Publications

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22 Dec 2006
Research & Ideas

What’s Behind the Private Equity Boom?

Podcast with: Josh Lerner Interviewer: James Aisner Running Time: 15 min., 56 sec. View Details

Keywords: by Jim Aisner; Financial Services

04 Aug 2017
Working Paper Summaries

Private Equity and Financial Fragility During the Crisis

Keywords: by Shai Bernstein, Josh Lerner, and Filippo Mezzanotti; Financial Services

August 2007
Case

Manila Water Company

By: V. Kasturi Rangan, David Wheeler and Jane Comeault

In 1997, the Philippines government privatized its water utility in the metropolitan Manila area. The East Zone concession was won by Manila Water Company and the West Zone concession by Maynilad Water Services. Over the next decade, Manila Water turned in an... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Framework; Business or Company Management; Bids and Bidding; Privatization; Performance Improvement; Utilities Industry

June 2017
Teaching Note

Qalaa Holdings and the Egyptian Refining Company

By: Victoria Ivashina and Jeffrey Boyar

Teaching Note for HBS No. 217-011 View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Infrastructure; Emerging Markets; Africa; Structuring And Financing Large Projects; Financial Services Industry; Egypt

September 2011
Case

AXA Private Equity: The Diana Investment

By: Michael J. Roberts and William A. Sahlman

The case focuses on an investment made by AXA Private Equity, a French manufacturer of food ingredients. The investment is made at the height of the financial markets, and financed with significant debt. Soon thereafter, the financial crisis impacted the company's... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Ethics; Investment; Financial Crisis

April 2019
Article

Private Equity and Financial Fragility during the Crisis

By: Shai Bernstein, Josh Lerner and Filippo Mezzanotti

Do private equity firms contribute to financial fragility during economic crises? We find that during the 2008 financial crisis, PE-backed companies increased investments relative to their peers, while also experiencing greater equity and debt inflows. The effects are... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Financial Crisis; Performance; Financial Condition

March 2008
Supplement

Patel Food and Chemicals Private Limited (B)

By: Felda Hardymon and Ann Leamon

Alok Patel, the founder and chairman of a Gujarat-based, privately held edible oils processor, has hired a CFO and the company is doing extremely well. He wants to add a new plant to process oilive oil, but estimates he will need $20 million. He must decide among... View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Financing and Loans; Investment; Financial Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Chemical Industry; Gujarat

November 2011 (Revised May 2012)
Case

SecondMarket—Providing Liquidity for Shareholders of Privately Held iContact

By: William A. Sahlman, Ramana Nanda and James McQuade

In 2011, SecondMarket was an online platform that facilitated secondary transactions of illiquid assets, including private company stock. This case explores reasons for the decline in small-cap IPOs in the United States from the 1990s to the 2000s and how the emergence... View Details

Keywords: Business and Shareholder Relations

March 2008
Supplement

Patel Food and Chemicals Private Limited (C)

By: Felda Hardymon and Ann Leamon

Alok Patel, the founder and chairman of a Gujarat-based, privately held edible oils processor, is considering long-term liquidity opportunities for the company and its investors. He could list the company on one of the Indian exchanges, opt for a trade sale, or acquire... View Details

Keywords: Financial Liquidity; Financial Management; Mergers and Acquisitions; Going Public; Opportunities; Chemical Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Gujarat

14 Mar 2007
Op-Ed

Government’s Misguided Probe of Private Equity

capital." Now modern-day trustbusters have again launched an investigation into collusion in financial services, this time focusing on private-equity firms. The Justice Department is concerned that private-equity firms are teaming up to bid in auctions of View Details

Keywords: by Josh Lerner; Financial Services

20 Feb 2019
Research & Ideas

Rocket-tunity: Can Private Firms Turn a Profit in Space?

less clear, but the company has expressed interest in extending its technology to private customers. Weinzierl also points to two lesser-known companies that are deeply... View Details

Keywords: by Scott Wallask; Aerospace; Tourism; Transportation

November 2007
Article

If Private Equity Sized Up Your Business

By: Robert C. Pozen

This article includes a one-page preview that quickly summarizes the key ideas and provides an overview of how the concepts work in practice along with suggestions for further reading. As the dust settles on the recent frenzy of private equity deals (including... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Capital Structure; Private Equity; Investment Return; Governing and Advisory Boards; Executive Compensation; Business and Shareholder Relations; Value Creation; Financial Services Industry

18 Jul 2016
Research & Ideas

Is Greed Ruining Private Equity Firms?

In a first-ever look at the internal economics driving private equity partnerships, Harvard Business School researchers have found that many of these funds can be torn apart by greed among founding partners who take home a much bigger... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Banking; Financial Services

16 Jul 2024
Research & Ideas

Weighing Digital Tradeoffs in Private Equity

When private equity (PE) firms buy a company, they typically follow a standard playbook to create value—streamlining operations, restructuring debt, changing management, and cutting costs. However, as digital technologies and artificial... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services

December 2004 (Revised May 2005)
Case

Levenger Company

By: Myra M. Hart, Kristin Lieb and Victoria Winston

The Leveens started a high-end catalog business as a small home-based venture in 1987. It grew into a nationally recognized, $60 million company, offering products that ranged from unique pens and pencils to leather briefcases and fully furnished offices. In 1999, it... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Financial Liquidity; Business Exit or Shutdown; Expansion; Business Growth and Maturation; Value; Entrepreneurship; Financing and Loans; Globalization; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Retail Industry; United States

13 Jan 2020
Research & Ideas

Do Private Equity Buyouts Get a Bad Rap?

firms often hunt for target companies they see as undervalued. By cutting costs or reorganizing, the acquirer can improve productivity and position the firm for profitable operations or a future sale. In some quarters, fears persist that... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services; Banking

2007
Working Paper

Testing Limits to Policy Reversal: Evidence from Indian Privatizations

By: Siddhartha G. Dastidar, Raymond Fisman and Tarun Khanna

We examine the effect of regime change on privatization using the 2004 election surprise in India. The pro-reform BJP was unexpectedly defeated by a less reformist coalition. Stock prices of government-controlled companies that had been slated for definite... View Details

Keywords: Political Elections; Privatization; State Ownership; Policy; India

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December 2009 (Revised April 2022)
Case

Lyondell Chemical Company

By: Stuart C. Gilson and Sarah Abbott

Hit with an industry recession and the global financial crisis of 2008, in January 2009 LyondellBasell Industries AF S.C.A., one of the world's largest internationally diversified chemical companies headquartered in The Netherlands, placed its U.S. operations and a... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Financial Crisis; Borrowing and Debt; Capital Structure; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Financing and Loans; International Finance; Crisis Management; Chemical Industry; Netherlands; United States

July 1990 (Revised March 2000)
Case

John M. Case Company

By: Samuel L. Hayes III

The owner of a small, privately held company decides to sell out, and a group of the company's top managers structures a leveraged buyout. A rewritten version of an earlier case. View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Management Teams; Business Exit or Shutdown