.

Case 3: Freeport McMoran: Financing an acquisition

1. Why do you think JPMorgan and Merrill Lynch were selected to underwrite and book-run all $23.3
billion in financings (all debt, common stock, and convertible), instead of sharing the underwriting
with additional firms?

2. What was the role of the leveraged finance group at JPMorgan and why was its involvement
important to the acquisition?

3. Describe the forms of risk that an investment bank must consider in relation to acquisition and
underwriting transactions. Describe what it means for a firm to set aside capital when it completes
underwriting transactions.

4. Describe the role and importance of credit rating agencies in the Freeport-McMoRan transaction.
Which group within an investment bank has the primary responsibility to work with companies
regarding rating agency considerations?
5. Who are the clients of the institutional sales team at JPMorgan? What is meant by a “limit order,”
and what is its impact on the sales function? Describe the role of an Equity Capital Markets
Syndicate group.