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06 Oct 2003
What Do You Think?

Is “the Innovator’s Solution” to Sustained Corporate Growth an Unnatural Act?

profitability. There are at least two antidotes to this scenario. One involves serial acquisitions. But research has suggested that most acquisitions destroy value. This helps explain why the stock of acquiring firms is often discounted... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

16 Apr 2001
Research & Ideas

Making the Most of Government Upheaval

related businesses in the local market or even in other countries. Stage III: Acquisition of New Capabilities. Becoming increasingly sophisticated as they competed with larger foreign rivals, the firms developed new capabilities in areas... View Details

Keywords: by Nancy O. Perry

01 Jun 2017
News

Case Study: Something New

the largest player in this industry is still pretty small,” says Malkina. “The biggest thing to figure out is how we can grow at or below our optimal customer acquisition cost at a much greater scale. We have the cash to invest in... View Details

Keywords: April White

12 Feb 2018
Working Paper Summaries

Private Equity, Jobs, and Productivity: Reply to Ayash and Rastad

Keywords: by Steven J. Davis, John Haltiwanger, Kyle Handley, Ron S. Jarmin, Josh Lerner, and Javier Miranda

December 2014
Article

Private Equity, Jobs, and Productivity

By: Steven J. Davis, John Haltiwanger, Kyle Handley, Ron Jarmin, Josh Lerner and Javier Miranda

Private equity critics claim that leveraged buyouts bring huge job losses. To investigate this claim, we construct and analyze a new dataset that covers U.S. private equity transactions from 1980 to 2005. We track 3,200 target firms and their 150,000 establishments... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Leveraged Buyouts; Performance Productivity; Jobs and Positions; United States

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March 2005 (Revised March 2007)
Supplement

Pacific Salmon Company, Inc. (CW)

By: Nabil N. El-Hage and Kenneth A. Froot

RRR, a $1 billion private equity fund, is trying to decide how much to bid for Pacific Salmon Inc. and how to finance the acquisition. View Details

Keywords: Food; Bids; Private Equity; Financing and Loans; Bids and Bidding; Acquisition; Food and Beverage Industry

February 1994 (Revised April 1995)
Case

Asahi Glass Co.: Diversification Strategy

By: David J. Collis

Describes the history and diversification strategy of the Japanese manufacturer Asahi Glass Co. The company has diversified through internal growth, acquisition, and joint ventures from its origin in flat glass to a broad glass-materials, chemical, and electronics... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Joint Ventures; Diversification; Expansion; Vertical Integration; Manufacturing Industry; Japan

01 Mar 2024
News

Turning Point: Eternal Returns

Bó Lè’s acquisition by a Japanese firm was finalized in 2013, the company had a network of 15 offices across Asia. If I were to assess my personal life from an investment-return perspective, however, I would initially get an... View Details

Keywords: life experience; search firm; entrepreneurship

18 Apr 2017
Blog Post

Why We Recruit: CRC Companies LLC

for MBAs to see all parts of our business—from acquisitions through execution. Our intern MBAs work within multiple business units to help determine where their real estate interests lie and gain broad exposure to the field. What... View Details

Keywords: Real Estate

01 Feb 1999
News

Entrepreneurs Speak at HBS

and approach to business that stresses employee satisfaction, creativity, irreverence, and fun. In implementing that philosophy, Branson has been named England's best business leader for the last two years by his business peers. Branson noted that he shuns View Details

June 1998 (Revised June 1999)
Case

Dixon Corporation: The Collinsville Plant

By: W. Carl Kester

Dixon Corp.faces the task of valuing a plant and an associated project that it is considering buying. The revisions are designed to enable the application of adjusted present value technique for valuation. A rewritten version of an earlier case. View Details

Keywords: Factories, Labs, and Plants; Valuation; Projects; Forecasting and Prediction; Acquisition; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Technology Industry

July 2007 (Revised March 2009)
Case

Berkshire Partners: Purchase of Rival Company (A)

Berkshire Partners, a private equity firm in Boston, was pleased with their recent investment in the Holmes Group, a home comfort consumer electronics company. The portfolio company was exceeding key financial targets and Berkshire Partners was confident that it would... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Capital Structure; Decision Choices and Conditions; Investment; Acquisition; Financial Services Industry; Boston

February 2001 (Revised March 2001)
Case

Apax Partners and Dialog Semiconductor: March 1998

By: G. Felda Hardymon, Josh Lerner, Antonio Alvarez-Cano and Borja Martinez

Apax Partners is considering a complex buyout of a semiconductor manufacturer. The firms must assess in a compressed timeframe the complex technological, financial, and operational risks that the proposed transaction poses. View Details

Keywords: Market Transactions; Leveraged Buyouts; Restructuring; Time Management; Production; Risk Management; Financial Services Industry; Semiconductor Industry

November 1999
Case

Seminis Inc.

By: Ray A. Goldberg, Jonathan West, Carin-Isabel Knoop and David Benedict Pearcy

Seminis became the world leader in vegetable seeds through a series of acquisitions. This case describes the Seminis strategy toward capturing value, biotechnology, and international operations. View Details

Keywords: Business Earnings; Acquisition; Profit; Global Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Valuation; Value Creation; Biotechnology Industry

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April 1997 (Revised July 2003)
Case

Viacom, Inc.: Video Supplement

By: Joseph L. Bower, Thomas R. Eisenmann and Sonja Ellingson Hout

Viacom reached a powerful position in the global entertainment industry through skillful and very bold acquisitions. Now its further expansion is challenged by the moves of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. Different businesses within Viacom have contradictory positions on... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Cost vs Benefits; Decisions; Entertainment; Competition; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

November 2010
Supplement

Dow's Bid for Rohm and Haas (CW)

By: Benjamin C. Esty

Spreadsheet Supplement for 211020. View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Performance; Joint Ventures; Financial Crisis; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Financial Markets; Sales; Lawsuits and Litigation; Negotiation Deal; Governing and Advisory Boards; Cash Flow; Decisions; Chemical Industry; Kuwait

September 2024
Supplement

National Public Broadcasting (B)

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

Pre-abstract: Instructors should consider the timing of making videos available to students, as they may reveal key case details.
Abstract: This (B) case supplement is designed for use by faculty only to support classroom instruction in conjunction with... View Details

Keywords: Financial Strategy; Financial Management; Media; Ownership; Strategy; Advertising; Decision Choices and Conditions; Entrepreneurship; Financing and Loans; Mergers and Acquisitions; Private Equity; Journalism and News Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United States

January 1994 (Revised March 1995)
Case

NovaCare, Inc.: Living the Vision

By: Lynn S. Paine

NovaCare's CEO is considering how further to institutionalize the company's espoused values and beliefs. One challenge is integrating two newly acquired businesses; another is better aligning the values of the company's managers with those of its front-line... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Health Care and Treatment; Labor and Management Relations; Management Teams; Values and Beliefs; Mergers and Acquisitions; Mission and Purpose; Health Industry