Publications

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March 2021
Case

Proteak: Valuing Forestry Assets

By: Gerardo Pérez Cavazos and Carla Larangeira

In early 2020, 414 Capital was hired by Proteak, Mexico´s largest forestry platform, to perform a valuation of its teak business, a high-grade hardwood commonly used to build boat decks, outdoor walls, furniture, doors and small objects. Teak plantations typically... View Details

Keywords: Forestry; Assets; Valuation; Forest Products Industry; Financial Services Industry; Mexico

March 2000 (Revised April 2004)
Case

VacationSpot.com & Rent-A-Holiday: Negotiating a Trans-Atlantic Merger of Start-Ups

Describes a potential trans-Atlantic merger between two young companies in the Internet space. VacationSpot.com, based in Seattle, and Rent-A-Holiday, based in Brussels, both offer online listings and reservations for independent leisure lodging (i.e., villas,... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Valuation; Internet and the Web; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Startups; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Travel Industry; United States; Brussels

December 2010
Case

Restaurant Valuation: O'Charley's and AFC

This case is a comparative analysis of the strategy, accounting, performance, and valuation for two restaurant chains alternatively having a company-owned versus franchising strategy. It requires students to identify these two different strategies, and the related... View Details

Keywords: Private Ownership; Valuation; Franchise Ownership; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

October 2017 (Revised November 2017)
Case

Lovepop

By: Robert F. White, Ramana Nanda and Olivia Hull

As they prepare to graduate from Harvard Business School, the co-founders of greeting card company startup Lovepop need capital to cover the company’s operating costs and must choose between two seed financing offers. One offer is from an angel group and the other from... View Details

Keywords: Accelerator; Incubator; Seed Financing; Convertible Debt; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Financing and Loans; Borrowing and Debt; Growth and Development Strategy; Valuation; Consumer Products Industry; Retail Industry; Boston; Massachusetts; United States

30 Oct 2015
News

DraftKings raised $200m in investments in summer

01 Jan 2002
News

September 1992 (Revised April 1993)
Background Note

Recognizing Revenues and Expenses: When Is Income Earned?

By: William J. Bruns Jr.

An introduction to the accrual concept used in accounting and its importance to revenue recognition and the matching concept. To be used in conjunction with inventory valuation cases where delivery may not constitute a sale and revenue. View Details

Keywords: Accrual Accounting; Logistics; Value; Revenue Recognition

September 2009 (Revised June 2011)
Case

Mercury Athletic: Valuing the Opportunity

By: Timothy A. Luehrman and Joel L. Heilprin

In January 2007, West Coast Fashions, Inc., a large designer and marketer of branded apparel, announced a strategic reorganization that would result in the divestiture of their wholly owned footwear subsidiary, Mercury Athletic. John Liedtke, the head of business... View Details

Keywords: Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Sensitivity Analysis; Cost of Capital; Restructuring; Valuation; Cash Flow; Mergers and Acquisitions; Corporate Finance; Apparel and Accessories Industry

Joseph Pacelli is the Gerald Schuster Associate Professor of Business Administration in the Accounting and Management Unit. He currently teaches Business Analysis and Valuation (BAV) in the MBA elective curriculum.

Professor Pacelli’s research covers topics... View Details

September 2011
Case

AXA Private Equity: The Diana Investment

By: Michael J. Roberts and William A. Sahlman

The case focuses on an investment made by AXA Private Equity, a French manufacturer of food ingredients. The investment is made at the height of the financial markets, and financed with significant debt. Soon thereafter, the financial crisis impacted the company's... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Ethics; Investment; Financial Crisis

November 2006 (Revised December 2011)
Case

HCA, Inc. (A)

By: Richard S. Ruback

Focuses on the buyout of HCA by three private equity firms: Bain Capital, KKR, and Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity. It provides an opportunity to discuss a variety of issues related to leveraged buyouts including the process, the role of private equity, the... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Private Equity; Investment; Business and Shareholder Relations; Conflict and Resolution; Valuation

KRISHNA G. PALEPU is the Ross Graham Walker Professor of Business Administration, and has served previously as Senior Advisor to the President of Harvard University, and Senior Associate Dean... View Details

Keywords: accounting industry; banking; financial services; information technology industry; pharmaceuticals; retailing

Working Paper Summaries

Determinants of Early-Stage Startup Performance: Survey Results

Keywords: by Thomas R. Eisenmann

June 2015 (Revised February 2017)
Case

Uber and Stakeholders: Managing a New Way of Riding

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Daniel Fox

By 2015, technological innovations—the smartphone and the advanced data connectivity that enabled it—created new opportunities for people to move around cities quickly and conveniently without owning a car, via car-sharing services like Zipcar or new ride-sharing... View Details

Keywords: Uber; Ride-sharing; Sharing Economy; Transportation Network Company; Leadership And Change Management; Stakeholder Management; Managing Change; Leadership; Regulation; Smartphones; Web-enabled Application; Disruptive Technology; Startup Management; Entrepreneurship; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Transportation; Mobile Technology; Transportation Industry; Technology Industry

June 2015 (Revised January 2017)
Case

Greece's Debt: Sustainable?

By: George Serafeim

The case "Greece's Debt: Sustainable?" describes the Greek economic crisis, bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the debt restructuring that followed. Because of a lack of trust in Greece's ability to repay its debt, two... View Details

Keywords: Debt Crisis; Accounting; Debt Sustainability; Austerity; Solvency Opinions; Borrowing and Debt; Restructuring; Valuation; Accrual Accounting; Fair Value Accounting; Economy; Greece

September 1983 (Revised May 1999)
Case

Allen Lane

By: Howard H. Stevenson and Michael J. Roberts

Describes Allen Lane's search for a business to buy. The case explores several failed attempts and the ethical, business, and tax issues that surround the acquisition business. Ends with a description of a new acquisition candidate, an independent valuation report of... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Ethics; Taxation; Failure; Valuation

March 2001
Background Note

Extracting Information from the Futures and Forwards Markets: The Relation between Spot Prices, Forward Prices and Expected Future Spot Prices

Discounted cash flow valuation calls for using expected future prices of inputs or outputs. This case describes the relationship between spot prices, forward/future prices, and expected future prices. Knowing current forward and future prices alone is not enough to... View Details

Keywords: Price; Cash Flow; Valuation; Futures and Commodity Futures

November 1994 (Revised November 1994)
Case

MW Petroleum Corporation (A)

By: Timothy A. Luehrman, Peter Tufano and Barbara Wall

Amoco Corp. is negotiating to sell a wholly-owned subsidiary, MW Petroleum, to Apache Corp. MW owns large reserves of oil and gas comprising many properties at different stages of engineering, development, and production. The proposed acquisition is a large one for... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Business Subsidiaries; Mining; Cash Flow; Stock Options; Financing and Loans; Price; Negotiation; Production; Valuation; Mining Industry