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- All HBS Web
(1,500)
- People (1)
- News (156)
- Research (1,142)
- Events (7)
- Multimedia (6)
- Faculty Publications (1,001)
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- 2013
- Teaching Note
The COFCO Group (TN)
By: F. Warren McFarlan, Zheng Xiaoming and Ziqian Zhao
COFCO was China's sole legitimate window for agricultural foreign trade before 1987. The reform of China's foreign trade system beginning in 1987 cost COFCO its monopoly position. Subsequently, the SOE giant capitalized on its foreign trade expertise to strategically... View Details
McFarlan, F. Warren, Zheng Xiaoming, and Ziqian Zhao. "The COFCO Group (TN)." Tsinghua University Teaching Note, 2013.
- 07 Aug 2012
- Working Paper Summaries
Financial vs. Strategic Buyers
- March 2002 (Revised January 2010)
- Case
BP and the Consolidation of the Oil Industry, 1998-2002
By: Forest L. Reinhardt, Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and David J Hanson
Examines the economics of the oil and gas industry with a focus on 1998 through 2001. Discusses the rationale behind using a growth in scale as a means to increase profitability and to gain competitive advantage. Also examines the classic strategic implications of... View Details
Keywords: Non-Renewable Energy; Growth and Development Strategy; Industry Structures; Competitive Advantage; Consolidation; Horizontal Integration; Vertical Integration; Energy Industry
Reinhardt, Forest L., Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, and David J Hanson. "BP and the Consolidation of the Oil Industry, 1998-2002." Harvard Business School Case 702-012, March 2002. (Revised January 2010.)
- June 2025
- Case
Assessing the Offers for Seven & i Holdings
By: Benjamin C. Esty, Nobuo Sato and Akiko Kanno
In the fall of 2024, the board of Seven and i Holdings Company (7&i, the parent company of 7-Eleven convenience stores in the US, Japan, and other countries) received multiple offers to buy the company. Two successive (and unsolicited) offers came from Alimentation... View Details
Keywords: Corporate Governance; Valuation; Value Creation; Bids and Bidding; Financial Strategy; Negotiation Offer; Mergers and Acquisitions; Corporate Finance; Business Conglomerates; Leveraged Buyouts; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Japan; Canada
Esty, Benjamin C., Nobuo Sato, and Akiko Kanno. "Assessing the Offers for Seven & i Holdings." Harvard Business School Case 225-108, June 2025.
- December 2005 (Revised May 2007)
- Case
Cynthia Fisher and the Rearing of ViaCell
By: Robert F. Higgins, Richard G. Hamermesh and Ingrid Vargas
Describes the start up of Viacord, a Boston-based medical services firm founded by Cynthia Fisher (HBS MBA) in 1993. Told from Fisher's perspective, the entrepreneur details the conceptualization and launch of the business and the many obstacles and expenses faced in... View Details
Keywords: Managerial Roles; Business Growth and Maturation; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Service Industry; Health Industry; Boston
Higgins, Robert F., Richard G. Hamermesh, and Ingrid Vargas. "Cynthia Fisher and the Rearing of ViaCell." Harvard Business School Case 806-002, December 2005. (Revised May 2007.)
- March 2008 (Revised July 2011)
- Supplement
Cadbury Schweppes: Capturing Confectionery (C)
By: David Collis, Toby Stuart and Troy Smith
In late 2002, global confectionery and beverage maker Cadbury Schweppes needed to decide whether or not to make an acquisition bid for Adams, an underperforming gum company which had been put up for sale by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer. Examining the decision from a... View Details
Collis, David, Toby Stuart, and Troy Smith. "Cadbury Schweppes: Capturing Confectionery (C)." Harvard Business School Supplement 708-455, March 2008. (Revised July 2011.)
- November 2015
- Case
Upwork: Reimagining the Future of Work
By: Feng Zhu, Rory McDonald, Marco Iansiti and Aaron Smith
Upwork, the world's largest freelance talent platform, was the result of a merger between the two leading online freelancing companies in 2014, Elance and oDesk. After the merger, the company operated as Elance-oDesk and continued to manage two online... View Details
Keywords: Platforms; Employment; Digital Platforms; Market Transactions; Business Processes; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Job Search
Zhu, Feng, Rory McDonald, Marco Iansiti, and Aaron Smith. "Upwork: Reimagining the Future of Work." Harvard Business School Case 616-027, November 2015.
- November 2012 (Revised July 2014)
- Case
Doing Deals and Leading Teams at XAF Partners
By: Boris Groysberg and Kerry Herman
Private equity firm XAF Partners, created out of the 2003 merger of Shanghai-based Xuan Partners and AF Group, a spin out of the Shanghai-based, emerging market-focused private equity arm of a large European bank, had grown steadily over the last decade, establishing... View Details
Keywords: Professional Service Firms; Leading Teams; Producing Managers; Delegation; Giving And Receiving Feedback; Managing Performance; Leadership; Work-Life Balance; Managerial Roles; Talent and Talent Management; Service Operations; Time Management; Performance; Financial Services Industry; Asia
Groysberg, Boris, and Kerry Herman. "Doing Deals and Leading Teams at XAF Partners." Harvard Business School Case 413-032, November 2012. (Revised July 2014.)
- 2013
- Case
The COFCO Group
By: F. Warren McFarlan, Zheng Xiaoming and Ziqian Zhao
COFCO was China's sole legitimate window for agricultural foreign trade before 1987. The reform of China's foreign trade system beginning in 1987 cost COFCO its monopoly position. Subsequently, the SOE giant capitalized on its foreign trade expertise to strategically... View Details
McFarlan, F. Warren, Zheng Xiaoming, and Ziqian Zhao. "The COFCO Group." Tsinghua University Case, 2013.
- 2004
- Working Paper
Contract Rights and Risk Aversion: Foreign Banks and the Mexican Economy, 1997-2004
By: Stephen Haber and Aldo Musacchio
In 1997 Mexico allowed foreign banks unrestricted entry to the market. What impact did foreign mergers and acquisitions have on Mexico's banks? We find that all banks in Mexico have become increasingly risk averse, and that foreign banks are even more so. Foreign banks... View Details
- 2015
- Mimeo
Market Power in Mortgage Lending and the Transmission of Monetary Policy
By: David S. Scharfstein and Adi Sunderam
We present evidence that high concentration in mortgage lending reduces the sensitivity of mortgage rates and refinancing activity to mortgage-backed security (MBS) yields. We isolate the direct effect of concentration and rule out alternative explanations in two ways.... View Details
Keywords: Mortgage Lending; Market Power; Monetary Policy Transmission; Mortgages; Banking Industry; United States
Scharfstein, David S., and Adi Sunderam. "Market Power in Mortgage Lending and the Transmission of Monetary Policy." April 2015. Mimeo.
- February 2006 (Revised October 2006)
- Case
The Children's Investment Fund, 2005
By: Randolph B. Cohen and Joshua B. Sandbulte
TCI, The Children's Investment Fund, is a London-based hedge fund. The firm donates a significant fraction of the fees it earns to a charitable foundation. In 2005, TCI took a large stake in Deutsche Borse, the stock exchange in Frankfurt. Its battle with management... View Details
Keywords: Value Creation; Financial Markets; Investment Activism; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Financial Services Industry; London; Germany
Cohen, Randolph B., and Joshua B. Sandbulte. "The Children's Investment Fund, 2005." Harvard Business School Case 206-092, February 2006. (Revised October 2006.)
- December 1999 (Revised December 2000)
- Case
Charles Schwab: A Category of One
By: Stephen P. Bradley and Thomas H. Esperson
Examines Charles Schwab's on-line discount brokerage firm and questions whether or not Schwab has effectively balanced the old and new world of stock trading, and has remained a leader between giants like Merrill Lynch and Internet pure plays like E-Trade. Also looks... View Details
Keywords: Financial Institutions; Banks and Banking; Technological Innovation; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry
Bradley, Stephen P., and Thomas H. Esperson. "Charles Schwab: A Category of One." Harvard Business School Case 700-043, December 1999. (Revised December 2000.)
- February 2004 (Revised April 2007)
- Case
Random House
By: Bharat N. Anand, Kyle F. Barnett and Elizabeth Lea Carpenter
On June 12, 2003, the proposed merger of Random House and Time Warner Book Group was called off by the CEO of Random House's parent company, Bertelsmann. The announcement was welcomed by several critics who had questioned the logic of further consolidation in the book... View Details
Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Conglomerates; Information Publishing; Problems and Challenges; Relationships; Business Strategy; Commercialization; Competition; Vertical Integration; Internet; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Publishing Industry
Anand, Bharat N., Kyle F. Barnett, and Elizabeth Lea Carpenter. "Random House." Harvard Business School Case 704-438, February 2004. (Revised April 2007.)
- October 2006 (Revised October 2006)
- Case
DLA Piper: Becoming a Global Firm
By: Jay W. Lorsch and Alexis Chernak
Focuses on DLA Piper, a global law firm resulting from the merger of the combined U.S. firm Piper Rudnick Gray Cary and the British firm DLA. At the time of the merger, the firms had similar strategies for the future and approaches to clients. While figuring out some... View Details
Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Global Strategy; Leadership; Alignment; Expansion; Legal Services Industry; United States
Lorsch, Jay W., and Alexis Chernak. "DLA Piper: Becoming a Global Firm." Harvard Business School Case 407-057, October 2006. (Revised October 2006.)
- April 2006 (Revised April 2020)
- Case
"The Case of Leadership Inertia"
The CEO of an international bank has raised the bank's performance by emphasizing a new culture of leadership that empowers people at all levels. Managers are rated both on their business results and their leadership—how they model new behaviors—but 12 senior managers... View Details
- October 2010
- Article
Culture Clash: The Costs and Benefits of Homogeneity
This paper develops an economic theory of the costs and benefits of corporate culture-in the sense of shared beliefs and values in order to study the effects of "culture clash" in mergers and acquisitions. I first use a simple analytical framework to show that shared... View Details
Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Organizational Culture; Economics; Information Management; Forecasting and Prediction; Values and Beliefs; Mergers and Acquisitions; Framework; Satisfaction; Motivation and Incentives; Power and Influence; Communication
Van den Steen, Eric. "Culture Clash: The Costs and Benefits of Homogeneity." Management Science 56, no. 10 (October 2010): 1718–1738.
- March 1988 (Revised July 1990)
- Case
Walt Disney Productions: Greenmail
Considers a firm whose investment strategies have essentially run out. Walt Disney's original visions and goals have all been fulfilled and after his death no new ones are forthcoming. Disney faces repeated takeover attacks and is forced to either set new corporate... View Details
Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Crisis Management; Acquisition; Financial Strategy; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States
Asquith, K. Paul. "Walt Disney Productions: Greenmail." Harvard Business School Case 288-045, March 1988. (Revised July 1990.)
- January 2017
- Case
T. Rowe Price and the Dell Inc. MBO (A)
By: Lena G. Goldberg
T. Rowe Price’s mutual funds, separate accounts, institutional investors, and retirement accounts were, in the aggregate, Dell Inc.’s third largest shareholder in 2013 when Dell announced a management-led buyout, or MBO, structured as a merger. In considering whether... View Details
Keywords: Fiduciary Duties; Management Buy-out; Mergers and Acquisitions; Valuation; Business and Shareholder Relations; Financial Services Industry; Computer Industry; Delaware
Goldberg, Lena G. "T. Rowe Price and the Dell Inc. MBO (A)." Harvard Business School Case 317-088, January 2017.
- September 2002 (Revised March 2003)
- Technical Note
Technical Note on Equity-Linked Consideration, Part 2: Announcement Effects
The announcement of merger or acquisition conveys new information to the capital markets. Shareholders and portfolio managers assess the news and trade on the basis of their new appraisals of value. Thus, from the actual Pstks of the two companies one can infer from... View Details
Baldwin, Carliss Y. "Technical Note on Equity-Linked Consideration, Part 2: Announcement Effects." Harvard Business School Technical Note 903-028, September 2002. (Revised March 2003.)