FIN301 · YOU MANAGE FIN301 AI Co. · BIDDER IS THE COMPUTERFictional company · Classroom simulation

FIN301 AI Co. Deal Game

Bidder makes a move. FIN301 AI Co. chooses a response. See the consequences—and decide what to do next.

FIN301 AI Co. raised $4.5m: 4,500 investors × $1,000. Each received 100 shares at $10 → 450,000 voting shares.

🤖 Your token moves one space each turn. No dice. Bidder follows the published policy below; your choices determine whether it succeeds.

Your game story

One company, one continuous game. Every turn stays here.

    How Bidder thinks — the computer’s exact priorities
    1. Do not overpay. If FIN301 AI Co.’s independent value exceeds Bidder’s $16.50/share maximum and owner confidence is at least 70, Bidder withdraws.
    2. Use elections. On an Election space, Bidder seeks director seats through its owned votes plus persuaded shareholder proxies.
    3. Work around a pill. If a rights plan blocks direct buying, Bidder campaigns for proxies instead. It will try to replace the board at an election.
    4. Stop wasting time. After four unsuccessful tender/price-raising turns, Bidder withdraws if confidence remains at least 75. Proxy-campaign turns do not count as failed bids.
    5. Raise a low offer. If the bid is at least $0.25 below 120% of FIN301 AI Co.’s current independent value, Bidder raises it toward that figure, capped at $16.50. It does not buy shares on the price-raising turn.
    6. Otherwise, tender. Bidder tries to purchase up to 45,000 shares from willing owners. A premium and low confidence attract more sellers; strong support or a below-value offer can produce zero sales. No share is awarded automatically.

    Rules are checked in this order at the start of the turn. Bidder announces its plan before FIN301 AI Co. chooses. FIN301 AI Co.’s response can change the plan’s success. The computer uses no random numbers.

    How to play, win conditions and model assumptions
    1. Read Bidder’s last actual move and its next announced plan in the left panel.
    2. Choose one of the three responses. Read the possible benefit, trade-off and cost on each button. Discuss the likely consequence before clicking. The class can vote by a show of hands; the game assumes required board/shareholder approvals are obtained.
    3. Read the result and its short lesson. Press “See Bidder’s next plan” to move one space clockwise and reveal the next three choices. Nothing advances automatically.
    4. Keep FIN301 AI Co. independent until Bidder withdraws, negotiate a good sale, find a friendly buyer or attempt a financed counter-bid. Protecting shareholder value matters as well as independence.

    FIN301 AI Co. begins with 450,000 voting shares, $1.8m treasury cash, $2.7m assumed operating equity value ($6/share) and $90,000 earnings per cycle. Bidder already owns 45,000 FIN301 AI Co. shares (10%). The company team and Bidder team are classroom representatives, not extra votes. One FIN301 AI Co. share carries one vote.

    Bidder obtains share control above 50% of outstanding shares, initially 225,001. It can also obtain board control with 4 of 6 directors. Election spaces occur twice per board circuit. A staggered board limits Bidder to 2 new seats at each successful election. Proxy support is modeled as Bidder-owned shares plus 75% × (100 − owner confidence)% of other outstanding shares, rounded down. Proxies authorize votes; they do not transfer ownership.

    A tender offers the stated price to willing sellers. If the bid is below standalone value, no owners sell here. At a premium under 10%, the modeled seller pool is halved. Otherwise confidence under 45 supplies 45,000 sellers; confidence from 45 to below 60 supplies 30,000; confidence 60 to below 75 supplies 15,000. At confidence 75 or more, owners hold if the bid is no more than 130% of standalone value. If higher, up to 15,000 may sell. Bidder’s budget and available non-Bidder shares also limit buying.

    All dollar effects, confidence thresholds, financing commitments, seller rules, immediate growth gains, approval availability and election timing are hypothetical teaching rules. A cycle is not a specified day or year. Actual takeovers depend on law, company documents, disclosures, fiduciary duties, financing and required approvals. The simulation stops at control; it does not complete every legal merger step.

    Bidder is modeled with $45m acquisition funding and 4,500,000 shares for counter-bid purposes. A $30m credit line can finance FIN301 AI Co.’s purchases of up to 375,000 Bidder shares/cycle at $12. Majority control needs 2,250,001 Bidder shares. Debt incurs 1% interest per cycle here. Displayed standalone value excludes Bidder-share assets and acquisition debt; it is not a consolidated equity valuation.

    All strategies and concept references

    SEC: shareholder voting · SEC: tender offers · Cornell LII: hostile takeovers · Lipton: historical checklist (1990) · Takeover Law and Practice (2023). Sources explain concepts, not the game’s invented numerical effects.

    Fictional company takeover simulation. FIN301 AI Co., Bidder and Harbor AI are invented classroom entities. Original educational board design. Offline HTML; no login, purchases, external assets or random opponent moves.