Publications

February 2008 (Revised March 2011)
Case

Sandhar Technologies Group, Ltd.

By: G. Felda Hardymon and Ann Leamon

Jayant Davar, CEO and founder of Sandhar Technologies Group, a privately held auto components maker in India, is trying to decide how best to grow the company. He recently took a $22 million investment from Actis Capital, a major emerging markets private equity firm,... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Business Growth and Maturation; Competitive Advantage; Entrepreneurship; Mergers and Acquisitions; Emerging Markets; Growth and Development Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry; India

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November 1992 (Revised May 1993)
Case

BW/IP International, Inc.

By: Timothy A. Luehrman and Andrew D. Regan

Less than a year after completing a leveraged buyout of their own company, the managers of BW/IP International were presented with an attractive acquisition candidate. To buy the target company, however, BW/IP would have to borrow more money and take on more... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Leadership Style; Valuation; Resource Allocation; Capital; Public Ownership

Article

The Covid-19 Pandemic Should Not Delay Actions to Prevent Anticompetitive Consolidation in U.S. Health Care Markets

By: Leemore S. Dafny

This article describes potential regulatory and legislative reforms to assist antitrust enforcement agencies in halting anticompetitive acquisitions and practices, and preserving and promoting competition in health care markets. View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Markets; Competition; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms

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Video

Funke Opeke

Funke Opeke, founder and CEO of MainOne, outlines her visions for broadened services and impact following MainOne's acquisition in 2022 by Equinix, a US-based digital infrastructure company. View Details

July 2017
Supplement

Centerbridge Partners and Great Wolf Resorts (B)

By: Josh Lerner, John D. Dionne and Amram Migdal

The case examines the aftermath of the March 2015 Centerbridge Partners acquisition of Great Wolf Resorts, a North American family-oriented indoor water parks and hotel operator, from a private equity (PE) competitor, Apollo Global Management. View Details

October 1993 (Revised April 1994)
Case

Jack Welch: General Electric's Revolutionary

By: Joseph L. Bower and Jay Dial

Describes the work of Jack Welch as CEO of General Electric from 1981 to 1992, focusing particularly on his transformation of the company's portfolio through extensive dispositions and acquisitions and the company's culture through a mandated process called "work out."... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Transformation; Investment Portfolio; Leadership Style; Management; Organizational Culture; Personal Development and Career

April 2018 (Revised May 2018)
Case

Goldman Sachs: Making an Imprint in Impact Investing

By: Shawn Cole, Vikram S. Gandhi, Caitlin Reimers Brumme and Lynn Schenk

Goldman Sachs acquired Imprint Capital Advisors, a small firm that specialized in advising clients on environmental/social/governance (ESG) and impact investments. The founders sold Imprint with the belief that joining a global financial firm would help to scale impact... View Details

Keywords: Impact Investing; ESG; Investment; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Growth and Development Strategy; Acquisition; Integration

Video

Naguib Sawiris

Naguib Sawiris, Chairman of Orascom TMT Investments, describes a high-stakes acquisition in Europe as he transformed the third-largest telecom operator in Italy, replacing public-sector management with private-sector efficiency. View Details

June 2005 (Revised November 2005)
Case

Hale and Dorr (A)

Highlights how word-of-mouth is crucial in the acquisition of new customers. Specifically, it shows the existence of both internal (to the firm) and external markets for customer leads. View Details

Keywords: Marketing Communications; Social and Collaborative Networks; Sales; Service Industry

February 1998 (Revised May 1998)
Case

Merck-Medco: Vertical Integration in the Pharmaceutical Industry

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Marie Bell

Records the analyses and actions taken by Merck Pharmaceuticals in its acquisition of Medco, a channel intermediary (called "pharmacy benefit manager"). While many of its competitors seem to be faring poorly, Merck seems to have managed the Medco integration superbly. View Details

Keywords: Vertical Integration; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Competitive Strategy; Marketing Channels; Mergers and Acquisitions; Pharmaceutical Industry

November 1999 (Revised October 2009)
Case

Virtualis Systems (A)

By: Jay O. Light and Michael J. Roberts

Describes a second-year MBA's attempts to make money for a fledgling Web-hosting business. As the case ends, he must both sort out the company's business model and financing needs, as well as select from an array of financing and acquisition alternatives. View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Model; Business Startups; Financial Strategy; Financing and Loans; Web Services Industry

15 Jul 2015
News

Micron Technology Is Said to Be Takeover Target of Chinese Company

May 2018 (Revised January 2019)
Teaching Note

Nashton Partners and Its Search Fund Process

By: Richard S. Ruback, Royce Yudkoff and Ahron Rosenfeld

Teaching Note for HBS No. 212-006. In 2008, Jay Davis (HBS’ 08) and Jason Pananos (HBS’ 08) formed Nashton Partners and raised $500,000 from investors to fund their search. After 30 months of searching, and exhausting the money they raised to fund their search, Davis... View Details

Keywords: Search Fund; Acquisition; Capital Structure; Financing and Loans; Investment Funds; Partners and Partnerships

August 2007 (Revised January 2008)
Case

Dollar General Going Private

Intended to improve students' understanding and encourage their use of financial statement analysis. The context is Dollar General Corporation's acquisition by private equity sponsor KKR, which took the company private in 2007. Although the proposed merger generated a... View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Mergers and Acquisitions; Private Equity; Price; Privatization; Valuation; Retail Industry

August 1989 (Revised October 2005)
Case

James Burke: A Career in American Business (B)

By: Richard S. Tedlow and Wendy Smith

Covers the history of Tylenol from the autumn of 1982 through the second tampering incident in February 1986. Also deals with other developments in the history of Johnson & Johnson, especially the acquisition and divestiture of Technicare. View Details

Keywords: History; Pharmaceutical Industry

October 2003
Case

ABS Global

By: David E. Bell, Hal Hogan and Jose M. M. Porraz

ABS Global is considering an acquisition in Australia. Efficient production and distribution is becoming more difficult as it becomes global. Yet trade restrictions and local preferences for its product, bull semen, dictate that ABS come up with a new way to... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Production; Global Strategy; Distribution; Adaptation; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Australia

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February 2000 (Revised March 2000)
Case

Pet Doctors: 1999

By: Paul A. Gompers and David James Alexander Grant

Describes the decisions confronting David Hodges and Garret Turley about whether to grow their chain of veterinary clinics in the United Kingdom. Turley and Hodges must decide whether to attempt to speed up their acquisition pace and raise venture capital. View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Venture Capital; Expansion; Acquisition; Service Industry; United Kingdom

October 1996 (Revised April 2004)
Case

Eric Wood (A)

By: Myra M. Hart

Describes the early career of an MBA who went to work in a small business, bought the company, and is now contemplating an acquisition to expand the business. The issues involve personal/business finance and financial risk, as well as valuation and financial... View Details

Keywords: Personal Development and Career; Business Growth and Maturation; Mergers and Acquisitions; Risk and Uncertainty