Publications

March 1998 (Revised December 1998)
Case

A Vermont solid-waste company seeks mezzanine financing to finance its strategy of acquiring and consolidating local competitors. The mezzanine private equity group must decide whether this investment offers an attractive risk-return tradeoff. View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Business Growth and Maturation; Consolidation; Wastes and Waste Processing; Acquisition; Service Industry; Vermont

April 1991 (Revised July 1992)
Case

Koito Manufacturing Ltd.

By: W. Carl Kester and Robert W. Lightfoot

Having acquired a 26% stake in Koito Manufacturing, a Japanese automotive parts supplier in the Toyota Group, T. Boone Pickens seeks a seat on Koito's board of directors. Koito's management resists, claiming Pickens is an unhelpful greenmailer, not a true long-term... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Debates; Corporate Governance; Production; Supply Chain; Performance Efficiency; Welfare; Auto Industry; Japan; United States

October 2013
Article

Corporate Venturing

By: Josh Lerner

For decades, large companies have been wary of corporate venturing. But as R&D organizations face pressure to rein in costs and produce results, companies are investing in promising start-ups to gain knowledge and agility. The logic of corporate venturing is... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Knowledge Acquisition; Corporate Strategy; Research and Development; Business Startups; Innovation and Invention

January 1983 (Revised July 2007)
Case

Neill Hance

Neill Hance takes advantage of all available information and resources to insure a smooth entry into a culture--an entry that would have normally been rather difficult to deal with because of stereotyping and perceived threat. View Details

Keywords: Knowledge Acquisition; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Organizational Culture; Personal Development and Career; Planning; Prejudice and Bias

July 2003 (Revised April 2005)
Case

Branding Citigroup's Consumer Business

By: Rohit Deshpande and Carin-Isabel Knoop

In Spring 1998, Citicorp and Travelers merged to create a financial powerhouse that united the bank with Travelers' consumer finance and brokerage businesses, including Salomon Smith Barney and Primerica. It was the first U.S. financial services company to combine... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Relationship Management; Decisions; Asset Management; Investment Banking; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Relationships; Business and Shareholder Relations; Banking Industry; United States

01 Mar 2016
First Look

March 1, 2016

profitably through acquisitions and organically for two decades. In late 2015, Hain faced challenges on several fronts. First, new consumers were interested in these products, and these consumers had characteristics different from those... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

27 Feb 2013
Research & Ideas

Sidetracked: Why Can’t We Stick to the Plan?

"The best-laid schemes of mice and men go often awry." - Robert Burns, 1785 An entrepreneur starts a company with plans to go public, but ultimately accepts a low-ball acquisition offer from a competitor. A newlywed husband... View Details

Keywords: Re: Francesca Gino

12 May 2022
News

Turning a Moment into a Movement

first seat on a public board at Altimeter Growth Corporation, a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC). Since launching in September 2020, the Board Challenge’s singular mission has been to increase the representation of Black... View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley

02 Aug 2016
First Look

August 2, 2016

for several decades. More recently, however, the results have taken a downward trend, due in part to the impact of the Great Recession on the entire airline industry. Not only were premium service providers affected more significantly, but the recent wave of mergers... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

17 Oct 2006
First Look

First Look: October 17, 2006

Reorganizations—Triangular Mergers Harvard Business School Note 207-009 Discusses the reasons and uses of triangular or three-party mergers to complete a business acquisition or tax-free corporate reorganization. Purchase this note:... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Web

Courses by Faculty Unit - Course Catalog

General Management) Rohit Deshpande Henry McGee Spring 2025 Q3Q4 3.0 Field Course: Entrepreneurship through Acquisition (Application Only) (also listed under Finance) Richard Ruback Royce Yudkoff Spring 2025 Q3Q4 3.0 Field Course: Field X... View Details

March 2001
Case

Sime Darby Berhad (B): The Asian Crisis Begins

By: Tarun Khanna and Danielle Melito Wu

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Business Conglomerates; Economy; Capital Markets; Emerging Markets; Business and Government Relations; Corporate Strategy; Value Creation; Financial Services Industry; Malaysia

22 Apr 2008
First Look

First Look: April 22, 2008

how best to grow the company. He recently took a $22 million investment from Actis Capital, a major emerging markets private equity firm, to consummate an acquisition with a South Indian competitor. Options that Davar considers include... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

15 Dec 2015
First Look

December 15, 2015

impact of technology is also addressed. Purchase this case: https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/216012-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 615-033 Dalian Wanda Group: The AMC Entertainment Acquisition (A) When Dalian Wanda Group of... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

18 Dec 2012
First Look

First Look: December 18

milestones, but now they had to execute and deliver their first product next year. Purchase this case:http://hbr.org/search/613039-PDF-ENG GSK's Acquisition of Sirtris: Independence or Integration? (Abridged) Stuart, Toby, and James... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

September 2000
Background Note

Professional Services Module Five: Serving Clients Effectively

By: Thomas J. DeLong, Ashish Nanda and Scot H. Landry

It is imperative for the internal systems and processes to be connected to the external processes of client management, competitive adaptation, and service delivery. View Details

Keywords: Competency and Skills; Customer Relationship Management; Knowledge Acquisition; Service Delivery; Performance Effectiveness; Adaptation; Competitive Strategy

July 1996 (Revised January 1997)
Case

Northwest Airlines: Brush with Bankruptcy (A)--November 1992

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger and Davis Dyer

Deals with Northwest's financial crisis between the fall of 1992 and the following spring. Northwest's leaders face the problem of how to meet an impending $600 million payment on the 1989 LBO loan when the airline had run out of cash. Concludes by outlining options... View Details

Keywords: Air Transportation; Restructuring; Leveraged Buyouts; Crisis Management; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Financial Strategy; Financial Crisis; Air Transportation Industry; United States