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34466 - Business and Project Finance M

Academic Year 2026/2027

  • Docente: Dario Baldini
  • Credits: 6
  • SSD: IEGE-01/A
  • Language: Italian
  • Moduli: Dario Baldini (Modulo 1) Renzo Baccolini (Modulo 2)
  • Teaching Mode: In-person learning (entirely or partially) In-person learning (entirely or partially) (Modulo 1); In-person learning (entirely or partially) (Modulo 2)
  • Campus: Bologna
  • Corso: Second cycle degree programme (LM) in Engineering Management (cod. 6718)

Learning outcomes

This syllabus outlines a university course in Corporate Finance and Project Finance, specifically tailored for Management Engineering (Ingegneria Gestionale) students.The program focuses on the two core financial decisions of any business: investment decisions (capital budgeting) and financing decisions (capital structure), with a special emphasis on technological innovation.

Course contents

Module 1: Elements of Corporate Finance (Prof. Dario Baldini)This module introduces the quantitative and theoretical tools needed to evaluate a company's financial health and investment viability.

  • Key Topics:
    • The fundamental difference between the economic perspective (revenues/expenses) and the financial perspective (cash inflows/outflows).
    • Financial accounting fundamentals based on financial statements.
    • Capital budgeting decisions based on the time value of money (such as NPV or IRR).
    • Calculating the cost of equity using the CAPM (Capital Asset Pricing Model) and analyzing the impact of financial leverage.
🏗️ Module 2: Elements of Project Finance (Prof. Renzo Baccolini)This module focuses on financing individual large-scale infrastructure or industrial projects off-balance sheet, independent of the sponsoring company.
  • Key Topics:
    • The structure and contractual architecture of Project Finance (using Special Purpose Vehicles or SPVs).
    • The critical role of banks and financial modeling for project valuation.
    • Project risk analysis, allocation, and mitigation.
    • Public sector collaboration via Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) and the utilization of EU funds.

Readings/Bibliography

  • Recommended readings include Foester (supplemented by Brealey-Myers) for Module 1, and Yescombe for Module 2. Lecture slides serve as a guide and do not replace the textbooks.

Assessment methods

  • Assessment: A single final written exam covering both modules. It consists of numerical exercises and multiple-choice questions (no mid-term exams).

    • Teaching tools

    Slides

    Office hours

    See the website of Dario Baldini

    See the website of Renzo Baccolini