Publications

January 2005 (Revised November 2014)
Case

Arch Wireless, Inc.

By: Stuart C. Gilson and Perry L. Fagan

The largest wireless paging company in the United States has to restructure its debt in response to the collapse of its market. The restructuring faces formidable challenges. Valuing the company is extremely difficult because Arch's public competitors are also severely... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Borrowing and Debt; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Organizational Structure; Valuation

02 Jun 2009
First Look

First Look: June 2, 2009

Working PapersTruth in Giving: Experimental Evidence on the Welfare Effects of Informed Giving to the Poor Authors:Christina Fong and Felix Oberholzer-Gee Abstract It is often difficult for donors to predict the value View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

16 Jul 2018
Blog Post

3 Key Take-a-Ways From My Summer at Zalando

to customers’ requests when they call / send emails. I had the chance to shadow Customer Care specialist covering the Spanish market, who taught me the nitty-gritty of his job. It was striking to learn how... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Products / Retail

February 2007 (Revised June 2009)
Case

Edelnor (A)

By: Jordan I. Siegel

Fernando del Sol, president of F. S. Inversiones in Chile, had just bought himself a headache as a New Year's present. On December 31, 2001, he purchased a Chilean electricity generation and transmission company called Edelnor that was in danger of becoming insolvent... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Investment; Courts and Trials; Business Strategy; Energy Industry; Chile

08 Aug 2016
Lessons from the Classroom

Panic Management: Keep Your Eyes on the Road

far-reaching that it may cast a shadow over all of your activities? Think about what you can do to address the potential pitfalls, as well as what you can do to maximize the potential upside. Baby steps... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

August 2008 (Revised May 2009)
Case

Kmart and ESL Investments (A)

By: Stuart C. Gilson and Sarah Abbott

A major bankrupt retailer is poised to emerge from Chapter 11. Two activist hedge funds ("vulture investors") will own over 50% of reorganized Kmart's common stock, based on prior investments in Kmart's debt claims, and an infusion of new equity financing. The Chapter... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Capital Structure; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Investment; Investment Activism; Valuation; Financial Services Industry; Retail Industry; United States

Forthcoming
Article

Crisis Interventions in Corporate Insolvency

By: Samuel Antill and Christopher Clayton

We model the optimal resolution of insolvent firms in general equilibrium. Collateral-constrained banks lend to (i) solvent firms to finance investments and (ii) distressed firms to avoid liquidation. Liquidations create negative fire-sale externalities. Liquidations... View Details

Keywords: Insolvent Firms; Government Intervention; Liquidation; Econometric Models; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Policy

SSRN

27 May 2009
First Look

First Look: May 27, 2009

the death or bankruptcy of at least one seller, are sold at lower prices than other houses. Foreclosure discounts are particularly large, on average, at 28% of the value View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

18 Oct 2016
News

China, artificial intelligence, and Jim Breyer

A venture capitalist with a career spanning three decades and a net worth of $2.6 billion is certain to have had a few big fish escape his hook over the years. For Jim Breyer (MBA 1987) of Breyer Capital,... View Details

Keywords: Jennifer Myers

14 Aug 2007
First Look

First Look: August 14, 2007

Working PapersHedge Fund Investor Activism and Takeovers Authors:Robin Greenwood and Michael Schor Abstract We examine long-horizon stock returns around hedge fund activism in a comprehensive sample of 13D filings by portfolio investors... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Donald E. Petersen

Though he was part of the teams that launched the Ford Thunderbird and Mustang, Petersen's real fame is rooted in his revival of the Ford dynasty in the 1980s. Under Petersen's leadership, Ford grew out... View Details

Keywords: Automotive & Aerospace

01 Dec 2009
News

Hope for Reform Dims

excessive consumer and corporate debt. “Regulatory structures failed to keep up” with innovations in the marketplace, he added. Thain took the top spot at Merrill Lynch in December 2007, resigning as CEO of the NYSE Euronext. Previously,... View Details

Keywords: Administration of Economic Programs; Administration of Economic Programs; Administration of Economic Programs; Administration of Economic Programs

April 2009 (Revised September 2011)
Case

Before the Fall: Lehman Brothers 2008

By: Clayton S. Rose and Anand Ahuja

This case examines Lehman Brothers in the months preceding its collapse. Following the announcement of a huge and unexpected second quarter loss, the CFO was removed from her post after only seven months in the job. This case explores the challenges faced by a firm... View Details

Keywords: Communication Strategy; Financial Crisis; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Financial Management; Financial Markets; Crisis Management; Trust; Financial Services Industry

February 2011 (Revised January 2017)
Case

Countrywide plc

By: Stuart C. Gilson and Sarah L. Abbott

One of the world's leading investors in distressed companies, Oaktree Capital Management, is contemplating a "loan to own" investment in the debt of Countrywide plc, a financially troubled residential real estate agent based in the U.K. Only sixteen months earlier,... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Restructuring; Financial Crisis; Capital Structure; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Financial Management; Investment; Real Estate Industry; United Kingdom

10 Aug 2010
First Look

First Look: August 10

away (i.e., default). The (B) case describes the decision and the reactions to this decision around the world and presents a new decision on the part of bond holders of Dubai's state-owned holding companies.... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

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