Karin S. Thorburn

Karin S. Thorburn
  • Adjunct Full Professor of Finance
  • Research Chair Professor of Finance, Norwegian School of Economics

Contact Information

  • office Address:

    Steinberg-Dietrich Hall
    3620 Locust Walk
    Philadelphia, PA 19104

Research Interests: takeovers, bankruptcy, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, initial public offerings

Links: CV, SSRN

Overview

Karin S. Thorburn is an Adjunct Full Professor of Finance at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She is also the Research Chair Professor of Finance at NHH Norwegian School of Economics. Prior to joining NHH in 2009, she was a faculty member at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College for 11 years.

Thorburn’s research focuses on takeovers, bankruptcy, IPOs, corporate governance, and corporate social responsibility. She regularly publishes in the top academic journals, including the Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Management Science, and Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis.

Thorburn is a Research Associate of the Center for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) in London, a Research Affiliate of the European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI) in Brussels, a Council member of the Society for Financial Studies (SFS), and a Director of the Financial Management Association International (FMA).

She is a Director of the boards of Maritime & Merchant Bank ASA, Preferred Global Health AS, Global LNG Services AS, and Falck Advisory AS. In 2021, she was a member of an expert group that assessed the impact of climate change on the investment strategy of the Norwegian oil fund.

Thorburn holds a Ph.D. in financial economics from the Stockholm School of Economics.

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Research

Thorburn’s research focuses on takeovers, bankruptcy, IPOs, corporate governance, and corporate social responsibility.

Teaching

Current Courses

  • FNCE751 - Fnce Of Buyouts & Acqs

    The course focuses on financial tools, techniques, and best practices used in buyouts (financial buyers) and acquisitions (strategic buyers). While it will touch upon various strategic, organizational, and general management issues, the main lens for studying these transactions will be a financial one. It will explore how different buyers approach the process of finding, evaluating, and analyzing opportunities in the corporate-control market; how they structure deals and how deal structure affects both value creation and value division; how they add value after transaction completion; and how they realize their ultimate objectives (such as enhanced market position or a profitable exit). The course is divided into two broad modules. The first module covers mergers and acquisitions, and the second one studies buyouts by private equity partnerships. FNCE 703 or FNCE 707 are recommended.

    FNCE751001 ( Syllabus )

    FNCE751002 ( Syllabus )

    FNCE751003 ( Syllabus )

Past Courses

  • FNCE251 - FNCE OF BUYOUTS & ACQS

    The course focuses on financial tools, techniques, and best practices used in buyouts (financial buyers) and acquisitions (strategic buyers). While it will touch upon various strategic, organizational, and general management issues, the main lens for studying these transactions will be a financial one. It will explore how different buyers approach the process of finding, evaluating, and analyzing opportunities in the corporate-control market; how they structure deals and how deal structure affects both value creation and value division; how they add value after transaction completion; and how they realize their ultimate objectives (such as enhanced market position or a profitable exit). The course is divided into two broad modules. The first module covers mergers and acquisitions, and the second one studies buyouts by private equity partnerships. FNCE 203 or FNCE 207 are recommended.

  • FNCE751 - FNCE OF BUYOUTS & ACQS

    The course focuses on financial tools, techniques, and best practices used in buyouts (financial buyers) and acquisitions (strategic buyers). While it will touch upon various strategic, organizational, and general management issues, the main lens for studying these transactions will be a financial one. It will explore how different buyers approach the process of finding, evaluating, and analyzing opportunities in the corporate-control market; how they structure deals and how deal structure affects both value creation and value division; how they add value after transaction completion; and how they realize their ultimate objectives (such as enhanced market position or a profitable exit). The course is divided into two broad modules. The first module covers mergers and acquisitions, and the second one studies buyouts by private equity partnerships. FNCE 703 or FNCE 707 are recommended.

Activity

Latest Research

B. Espen Eckbo, Knut Nygaard, Karin Thorburn (2021), Valuation effects of Norway’s board gender-quota law revisited, Management Science. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2021.4031
All Research