Publications

September 2024 (Revised December 2024)
Case

Sona Comstar and Blackstone: Unlocking Value Through Business Transformation

By: Ranjay Gulati and Kanika Jain

Private equity firm Blackstone’s majority investment in automotive systems manufacturer Sona Comstar had culminated in the largest IPO in the Indian auto components industry in 2021, with stellar returns for all involved. This EV supplier was the result of a 2019... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Decision Making; Engineering; Management; Risk and Uncertainty; Private Equity; Mergers and Acquisitions; Initial Public Offering; Auto Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Technology Industry; Asia; Southeast Asia

May 2017
Article

Distracted Shareholders and Corporate Actions

By: Elisabeth Kempf, Alberto Manconi and Oliver Spalt

Investor attention matters for corporate actions. Our new identification approach constructs firm-level shareholder "distraction" measures, by exploiting exogenous shocks to unrelated parts of institutional shareholders' portfolios. Firms with "distracted" shareholders... View Details

Keywords: Investors; Business and Shareholder Relations; Executive Compensation; Stocks; Mergers and Acquisitions

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2020
Working Paper

Dog Eat Dog: Balancing Network Effects and Differentiation in a Digital Platform Merger

By: Chiara Farronato, Jessica Fong and Andrey Fradkin

Digital platforms are increasingly the subject of regulatory scrutiny. In comparison to multiple competitors, a single platform may increase consumer welfare if network effects are large or may decrease welfare due to higher prices or reduction in platform variety. We... View Details

Keywords: Platform Differentiation; Digital Platforms; Network Effects; Measurement and Metrics; Mergers and Acquisitions; Outcome or Result

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September 2008
Supplement

Mr. Nelson Peltz, Founding Partner, Trian Partners. Interviewed by Professor John Quelch

By: John A. Quelch

Professor John Quelch interviewed Mr. Nelson Peitz, Founding Partner of Trian Partners on events and decisions leading up to the decision to acquire the Snapple brand and the results of that corporate decision. View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Decision Choices and Conditions; Private Equity; Investment; Brands and Branding; Financial Services Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

March 2007 (Revised December 2007)
Supplement

Parmalat Uruguay (B)

By: Paul W. Marshall and Gustavo A. Herrero

Three young MBAs create a partnership to acquire the assets of Parmalat in Uruguay. Focuses on their analysis prior to submitting a bid and their plan for improving the operations once their bid is accepted. In addition to improving operations, they must negotiate with... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Partners and Partnerships; Bids and Bidding; Borrowing and Debt; Performance Improvement; Planning; Uruguay

16 Oct 2007
First Look

First Look: October 16, 2007

NPIL's new acquisitions in Canada and the United Kingdom to market NPIL globally. His three direct reports are each involved in different aspects of NPIL—the Canadian operations, the British operations, and the global business... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

11 May 2021
Blog Post

IPO or M&A? How Venture Capital Shapes a Startup's Future

And far more people will remember that Parasite won for best picture. Sound editing is like a sale, whereas best picture is akin to an IPO. “We asked a lot of VCs how they thought about acquisitions and IPOs, and a quote that stuck with... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital / Private Equity

20 Dec 2018
Research & Ideas

Most Popular Stories and Research Papers of 2018

moms are high achievers at work. Now it turns out they are happy, too. Amazon vs. Whole Foods: When Cultures Collide Amazon's acquisition of Whole Foods seemed a Wall Street dream come true. But then Amazon's data-driven efficiency met... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

Web

Field Course: Advanced Business Plans for Innovating in Health Care - Course Catalog

go-to-market strategies and their customer acquisition costs through extensive field work. The teaching team will do their best to assure that the relevant doors are opened to you. Delineate your goals and activities for the next class... View Details

2013
Working Paper

The Operational Consequences of Private Equity Buyouts: Evidence from the Restaurant Industry

By: Albert W. Sheen and Shai Bernstein

What, if anything, do private equity firms do with businesses they acquire? We find evidence of significant operational changes in 101 restaurant chain buyouts between 2002 and 2012. Analysis of health inspections conducted for over 50,000 stores in Florida shows that... View Details

Keywords: Safety; Quality; Private Equity; Food; Management Practices and Processes; Leveraged Buyouts; Performance Efficiency; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Florida

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February 2003 (Revised June 2006)
Case

Implementing the Nissan Renewal Plan

By: Michael Y. Yoshino and Masako Egawa

Carlos Ghosn, a former executive vice-president of Renault, became the COO of Nissan Motor Co., a troubled auto company in Japan when Renault bought 38% of the company in 1999. This case deals with how Ghosn turned the company around. Examines in considerable detail... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Change Management; Employees; Leading Change; Strategic Planning; Motivation and Incentives; Auto Industry; Japan

April 2001 (Revised August 2003)
Case

Vodafone AirTouch's Bid for Mannesmann

Vodafone's bid for Mannesmann was the largest ever cross-border hostile bid. This case examines the economic, financial, and corporate governance issues in the deal. View Details

Keywords: Horizontal Integration; International Finance; Valuation; Corporate Governance; Acquisition; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Telecommunications Industry

April 2010
Supplement

The Auction for Travelport (B)

By: Andrei Hagiu and Misha Sanwal

This short case presents the epilogue of The Auction for Travelport (A). Blackstone decided to bid on its own, acquired Travelport for $4.3 billion and subsequently went on to acquire another GDS, Travelspan, for $1.4 billion. It then merged the two GDSs and partially... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Advantage; Value Creation; Private Equity; Mergers and Acquisitions; Industry Structures; Initial Public Offering; Capital Markets; Market Transactions; Change; Auctions; Travel Industry

08 Nov 2011
First Look

First Look: Nov. 8

market, with only a modest net impact on employment. The creative destruction response mainly involves a more rapid reallocation of jobs across establishments within target firms. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/12-033.pdf The Impact of Horizontal... 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