One of the UK’s largest undergraduate-led M&A competitions, hosted by CapitOx. Designed to fill the gap for technical, sell-side focused competitions at the undergraduate level, the Open challenges students to produce professional-grade M&A pitches complete with valuation models, synergy analysis, and strategic rationale. It has grown from a UK-based invitational to a fully international event, giving students a unique platform to showcase their technical skills, commercial awareness, and creativity in front of judges from leading global investment banks and advisory firms.

This year, the competition attracted over 75 teams from more than 35 universities across four continents, including some of the top finance societies at UPenn, UChicago, Cambridge, LSE, Imperial, and NUS. With three stages of competition — internal rounds, regional rounds, and global finals — teams competed for a £1,000 prize pool, networking opportunities, and the chance to have their work judged by senior professionals from elite boutiques and bulge-bracket banks. The event has established itself as one of the largest and most prestigious student-led sell-side competitions of its kind, offering participants invaluable exposure and preparation for careers in investment banking and finance.