Publications

20 Jul 2017
News

The Looming Threat That Could Decimate Wall Street's Fund Managers

February 2009 (Revised March 2013)
Supplement

Messer Griesheim (B)

By: Josh Lerner, Ann-Kristin Achleitner, Eva Lutz and Kerry Herman

In 2001, Allianz Capital Partners and Godlman Sachs acquired a majority stake in Messer Greisheim, a European industrial gas concern held by Hoeschst. The dealmakers faced several challenges, including delicate corporate governance issues due to partial family... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Private Equity; Stock Options; Stock Shares; Corporate Governance; Governance Controls; Family Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Energy Industry; Europe

Research Summary

Research

The founding and expansion of new firms is central to innovation and economic growth, but the determinants of a new idea’s success are difficult to ascertain. The decision to form a new firm and its ultimate outcome are impacted by ownership structure, financing... View Details

Daniel W. Green

Daniel Green is an assistant professor of business administration in the Finance Unit. He teaches the Finance II course to MBA students.

Professor Green’s research focuses on corporate finance, capital markets, and financial intermediation. His current... View Details

Keywords: private equity (LBO funds); private equity (LBO funds); private equity (LBO funds); private equity (LBO funds)

November 2008 (Revised January 2009)
Case

Arcapita - 2002

In 2002, Arcapita Bank, B.S.C., then known as First Islamic Investment Bank, or FIIB, faced a liquidity crunch. Aracapita offered Islamic-compliant private equity, real estate, and venture capital products. In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attack, however, Islamic... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Private Equity; Financial Liquidity; Investment; Globalized Firms and Management; National Security; Religion; Financial Services Industry

May 2011
Case

Oriental Fortune Capital: Building a Better Stock Exchange

By: Josh Lerner and Keith Chi-ho Wong

When ChiNext opened in October 2009 as the second tier market of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE), it aimed to provide Chinese entrepreneurs with equity capital and to facilitate the exits of venture capital firms and other investors which had previously relied on... View Details

Keywords: Capital Markets; Stocks; Financial Markets; Venture Capital; Private Equity; International Finance; Financial Services Industry; China

May 2010 (Revised January 2012)
Case

Lincoln Financial Meets the Financial Crisis

By: Robert C. Pozen and Peter Goodspeed Spring

In March of 2009, Lincoln Financial Group's CEO Dennis Glass was facing a difficult decision as to how he would replenish his company's capital, which could quickly fall to dangerously low levels as a result of the financial crisis. Though the cost of raising capital... View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Financial Crisis; Capital; Private Equity; Crisis Management; Business and Government Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Insurance Industry

23 Oct 2012
First Look

First Look: October 23

Equity Investing Authors:Lily H. Fang, Victoria Ivashina, and Josh Lerner Abstract Bank-affiliated private equity (PE) groups account for 30% of all PE investments. These... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

October 2010 (Revised November 2010)
Case

YES BANK: Mainstreaming Development into Indian Banking

By: Michael Chu and Namrata Arora

YES BANK, founded in 2003 and highly successful, has consistently been profitable meeting the Indian government's Priority Sector Lending (PSL) requirements, unlike virtually all other private sector banks, which view PSL activity as a necessary but loss-making part of... View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Private Equity; Microfinance; Investment; Governing and Advisory Boards; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Expansion; Banking Industry; India

October 2024 (Revised November 2024)
Case

SWEN Blue Ocean: Impact Investing Goes to Sea

By: Vikram S Gandhi and David Allen

In August 2023, SWEN Blue Ocean, a €170 million impact fund that invested in startups contributing to ocean sustainability, faced a critical investment decision. Part of SWEN Capital Partners, an €8 billion, Paris-based private equity fund, Blue Ocean was co-founded in... View Details

Keywords: Communication Technology; Environmental Sustainability; Green Technology; Finance; Capital; Venture Capital; Private Equity; Investment; Investment Funds; Science-Based Business; Financial Services Industry; France; Paris; Italy

September 2003 (Revised March 2004)
Case

Yale University Investments Office: June 2003

By: Josh Lerner

The Yale Investments Office must decide whether to continue to allocate the bulk of the university's endowment to illiquid investments--hedge funds, private equity, real estate, and so forth. Considers the risks and benefits of a different asset allocation strategy.... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Assets; Venture Capital; Private Equity; Investment Funds; Resource Allocation; Partners and Partnerships; Risk and Uncertainty; Strategy; Education Industry

October 2013 (Revised August 2016)
Case

NOWaccount

By: Ramana Nanda, William A. Sahlman and Lauren Barley

It was September 2013, and NOWaccount Network Corporation (NOW®) co-founders John Hayes and Lara Hodgson were putting the final touches on the presentation deck for their annual shareholders' meeting. Along with co-founder Stacey Abrams, the pair had designed NOW's... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Finance; Finance; Entrepreneurship

March 2021 (Revised October 2021)
Case

Aligning Mission and Margin at Southern Bancorp

By: Rebecca M. Henderson, Brian Trelstad and Eren Kuzucu

In October 2020, after spending almost a decade to turnaround Southern Bancorp, an Arkansan bank founded with the mission to provide financial services to rural, underserved communities, CEO Darrin Williams is wondering how Southern Bancorp should continue to grow.... View Details

Keywords: Racial Wealth Gap; Banks and Banking; Growth and Development; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Going Public; Investment Return; Social Issues; Wealth and Poverty; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry; United States; Arkansas

October 2006
Case

Clearwire Corporation

By: Richard S. Ruback

Explores Clearwire's decision to fund its substantial capital investments through an initial public offering (IPO) or through private equity. Clearwire is developing and deploying a broadband wireless network using WiMAX technology. It had filed a registered statement... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Technological Innovation; Initial Public Offering; Investment Portfolio; Telecommunications Industry

February 2019 (Revised January 2020)
Case

Pierre Foods Acquisition of Advance Foods (A)

By: Guhan Subramanian and Mike Harmon

This case (A), and its related cases (B-E), establish a setting to discuss an M&A transaction and some of the key legal contracts that are associated with it. In 2010, private equity backed food manufacturer Pierre Foods is contemplating the acquisition of a key... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Contracts; Agreements and Arrangements; Negotiation; Complexity

July 2009 (Revised September 2009)
Case

The Blackstone Group: Merlin Entertainment

The Blackstone Group had conducted a roll-up of theme parks and attractions business in Europe. It was considering how to generate liquidity for its investors. Blackstone entered the theme parks and attractions business in Europe by acquiring a majority stake in... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Cost vs Benefits; Private Equity; Financial Liquidity; Investment Return; Risk Management; Leasing; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Europe

David Scharfstein is the Edmund Cogswell Converse Professor of Finance and Banking at Harvard Business School. He has written on a wide range of topics in finance, including risk management, financial distress, corporate investment, capital structure, and venture... View Details

Keywords: banking

January 2010 (Revised March 2010)
Compilation

Firm Strategy Vignettes

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

These three vignettes present various issues around the strategy and management of a private equity firm. In one, a senior partner must decide how to manage an over-extended colleague and how to reduce the risk of the firm's portfolio; in the second, a limited partner... View Details

Keywords: Outcome or Result; Business Strategy; Problems and Challenges; Private Equity; Venture Capital; Investment Portfolio; Partners and Partnerships