Publications

December 2019 (Revised January 2021)
Supplement

The Leveraged Buyout of TXU: (B) Energy Future Holdings

By: Trevor Fetter, Erik Snowberg and Rebecca M. Henderson

This case is designed to support a lively discussion about the relative merits of shareholder vs. stakeholder perspectives in the context of a company that provides a vital public service that has important environmental implications. The 2007 purchase of TXU, the... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Transformation; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Environmental Sustainability; Business and Shareholder Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Energy Generation; Utilities Industry; Energy Industry; Texas

February 1982 (Revised June 1990)
Case

Massey-Ferguson Ltd.—1980

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin and Scott P. Mason

Massey Ferguson began fiscal year 1981 in default on $2.5 billion of outstanding debt. The company's future depends on the ability of lenders, the governments of Canada and Ontario, and management, to agree on a refinancing plan. The case reviews Massey's performance... View Details

Keywords: Financial Condition; Financial Markets; Financing and Loans; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Financial Strategy; Borrowing and Debt; Corporate Finance; Canada

August 2009 (Revised February 2013)
Case

Eddie Bauer (A)

By: Paul Healy, Sharon Katz and Aldo Sesia

In June 2005, Eddie Bauer, the specialty apparel retailer, emerged from bankruptcy. Under the plan of reorganization former creditors converted their debt into common shares, taking 100% ownership in the reconstituted company. Large banks-including Bank of America and... View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Mergers and Acquisitions; Restructuring; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Stock Shares; Valuation; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Retail Industry; United States

12 Dec 2012
Research & Ideas

Power to the People: The Unexpected Influence of Small Coalitions

benefits to both members and nonmembers, negotiating advertising and product standards. "French consumer groups cultivated membership not by providing selective benefits, but by emphasizing their public purpose," Trumbull writes. French consumers also fought for View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard

September 2023
Case

The Rise and Fall of FTX

By: Aiyesha Dey, Jonas Heese, Joseph Pacelli and Max Hancock

In November 2022, Sam Bankman-Fried's multi-billion-dollar crypto exchange, FTX, collapsed, wiping out investors and throwing the crypto industry into disarray. As FTX's founder and CEO, Bankman-Fried developed a reputation for his unerring business sense and... View Details

Keywords: Cryptocurrency; Crime and Corruption; Financial Statements; Misleading and Fraudulent Advertising; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Corporate Governance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Failure; Restructuring; United States; Hong Kong; Bahamas

March 2021 (Revised January 2022)
Case

Revlon: Surviving Covid-19

By: Kristin Mugford and Sarah Gulick

In October 2020, Revlon faced a crossroads. While it had been struggling with high levels of debt before COVID-19, the pandemic had caused it to go further into debt. Unlike other financial crises, many consumers had stopped buying skincare or cosmetics, and sales of... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Leveraged Buyouts; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Financial Liquidity; Bonds; Corporate Finance; Borrowing and Debt; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Financial Services Industry; United States

April 1991 (Revised July 1994)
Case

Southland Corp. (B)

By: Richard S. Ruback

Examines Southland's financial difficulties following the LBO in 1987 up to the first restructuring plan in July 1990. The teaching objectives are: to explore the complexities of a failed leverage buyout and the operating restrictions that result from financial... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Restructuring; Equity; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Financing and Loans; Crisis Management

December 2002 (Revised June 2003)
Case

Vignette: The Rebar Dilemma

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

Martin Smith, a new associate at an LBO firm, must respond to a problem posed by his boss, based on an historical deal that suddenly came undone. After months of negotiation, his firm's plan to buy a bankrupt competitor of one of its portfolio companies and close it... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Competition; Growth and Development Strategy; Business or Company Management

01 Jun 2009
News

Big Bailouts, Little Debate

Duhigg Photo Courtesy Charles Duhigg As a business writer for the New York Times, I often bump into HBS classmates and alumni who ask me, in a whisper, “What’s the real story behind the economic crisis? There’s some hidden tale that explains everything, right?” The... View Details

Keywords: Charles Duhigg; Finance; Administration of Economic Programs; Government

06 Feb 2012
Research & Ideas

Kodak: A Parable of American Competitiveness

American company that filed for bankruptcy protection in January. The company developed the first digital camera in 1975. Yet Kodak was never able to ride the digital wave over the long haul, and the company's invention ironically served... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Manufacturing

May 2018 (Revised January 2019)
Teaching Note

Lind Equipment

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

Teaching Note for HBS No. 212-012. Lind Equipment, a Canadian manufacturer and distributor of industrial electrical safety equipment, was purchased in December 2007 by Brian Astl (HBS 2006) and Sean Van Doorselaer. Lind’s performance was negatively impacted by the... View Details

Keywords: Recession; Seller Debt; Equity; Financial Condition; Borrowing and Debt; Capital; Revenue; Financing and Loans; Financial Strategy; Financial Management; Acquisition; Financial Crisis; Currency Exchange Rate; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Manufacturing Industry; Industrial Products Industry

02 Jun 2009
First Look

First Look: June 2, 2009

209-111 This note briefly describes bankruptcy regimes and out-of-court restructuring in five countries: the U.S., the U.K., Germany, France, and Japan. Purchase this note: http://hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=209111 View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

September 1996 (Revised March 2002)
Case

Bishay Industries

By: David F. Hawkins and Norman Bartczak

A bankrupt company has a turnaround plan. Students are asked to predict whether it will be successful. View Details

Keywords: Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Business Plan; Goals and Objectives; Strategic Planning; Business Strategy; Cash Flow; Mathematical Methods; Financial Services Industry

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March 2005
Supplement

Anne Mulcahy: Leading Xerox through the Perfect Storm (B)

By: William W. George and Andrew N. McLean

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Financial Liquidity; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Profit; Leadership Development; Personal Development and Career; Motivation and Incentives; Service Industry; Computer Industry

26 Mar 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, March 26, 2019

peak in 1997, Kodak had a market value of $30 billion. Despite inventing the first digital camera, Kodak stumbled to capitalize on the new technology and by 2011 the company was in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. In September 2013,... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

August 2009
Case

Nomura's Global Growth: Picking Up Pieces of Lehman

By: C. Fritz Foley and Linnea Meyer

What issues commonly arise in international financial management? Kenichi Watanabe and Takumi Shibata, CEO and COO of Nomura Holdings Inc., one of the leading investment banks in Asia, have the opportunity to expand their firm internationally through the acquisition of... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Investment Banking; International Finance; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Expansion; Financial Services Industry; Japan

December 2010
Article

The Case for Professional Boards

By: Robert C. Pozen

When the world's largest financial institutions had to be rescued from insolvency in 2008, many experts laid the blame at the feet of corporate boards. But insufficient board oversight is a problem that had supposedly been solved in 2002. As the United States... View Details

Keywords: Financial Institutions; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Governing and Advisory Boards; Failure; Accounting Audits; Quality; Behavior; Legal Liability; Experience and Expertise; Corporate Governance; Governance Controls; Performance Effectiveness; United States

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October 2007 (Revised July 2016)
Teaching Note

Gordon Bethune at Continental Airlines

By: Anthony J. Mayo

A $385 million loss for the final months of fiscal year 1994 signaled Continental might go bankrupt. Could new CEO Gordon Bethune turn Continental around? Continental was in dire straits because the deregulation of the commercial airline industry in 1978 ushered in a... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Profit; Leading Change; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Performance Improvement; Labor and Management Relations