Publications

SSRN

February 2002 (Revised April 2002)
Case

Chengwei Ventures and the hdt* Investment

By: G. Felda Hardymon, Josh Lerner and Ann Leamon

Bo Feng, cofounder and principal in Chengwei Ventures, one of the first sovereign venture capital firms in China, is trying to decide on the proper business model for hdt, the product of a merger between two portfolio companies. This case discusses the best way for the... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Mergers and Acquisitions; Customer Relationship Management; Sovereign Finance; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Entrepreneurship; Internet and the Web; Applications and Software; Markets; Business Model; Financial Services Industry; China

December 2019
Case

Walmart Ecommerce (A): Picking up the Pace

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Karen Elterman

This case is an abridged version (part 1 of 2) of "Walmart's Omnichannel Strategy: Revolution or Miscalculation?" HBS Case No. 720-370. The (A) case discusses Walmart's early forays into online retail, as well as improvements made under Doug McMillon beginning in 2014.... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Strategy; Internet and the Web; Distribution; Distribution Channels; Competitive Strategy; Retail Industry; Bentonville; Arkansas; United States

May 2004
Teaching Note

Seagate Technology Buyout (TN)

By: Stuart C. Gilson

Teaching Note to (9-201-063). View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Negotiation Deal; Negotiation Participants; Equity; Value; Volatility; Assets; Capital; Computer Industry

30 Apr 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, April 30, 2019

boundaries: cross-market, within-state hospital mergers yield price increases of 7%–9% for acquiring hospitals, whereas out-of-state acquisitions do not yield significant increases. Publisher's link:... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

October 2023 (Revised January 2024)
Case

Ball: EVA Driving the World's Leading Can Manufacturer (A)

By: Jonas Heese and Susan Pinckney

The case describes Ball’s multi decade history of using Economic Value Added to drive decision making and workforce compensation. In 2016, the company acquired Rexam PLC and became the world’s leading metal beverage container company. Consumer demand for varied... View Details

28 Jul 2015
First Look

First Look: July 28, 2015

Value at IBM (A)." Purchase this case: https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/215059-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 215-079 Transforming Alkermes into a Global Biopharmaceutical Company In the summer of 2011, Jim Frates, CFO of Alkermes, faced choices... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

10 Nov 2003
Research & Ideas

The Hard Numbers on Social Investments

percent had been acquired, and 6 percent had experienced an IPO. The incidence of bankruptcy in these social purpose companies was not unlike traditional early stage companies, but the percentage (15 percent) of companies that were able to achieve a liquidity event... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls

March 2024
Case

Nomad: A License to Bank

By: Paul A. Gompers and Pedro Levindo

In late 2023, Lucas Vargas, CEO and co-founder of Nomad, a fintech that offered financial services in the United States for Brazilian residents, had to decide what to do to ensure the company’s continued expansion. Nomad launched its first product, a U.S. digital bank... View Details

November 2003 (Revised November 2004)
Case

Ottawa Devices, Inc. (B)

By: Henry B. Reiling and Harry Clegg Midgley IV

The Rollins family assembly was meeting to discuss and decide which one or combination from among an estate freeze, installment sale of stock, ESOP (employee stock ownership plan), leveraged capitalization, annual gifts of stock, one-time outright gift of stock, or... View Details

Keywords: Employee Stock Ownership Plan; Property; Mergers and Acquisitions; Decision Choices and Conditions; Stocks; Business Exit or Shutdown; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Family Business; Human Needs; Financial Strategy; Manufacturing Industry

July 1999
Case

Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. (E)

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Katharina Pick

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Patents; Governing and Advisory Boards; Behavior; Lawsuits and Litigation; Organizations; Acquisition; Corporate Governance; Service Industry

June 1996
Case

Pathfinder Capital

By: William A. Sahlman and Andrew S. Janower

Two former consultants have raised a search fund and are looking for a company to buy and run. After eight months of looking at deals, they have just signed a letter of intent to buy the second largest book retail chain in Canada in a turnaround situation. They must... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Leveraged Buyouts; Financing and Loans; Venture Capital; Change; Decisions

11 Oct 2006
Research & Ideas

The Success of Reverse Leveraged Buyouts

decline, according to the firm, is that private-equity firms may be selling a higher percentage of their acquisitions to other private-equity firms, rather than facing the uncertainties of an IPO. View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Banking; Financial Services

June 2024
Case

Metub: Scaling Influence beyond Vietnam

By: Paul A. Gompers and Shu Lin

Founded in 2014, Metub was a leading video and talent network in Vietnam. It managed over 3,000 channels on YouTube and more than 3,000 content creators. To expand creators’ income opportunities across multiple platforms, Metub had diversified beyond its original... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Retention; Intellectual Property; Business or Company Management; Brands and Branding; Competition; Diversification; Expansion; Viet Nam; Southeast Asia

January 2004
Case

Bob Holgrom and the Buyout of the Carlson Division

By: Thomas R. Piper

The head of the Carlson Division stands to benefit substantially in financial terms if a private equity firm wins the bid for the division. The division is in the early stages of a performance turnaround, with only three quarters of profit improvement and no audited... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Leveraged Buyouts; Corporate Disclosure; Ethics; Financial Reporting; Laws and Statutes; Performance Improvement