The teaching and the practicing of corporate finance are more challenging and exciting than ever before. The last decade has seen fundamental changes in financial markets and financial instruments. In the early years of the 21st century, we still see announcements in the financial press about such matters as takeovers, junk bonds, financial restructuring, initial public offerings, bankruptcy, and derivatives. In addition, there is the new recognition of “real” options (Chapters 21 and 22), private equity and venture capital (Chapter 19), and the disappearing dividend (Chapter 18). The world’s financial markets are more integrated than ever before. Both the theory and practice of corporate finance have been.
