Publications

Find at Harvard

06 Oct 2009
First Look

First Look: October 6

Harvard Business School Case 308-022 CEMEX grew through acquisitions from a Latin American to a global company under the leadership of a CEO who believed in the importance of a "one enterprise" culture and benchmarking against... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

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

07 Aug 2019
News

“The Star of the North”

competitor analysis, trend research, and leadership programs. Since then, the team has helped Granite Equity research individual company profiles, whether it’s for an acquisition or a vendor or a potential partner. The service also has... View Details

Keywords: Maureen Harmon

Profile

Matthew Boys

the first year, it tends to form groups of similar people,” he says. “The section allows you to build up a much more diverse kind of network – not just people interested in what you’re interested in. That’s a real strength.” Regarding the View Details

Web

Digital Marketing & AI Workshop - Course Catalog

on AI-driven marketing efficiency, students will explore how emerging tools can accelerate customer acquisition and retention while optimizing costs. Ideal for students pursuing careers in consumer marketing, startups, or digital... View Details

Web

Business of Ideas - Course Catalog

changing. Discussion topics will include The New York Times , TED, Jeff Bezos and his acquisition of The Washington Post , “new media” figures like Joe Rogan, and the impact of AI on the ideas landscape and algorithms in distribution... View Details

16 Nov 2010
Lessons from the Classroom

Data.gov: Matching Government Data with Rapid Innovation

while transparency of government data overall was an important goal in principle, Data.gov should prioritize its acquisition efforts and pursue specific high-value targets. One CTO recommended giving priority to environmental data in... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Technology

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

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

06 Jun 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas: June 6, 2017

all of these risks, did the acquisition add value to shareholders? AbbVie made headlines in March 2015 when it announced its $21 billion acquisition of Pharmacyclics. AbbVie, a research-based pharmaceutical... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

January 2022 (Revised November 2023)
Case

Expanding the Culture of Learning at Kraft Heinz

By: Ashley V. Whillans and Carolyn Watson

The Kraft Heinz Company (KHC) was an American food company formed in 2015 by the merger of Kraft Foods Group, Inc and the H.J. Heinz Company. The company sold food products like Heinz Ketchup, Kraft Mac & Cheese, Kool-Aid, and Philadelphia cream cheese to supermarkets,... View Details

Keywords: Learning; Culture; Work Culture; Workplace Practices; Mergers; Mergers and Acquisitions; Competitive Advantage; Human Capital; Training; Performance Evaluation; Growth and Development; Personal Development and Career; Employee Relationship Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Food and Beverage Industry

January 2021
Case

mPharma (A)

By: Rembrand Koning, John D. Macomber, Pippa Tubman Armerding and Wale Lawal

mPharma pioneered electronic prescriptions in Ghana, and aimed to increase drug affordability and accessibility in Africa, but the company remained unprofitable. Following investor concerns about mPharma's business, CEO Gregory Rockson considered alternative business... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Acquisition; Health; Business Model; Health Industry; Technology Industry; Ghana

July 2015 (Revised April 2016)
Case

Launching Yelp Reservations (A)

By: Michael Luca, Kevin Mohan and Patrick Rooney

This case presents a multi-party negotiation among Yelp, current partner OpenTable, and two startups in the online restaurant reservation industry. View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Negotiation; Business Startups; Acquisition; Technology Industry; United States

December 2007 (Revised July 2008)
Supplement

MINI USA: Finding a New Advertising Agency (B)

Selling an intangible like advertising services is a difficult task. The first step is to understand how brands buy these services. What are they looking for? What do they need to learn? How do they go about assessing things like creativity, trust, and loyalty? This... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Acquisition; Service Operations; Sales; Strategy; Advertising Industry

February 2002 (Revised February 2004)
Case

Brazos Partners: the CoMark LBO

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

The partners of a new midmarket buyout fund are working on a buyout of a closely held modular building company. Although originally structured as a stock deal, they have realized that an asset deal would be preferable from their point of view and are trying to... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Negotiation Deal; Valuation

July 1986 (Revised March 1989)
Case

Jim Southern

By: Howard H. Stevenson

A recent MBA graduate has reached tentative agreement for an LBO of a forms-printing business with $43 million sales. At the eleventh hour, however, the seller has demanded that the buyer personally guarantee $4 million of accounts payable. View Details

Keywords: Agreements and Arrangements; Leveraged Buyouts; Accounting

February 2010
Teaching Note

Wanxiang Group: A Chinese Company's Global Strategy (TN)

By: Regina M. Abrami, William C. Kirby, F. Warren McFarlan and Keith Chi-ho Wong

Teaching Note for [308058]. View Details

Keywords: Business History; Global Strategy; Business Conglomerates; Vertical Integration; Goals and Objectives; Mergers and Acquisitions; Auto Industry; China; United States

December 1980 (Revised January 1994)
Case

International Foodstuffs

By: David E. Bell

Describes three fairly routine instances in which considerations of risk exposure in foreign exchange are necessary. The three are a delayed payment for a grain shipment, a foreign subsidiary facing devaluation of its domestic currency, and a foreign acquisition. The... View Details

Keywords: Currency Exchange Rate; Risk and Uncertainty; International Relations; Mergers and Acquisitions; Money; International Finance; Financial Services Industry