About ACG Cup®

The ACG Cup®: The Premier MBA Competition

The ACG Cup® is a case study competition designed to give students from leading MBA programs across the country real world experience and invaluable insights into mergers and acquisitions, investment banking, financial advisory and private equity.  Each case study provides students with a unique opportunity to present valuation, capital markets and M&A strategic advice to a panel of seasoned M&A professionals from within the ACG community.  The competition is carried out through a series of intra-school and regional competitions, with regional winners awarded the prestigious ACG Cup® title and cash awards.

The ACG Cup Value Proposition:

ACG Chapters nationwide are pleased to host ACG Cup® competitions, enabling ACG members to forge closer relationships with the leading business schools in their region, introducing the next generation of business leaders to the premier M&A, corporate growth and corporate development community, the Association for Corporate Growth.

Participating in the ACG Cup® provides students with unparalleled opportunities: 

• Access and exposure to M&A professionals
• Real-world dealmaking experience
• Over $200,000 in scholarship and awards distributed
• Resume building
• Real-world financial experience
• Opportunity to work as an investment banker for a week
• Application of classroom studies
• Hone dealmaking skills
• Enhance and polish presentation, networking and team building capabilities

ACG Cup® Testimonials

"The ACG Cup® is a great way to introduce business schools and MBA students to ACG as the premier global organization for professionals involved in mergers and acquisitions.  At the same time, we are providing those students with an opportunity to gain real world experience, present, network and develop relationships with the leading M&A professionals and firms in their region."

Douglas Schreier

Principal, Deloitte Tax, LLP

"The ACG Cup® provides an excellent outlet to display your talent and energy to a network of potential employers.  The competition not only offers a thorough insight to the workings of corporate finance, it also opens doors to eager MBA students who want to establish themselves as capable candidates to promising careers in finance.  Upon graduation, I was offered a position with a local private equity firm I met at an ACG event." 

Tom Lombardi, Jr

Pepperdine University

MBA Class of 2007

ACG Southern California Cup 2007 Participant

"Without a doubt, the ACG Cup® competition has helped me better transition to my current position as an investment analyst." 

Sanjay Khindri

Villanova University

MBA Class of 2008

ACG Philadelphia Cup 2008 Participant

"The ACG Cup® competition was a highlight for our competing students in that it provided an opportunity to apply all the critical skills from the MBA program to a single product, exercising hard skills like finance and accounting fundamentals and soft skills like teamwork, presentation skills, and strategic thinking.  The surprise was that the most valuable reward came from the long-term relationships and the learning that came out of the effort.  It was an intensive learning experience shared with great teammates and mentors that offered our students a real look at what the private equity field actually feels like outside of an academic setting." 

Pam Kokkalis,

 Associate Director

 Graduate Career Management Center,

Temple University, The Fox School of Business

ACG Philadelphia Cup 2008 Participant

"Ultimately, everyone that participates in the ACG Cup® is a winner; the students especially, but also their peers, faculty, judging and coordinating teams. Our students were able to experience a very real-world business setting that tested their cognitive, analytical and communication skills.  I was struck by their ability to synthesize the theoretical and the practical; respond to probing questions from the judges, and maintain a sense of humor in the face of highly charged inter-school rivalry. There could be no better professional preparation for our MBA students."

Stephanie Bergeron

President

Walsh College

ACG Detroit Cup 2008 Participant

"The ACG Cup® competition was a great opportunity to live the life of an investment banker for one week. We were conducting company valuations, creating pitch books and selling our ideas to a client. The experience provided me and the team with a better understanding of the skills and work ethic needed to be a successful investment banker."

Jonathan Steele

University of Maryland

MBA Class of 2009

ACG National Capital Cup 2008 Participant

Support Deal Making Talent Development by attending ACG's Cross-town Classic

This cross-town competition is the MBA equivalent of the annual collegiate sporting traditions. It’s the conclusion of a multi-month outreach to identify and mentor the best and brightest MBA students in the nuances of corporate finance.

The ACG Cincinnati Cup® is a unique case study competition designed to give students from the tri-state’s leading MBA programs invaluable insight into M&A, investment banking, corporate financial advisory and private equity, as well as scholarship assistance.

Through this program, we are introducing the next generation of business leaders to ACG Cincinnati and the corporate community. The winning team qualifies to compete in the national ACG competition.

Over 150 business and academic leaders joined ACG members and our lively emcee, Woody Taft, for a memorable finale in the exclusive confines of the Queen City Club.  We look forward to continuing to combine rivalry with meaningful mentoring and talent development in 2016.  

Contact Marcie Taylor if you want to learn more about ACG Cup®.