Publications

February 2001 (Revised April 2001)
Case

CDC Capital Partners

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

In 2001, CDC Capital Partners is facing the greatest challenge in its 53-year history. Founded as part of the U.K. government's post-war colonial reconstruction, it had operated as a developmental finance institution, largely issuing debt to the world's poorest... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Private Equity; Emerging Markets; Cost vs Benefits; Mergers and Acquisitions; Partners and Partnerships; Financial Institutions; Financial Services Industry; United Kingdom

April 1991 (Revised July 1991)
Case

RJR Nabisco Board: Guardians of the Gate? (A)

By: Jay W. Lorsch

Charles Hugel, the chairman of RJR Nabisco, receives a call from RJR Nabisco's CEO, Ross Johnson; Johnson plans to present an LBO plan to the board of directors at the board meeting the following week. The case details Hugel's actions as chairman, and describes the... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Situation or Environment; Bids and Bidding; Decision Making; Managerial Roles; Governing and Advisory Boards; Management Teams; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

29 Jun 2007
First Look

First Look: June 29, 2007

GMAC Insurance, the wholly-owned auto insurance subsidiary of General Motors, formed through the merger of two smaller insurance firms, is at a strategic cross-roads. Progressive changed the competitive landscape with its superior pricing... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

26 Jan 2010
First Look

First Look: Jan. 26

When participation costs are large relative to the volume of traffic an ad platform can offer, an advertiser may forego use of an ad platform that the advertiser otherwise finds profitable. Mergers between ad platforms can increase... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

June 1990 (Revised August 1995)
Case

RJR Nabisco--1990

By: Andre F. Perold

Describes the situation facing RJR Nabisco one year after the leveraged buyout by Kohlberg Kravis and Roberts. A vehicle for analyzing the financial restructuring of a highly leveraged, but operationally healthy, company. View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Restructuring; Financial Strategy; Problems and Challenges

17 Feb 2022
Blog Post

The Fifth Year of Short Intensive Programs (SIPs) at HBS

investments, and environment of the global food supply chain, with an immersive look at the role of plant-based foods. Professor Max Bazerman, accompanied by Sebastiano Cossia Castiglioni, entrepreneur and... View Details

01 Oct 1999
News

Eight Among Many: Kenneth A. Goldman

Excite@Home's acquisitions and partnerings with the many cable, computer, and media companies necessary to create its new platinum-paved info highway, Goldman has been heading... View Details

Keywords: Marguerite Rigoglioso

July 2008
Case

Aurora Capital Group - Douglas Dynamics

Aurora Capital, a U.S. Private Equity firm, contemplates whether to acquire Douglas Dynamics, the leading U.S. maker of snow plows. Does a business that is highly dependent on the weather, and is seasonal, make a good LBO candidate? This case provides a good... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Private Equity; Investment; Goods and Commodities; Value Creation

08 Jul 2014
First Look

First Look: July 8

a broad range of issues including innovation and acquisitions in addition to labor practices and resource sustainability. A close examination of Nike's experience has led the... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

Profile

Suchita Prasad

responsibility for training and development, talent acquisition and labor negotiations. Coming to HBS has truly been transformative for me. I have gained an insight into... View Details

Keywords: Consulting; Manufacturing

09 May 2005
Research & Ideas

Hold or Fold? Sizing Up Business Risk

divest a recent acquisition or buy other assets to build this business area would check the same column. The law partner who is thinking about retirement from a lucrative law practice and who really wants to... View Details

Keywords: by Eileen C. Shapiro & Howard H. Stevenson

May 2011 (Revised March 2012)
Case

InterfaceRAISE: Sustainability Consulting

By: Michael W. Toffel, Robert G. Eccles and Casey Taylor

InterfaceRAISE is a sustainability management consulting firm created to leverage the capabilities of its parent company Interface Inc., a carpet manufacturer recognized as a global leader in corporate environmental sustainability. This case illustrates the challenges... View Details

Keywords: Problems and Challenges; Integrated Corporate Reporting; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Entrepreneurship; Performance; Environmental Accounting; Profit; Marketing Strategy; Human Resources; Business Model; Leveraged Buyouts; Salesforce Management; Consulting Industry; Manufacturing Industry

March 1999 (Revised April 1999)
Case

AccuFlow, Inc.

By: Jay O. Light

A small hydraulic-valve manufacturer attempts a second buyout in order to take out its current equity partners. A three-way deal must be negotiated between management, the new mezzanine lender, and the departing equity owners. View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Types; Leveraged Buyouts; Equity; Manufacturing Industry; Industrial Products Industry

26 Jun 2012
First Look

First Look: June 26

the shoes of his long-time predecessor who had created the U.S. telecommunications giant via a series of acquisitions and, before departing, had initiated the company's strategic repositioning. The new CEO reflected on Verizon's recent... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

April 2011 (Revised June 2011)
Case

Internet Securities, Inc.: Path to Sustainability

By: Lynda M. Applegate, William R. Kerr and Ryan Johnson

Founded in 1994 when the Internet was still a "toy for techies," the case is set in 1998 when Internet IPOs were red-hot. Internet Securities provides hard-to-find financial, business, economic, and political information on emerging markets. Information from over 600... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Business Model; Business Startups; Decision Choices and Conditions; Venture Capital; Cash Flow; Initial Public Offering; Analytics and Data Science; Growth and Development Strategy; Valuation

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 2000 (Revised May 2007)
Case

Dressen

By: Thomas R. Piper and Jeremy Cott

Divisional management must decide whether to support a leveraged buyout by a private equity group and, if so, what percent of ownership should go to the various partners involved. The appropriateness of the financing structure and the value of the equity depend on the... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Capital Structure; Valuation; Ownership Stake; Forecasting and Prediction

May 2010
Article

Is Delaware's Antitakeover Statute Unconstitutional? Evidence from 1988-2008

By: Guhan Subramanian, Steven Herscovici and Brian Barbetta

Delaware's antitakeover statute, codified at Section 203 of the Delaware corporate code, is by far the most important antitakeover statute in the United States. When it was first enacted in 1988, three bidders challenged its constitutionality under the Commerce Clause... View Details

Keywords: Courts and Trials; Opportunities; Bids and Bidding; Laws and Statutes; Decisions; Change; Acquisition; United States