Broad’s Second Annual Private Equity Case Competition: A mission to grow

The Broad College of Business hosted the second annual Private Equity Case Competition on Apr. 3. A total of 10 teams representing different universities across Michigan and the Big Ten were selected out of 30+ team applications to compete for $4500 in cash prizes. 

The competition has been an annual event hosted in collaboration with Broad’s Department of Finance and Private Equity at Broad, a student organization dedicated to providing a competitive environment for students to learn about private equity and investing. For this year’s competition, the organization chose TriMas, a publicly traded company that specializes in designing, manufacturing, and supplying a broad range of innovative and high‑quality products for the consumer packaging, life sciences and industrial markets. 

A panel of MSU alumni with extensive experience and influence in the field was invited to judge for the case competition, featuring Jordan Polk, CEO of Missing In Action, previously at Thoma-Bravo; Brody Eagelston, partner and managing director at AlixPartners; and John Steffen, professor of practice in finance at Broad.

Built two years ago in response to a need for students to apply previously acquired knowledge about private equity, Private Equity at Broad strives to grow into a central hub across universities for students who are interested in accelerating their careers with real-world experience in the field. And with the growing number of contesting teams, the vision is slowly turning into reality. “People are traveling hundreds, hundreds of miles to compete in our case on a Friday, and I think that that says something about what we’re building,” said Dylan Primeau, a finance senior and co-president of the organization.

The event kicked off with a short welcome speech from Private Equity at Broad’s co-presidents Dylan Primeau and Adam Robinson, a finance senior, as well as introductory speeches from every judge on the panel.

“We’re amazed by the interest in the field for the past couple of year,” said Steffan in his welcome remarks. “This is comp[etition], but it’s also fun. Have fun, enjoy it, take time to enrich yourself, and I hope that 20 years later, when you go into the field of [private equity], you’ll remember this experience.”

After opening speeches, student teams presented their evaluation of TriMas’s business model, weighed the merits of the transaction, and defended their recommendations through a private equity lens. The detailed analyses and data models that were presented showed not only students’ hard work, but also their ability to apply their knowledge and skills and present them in a high-stakes environment.

“It’s all about preparation—how many times you guys can get together as a team, rehearse, and make sure you know the things on your slide,” Sean Paul, a finance major representing MSU’s freshmen team, said. “Finance is a very nuanced industry where you have to make sure you know every single granular detail on your slide because it can get called out really fast, so make sure that it has a ground basis to it and you can defend it at scale.”

Competition judge Brody Eagelston noted the participating teams’ well-prepared presentation decks and informative analyses. “I think they’ve put a lot of thought behind their hard work and it’s really coming to light. I think it’s been very impressive—not just the work they put in, but the breadth of the analysis. Even during the Q&A sessions, their ability to defend their analysis and their stance on things has been really remarkable.” 

All judges commented on the event not only being an opportunity for students to learn, but also for alumni to give back to MSU. “Getting a chance to come back and see exactly the development of private equity at Broad— it’s really cool to see their growth and give back to an organization and to a college like the Broad College that’s given so much to me,” Jordan Polk said.