Publications

April 2021
Supplement

Exercise for Revlon: Surviving Covid-19

By: Kristin Mugford and Sarah Gulick

Exercise for Revlon: Surviving Covid-19 View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Financial Liquidity; Bonds; Corporate Finance; Borrowing and Debt; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Financial Services Industry; United States

February 1997 (Revised December 2012)
Case

Jim Sharpe: Extrusion Technology, Inc. (A)

By: H. Kent Bowen and Barbara Feinberg

Jim Sharpe, 11 years after receiving his MBA from Harvard and working for others, has finally become his own boss and 100% owner of manufacturer of aluminum extrusions. After 10 months of an unfunded search, he acquires the business in an LBO and prepares to face his... View Details

Keywords: Acquisitions; Search Funds; Entrepreneurial Management; Entrepreneurs; Turnarounds; Bank Loan; Manufacturing; Metals Processing; Entrepreneurial Finance; Leveraged Buyouts; Labor Unions; Entrepreneurship; Financing and Loans; Crisis Management; Management Skills; Experience and Expertise; Borrowing and Debt; Manufacturing Industry

July 1996
Case

Bayside Controls, Inc.

By: H. Kent Bowen, Jennifer Kochman and Sylvie Ryckebusch

Two recent MBA graduates acquire a small and ailing metal-machining company that had manufactured small aerospace components. Through clever application of state-of-the-art manufacturing, engineering, and marketing/sales concepts, they turned the company into a growing... View Details

Keywords: Business Earnings; Leveraged Buyouts; Machinery and Machining; Leading Change; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Production; Personal Development and Career; Sales; Aerospace Industry

06 Feb 2023
Blog Post

Meet the Black Investment Club

co-founded a Southern-Africa focused VC firm, Zenga Ventures. At HBS, Akapelwa is able to share his experience both as an entrepreneur and as an investor. Over the course of his career to date, Akapelwa has participated in closed View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Venture Capital; Investment Management / Hedge Fund

19 Aug 2008
First Look

First Look: August 19, 2008

of going with Carlyle as a buyout partner, and then (ii) increasing the value of that business following the buyout. Since the profitability of a buyout depends on finding high-quality deals, the firm has... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

03 Feb 2009
First Look

First Look: February 3, 2009

forthcoming Abstract In this essay, we review the key features of the literature on innovation and organizational structure. We highlight the key areas where work has been undertaken, as well as the limitations of the literature to date. The Performance of Reverse... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

December 2002 (Revised June 2003)
Case

Vignette: The Rebar Dilemma

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

Martin Smith, a new associate at an LBO firm, must respond to a problem posed by his boss, based on an historical deal that suddenly came undone. After months of negotiation, his firm's plan to buy a bankrupt competitor of one of its portfolio companies and close it... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Competition; Growth and Development Strategy; Business or Company Management

December 1990 (Revised February 2000)
Supplement

Wisconsin Central Ltd. Railroad and Berkshire Partners, Video

By: Michael C. Jensen and Brian Barry

Edward Burkhardt, president and CEO of Wisconsin Central, and Carl Freebback, general partner of Berkshire Partners, engage in a question and answer session with the students. View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Governing and Advisory Boards; Leveraged Buyouts; Financial Condition; Financing and Loans; Corporate Finance; Rail Industry

July 2008
Teaching Note

Yale University Investments Office: August 2006 (TN)

By: Josh Lerner and Ann Leamon

Teaching Note for [807073]. View Details

Keywords: Investment Funds; Strategy; Cost vs Benefits; Resource Allocation; Decision Choices and Conditions; Venture Capital; Assets; Leveraged Buyouts

April 1991 (Revised July 1991)
Supplement

RJR Nabisco Board: Guardians of the Gate? (B)

By: Jay W. Lorsch

The special committee of the RJR Nabisco board has extended the bidding deadline for the company by 10 days. The case explains the process by which Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and the management group bid against one another for ownership of RJR Nabisco. The board of... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Situation or Environment; Bids and Bidding; Decision Making; Managerial Roles; Governing and Advisory Boards; Management Teams; Consumer Products Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

March 2003
Background Note

A Short Note on the AccuFlow Excel Model

By: Jay O. Light

Describes an Excel spreadsheet workbook that facilitates the analysis of AccuFlow, Inc. View Details

Keywords: History; Analytics and Data Science; Cost of Capital; Negotiation; Capital; Business Model; Economic Systems; Machinery and Machining; Leveraged Buyouts; Business Startups; Equity

26 Oct 2017
News

Can Farming Save the Planet?

the world of finance. He became one of the people brought in after leveraged buyouts to save failing companies. During Wiviott’s time as COO for one of those companies, Quality Trailer Products, he doubled... View Details

Keywords: Constantine von Hoffman; Organic farming; Support Activities for Agriculture and Forestry; Agriculture

February 2004 (Revised September 2006)
Case

Apax Partners and Xerium S.A.

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

In 2002, Apax Partners had to decide whether to accept a less-than-perfect offer for one of its portfolio companies or to refinance it. This company, a maker of paper industry consumables with a global presence, had been purchased in 1999 and performed extremely well... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Globalized Markets and Industries; Business Exit or Shutdown; Borrowing and Debt; Investment; Cash Flow; Pulp and Paper Industry