Publications

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

Fast Answer

Corporate Strategy Course - Project Resources

style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(51, 122, 183); text-decoration-line: none;">International Directory of Company Histories Histories include company development and background; merger View Details

08 Feb 2011
First Look

First Look: Feb. 8

compensation of U.K. CEOs is positively related to the extent of the firm's interactions with U.S. markets, as captured by the percentage of total sales generated in the U.S., the presence of prior U.S. acquisition activity, the presence... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

30 Sep 2014
First Look

First Look: September 30

Publications September 2014 Social Entrepreneurship and Research Methods Building an Infrastructure for Empirical Research on Social Enterprise: Challenges and Opportunities By: Lee, Matthew, Julie... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

20 Feb 2007
First Look

First Look: February 20, 2007

took the form of new community bank creation by local bank professionals. Our results show that acquisitions in communities lead to new bank foundings, and that this pattern is particularly pronounced when... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

January 2007 (Revised May 2008)
Case

National Logistics Management: Founder Decisions

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Elizabeth Collins

Scott Taylor, CEO & founder of NLM, is a serial entrepreneur faced with an important decision. As his industry consolidates, he knows that his company must grow quickly, yet he believes he has reached the limit of what organic growth can achieve. Should he accept the... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Startups; Decision Choices and Conditions; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Supply and Industry; Supply Chain

Find at Harvard

12 Oct 1999
Research & Ideas

Media Metamorphosis: Advertising in the Technology Age

arise primarily from the wave of mergers and acquisitions that continue to alter the balance of power among media firms. The Walt Disney Company, for instance, in addition to... View Details

Keywords: by Peter K. Jacobs; Advertising

24 Sep 2018
Blog Post

Working to Keep Pirates At-Bay: My Summer in Cyber Security

ten weeks in the company, I was able to design an online marketing strategy and create acquisition funnel metrics to test different campaigns and selling pitches to brokers. I... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship

01 Oct 2013
First Look

First Look: October 1

integrated Chinese pharmaceutical conglomerate, was considering its strategic options in the context of a rapidly evolving industry, policy, and economic environment. The company-essentially a collection of subsidiaries operating under a... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

03 Mar 2008
First Look

First Look: March 4, 2008

Haber and Aldo Musacchio Abstract In 1997 Mexico allowed foreign banks unrestricted entry to the market. What impact did foreign mergers and View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

October 1999
Case

ZEFER: Building a Business at Hyperspeed

By: John T. Gourville and Joseph B. Lassiter III

In the past 18 months, ZEFER has gone from a several-person Internet consulting firm to a major player in the information-technology services industry. In particular, in the past six months, it has grown from 40 to 400 professionals, has hired a seasoned management... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development; Recruitment; Venture Capital; Acquisition; Organizational Culture; Managerial Roles; Growth Management; Information Technology Industry

25 Sep 2007
First Look

First Look: September 25, 2007

Dollar General Corporation's acquisition by private equity sponsor KKR, which took the company private in 2007. Although the proposed merger generated a 30% premium over the stock price at the time, View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

January 1999 (Revised April 2004)
Case

Infox System GmbH

Apax, a private equity firm, has an opportunity to invest in a travel-related print-materials distribution business in Germany. Infox is typical of many buyout opportunities. One of the founders seeks to exit the business, and recently hired managers will have to... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Leveraged Buyouts; Entrepreneurship; Investment; Financial Services Industry; Germany

November 1992 (Revised August 2001)
Case

Eskimo Pie Corporation

By: Richard S. Ruback

In early 1991, Reynolds Metals, the makers of aluminum products, decided to sell its holding of Eskimo Pie, a marketer of branded frozen novelties. Reynolds had an offer from Nestle to acquire Eskimo Pie. However, Reynolds decided instead to make an initial public... View Details

Keywords: Initial Public Offering; Decisions; Mergers and Acquisitions; Performance Productivity; Leadership; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Expansion; Ownership; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

November 1998 (Revised July 2012)
Case

Explo Leisure Products

By: Richard G. Hamermesh

Tim Trowac and Dave Rahall, two former investment bankers, skillfully execute the leveraged buyout of a golf ball recycling company after working intensely on their due diligence, writing a business and financial plan, and developing the investment memorandum. Six... View Details

Keywords: Selection and Staffing; Leveraged Buyouts; Business Plan; Performance; Management Teams; Business Strategy; Financial Strategy; Business and Shareholder Relations; Green Technology Industry; Sports Industry

April 1991 (Revised December 1997)
Case

Southland Corp. (A)

By: Richard S. Ruback

Examines the Thompson's $4.9 billion leveraged buyout of the Southland Corp. in 1987. As the original founders of Southland, the Thompsons were concerned about losing control over the company upon learning of the Belzberg family's acquiring interest. The teaching... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Governance Controls; Corporate Governance; Bids and Bidding; Valuation; Forecasting and Prediction; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Strategy; Cash Flow

March 1985 (Revised November 1988)
Case

Precision Parts, Inc. (A)

By: William A. Sahlman

Contains a description of a decision confronting two entrepreneurs in mid-1981. They are considering purchasing a small manufacturer of precision electromechanical parts. Among the issues in the case are the following: 1) Should Taylor and Grayson buy Precision Parts,... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Venture Capital; Financing and Loans; Cost vs Benefits; Investment Return; Strategy; Management Practices and Processes; Risk and Uncertainty; Outcome or Result; Manufacturing Industry

01 Sep 2009
News

Jesse Markham Dies at 93

Jesse Markham, an economist who joined the HBS faculty in 1968, died in his sleep on June 21 in Nashua, New Hampshire. Markham, whose work focused on price theory and industrial organization, was a well-known proponent of the “rule of... View Details

Keywords: faculty; obituary; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools

December 2004 (Revised January 2006)
Case

Simon's Hostile Tender for Taubman (A)

Simon Property Group launched a hostile tender offer for upscale Taubman Centers. This case discusses issues of Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) valuation, financial policy, and corporate governance, as Robert Taubman and his company's independent directors must... View Details

Keywords: Capital Structure; Valuation; Investment; Acquisition; Corporate Governance; Real Estate Industry