Terms and Conditions
Effective Date: 12 July 2021
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1. Close the Deal is an international competition(hereinafter “Competition”) organized by Close the Deal Ltd (hereinafter “Close the Deal”), where undergraduate, and graduate students at any university from around the world compete to try and close real-life Mergers and Acquisitions (hereinafter “M&A”) deals with the help of experienced mentors.
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2. Close the Deal's mission is to create the next generation of originators, people who can see value where others have failed to do so, and then use negotiation and skills to bring two companies together. Close the Deal wants to mentor and develop students' technical and interpersonal skills, including expanding all participants' global networks and knowledge of deal advisory, to better prepare students for their future careers in any field of study.
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3. The Competition requires no previous finance experience and it represents a unique opportunity for participants to get a start in the business of origination of deals in M&A, Venture Capital, Private Equity and even M&A Consulting projects.
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4. The Competition will include mentorship and guidance from online resources leading to a final pitch in front of Investment Banking, Management Consultants, and Private Equity Professionals.
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5. The Competition will be hosted online
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6. Registration in the competition is done through the Close the Deal website. Participants can enter into the Competition as a complete team or part of a team, or individually. Every team member must fill out an application form. A team size of 3-4 members is recommended, but there can be a maximum of 7 members. If the teams require any more members the participants apply individually, teams will be matched by Close the Deal on an online platform.
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7. The Competition finals will run in each semester of the academic year The registration period is always open.
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8. The Chatham House Rule will apply to all live events and the finals. When a meeting, or part thereof, is held under the Chatham House Rule, participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed.
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9. Teams shall develop a presentation comprised of in-depth industry research on an industry of your choice, leading to a target and acquirer/seller recommendation.
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10. The jury will be composed by assessors from external organizations appointed by Close the Deal. The jury will review all pitches and determine what teams progress to the live finals. Teams will be assessed on the quality of origination (i.e. how robust and original your proposed M&A deal is).
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11. The live finals will be held virtually through streaming platforms. The finalist teams will present their ideas to a panel of Investment Banking, Management Consultants, and Private Equity Professionals appointed by Close the Deal.
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12. By submitting their pitch, participants acknowledge that: (a) their submissions are their own, original work and that the inclusion of any reference to other works does not breach intellectual copyright; and (b)their submissions do not use, disclose and/or distribute any confidential, commercially sensitive or other company’s proprietary information in the course of the Competition. In consequence, participants are solely responsible for their own submissions. For the live finals, the teams are responsible for ensuring that their pitch and/or presentations do not include confidential information.
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13. The jury decisions will be final and there is no right of appeal by the teams.
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14. The finalists authorize Close the Deal to reproduce and use their name and surname and other data, as well as their image, and any material used in the Competition, in any activity related to the Competition, as well as authorize the public communication of their pitch on the Competition’s website and in any means that Close the Deal deems appropriate for publicizing the Competition, stating the name of the members of the teams.
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15. Participants agree that under no circumstances shall Close the Deal or any mentor of the Competition bear any liability for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, exemplary, or consequential damages (including without limitation lost profits) however caused and on any theory of liability, whether in contract, strict liability, or tort (including negligence or otherwise) arising in any way out of or in connection with the use, disclosure and/or distribution by participants of confidential, commercially sensitive or other company’s proprietary information in the course of the Competition. Any data, materials and other information provided by the participants in the context of the Competition, regardless of its form and means, shall be subject to the respective confidentiality arrangements agreed individually between participants and the company to which Close the Deal is not a party. By joining the Competition, the participant agrees that he/she will be acting solely in a personal capacity, in particular when engaging with companies and other third parties for the purposes of collecting data, materials, and information. Participants and/or teams shall not be deemed or present himself/herself as an employee, agent or representative of Close the Deal, and shall have no authority to bind, commit or incur any liability on behalf of Close the Deal. Furthermore, participants shall indemnify and hold Close the Deal and any mentor thereof harmless against and from any and all claims arising from his/her use of a company’s confidential, commercially sensitive or other proprietary information, and shall further indemnify and hold Close the Deal and any mentor, thereof harmless against and from any and all claims arising from any breach or default on any confidentiality/non-disclosure obligations on participant’s part to be performed under the terms of the respective confidentiality arrangement agreed between participants(s) and the respective company, and from all costs, attorney’s fees and liabilities incurred in or about the defense of any such claim or any action or proceeding brought thereon, and in case any action or proceeding be brought against Close the Deal or any mentor thereof by reason of such claim.
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16. Close the Deal reserves the right to modify calendar dates of the Competition. In the event that the Competition cannot be held, either due to detected fraud, technical errors, or any other reason that is not under the control of Close the Deal, and that affects its normal development, Close the Deal reserves the right to cancel, modify, or suspend it, without the participants being able to demand any responsibility.
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17. Participants are not allowed to make visual and/or audio recordings during training sessions/live finals and may not use any documentation that Close the Deal or any mentor provides him/her for purposes other than the Competition and their own training unless written authorization is granted.
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18. Participation in this competition implies full acceptance of these rules. Close the Deal reserves the right to turndown submissions that in its opinion do not reflect the spirit of or respect Cloe the Deal’s values. These would include, among others, offensive comments regarding race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, economic status, profession, incapacity or illness. Additionally, Close the Deal reserves the right of expulsion from any team in case of detecting any irregularity before or during the Competition.
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19. Scots Law will apply to the Competition and all disputes that arise related with this Competition and/or regarding this terms & conditions shall be solved by the Courts of Scots Law.
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20. For any questions or doubts regarding the Competition or any team issues please support@closethedeal.chat
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21. Participants expressly authorize Close the Deal and any third parties hired by Close the Deal(such as service providers) to file and process any personal data provided over the course of the competition.
The processing of applicants' personal data is based on the consent given, which can be withdrawn at any time. However, in the case of withdrawal of consent, this will not affect the lawfulness of the processing carried out previously with the purpose of dealing with this competition in the conditions outlined above.
Participants may exercise their rights of access, rectification, erasure, opposition, restriction of processing and portability of the data via email to support@closethedeal.chat.
Finally, participants may lodge a complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office, at the address indicated by it at any time, if they consider that Close the Deal has violated their rights which are recognized by the applicable data protection regulation. However the above mentioned, participants may contact Close the Deal's Data Protection Officer at support@closethedeal.info.