Publications

2024
Working Paper

Consumer Choice and Corporate Bankruptcy

By: Samuel Antill and Megan Hunter

We estimate the indirect costs of corporate bankruptcy associated with lost customers. In incentivized experiments, randomly informing consumers about a firm’s Chapter 11 reorganization lowers their willingness to pay for the firm’s products by 18-35%. Up to 48% of... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Choice; Bankruptcy; Financial Distress; Structural Estimation; Experimental Economics; Hertz; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Consumer Behavior

SSRN

21 Oct 2015
HBS Seminar

Shai Bernstein, Assistant Professor of Finance, Stanford University Graduate School of Business

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

March 1997
Article

Transactions Costs and Capital Structure Choice: Evidence from Financially Distressed Firms

By: S. C. Gilson

This study provides evidence that transactions costs discourage debt reductions by financially distressed firms when they restructure their debt out of court. As a result, these firms remain highly leveraged and one-in-three subsequently experience financial distress.... View Details

Keywords: Cost; Capital Structure; Decision Choices and Conditions; Information; Finance; Business Ventures

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December 1998 (Revised May 1999)
Case

Flagstar Companies, Inc.

By: Stuart C. Gilson and Jeremy Cott

A large restaurant chain undergoes a leveraged buyout and subsequent recapitalization. Financial and operating problems at the company force it to consider various restructuring options, including a "prepackaged" Chapter 11 exchange offer to its public bondholders. A... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Restructuring; Capital; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Debt Securities; Financial Services Industry; United States

April 2007 (Revised June 2008)
Background Note

USG

By: Elie Ofek and Kerry Herman

Serves as a background note for purposes of class discussion around next-generation innovation at USG. Describes the company, its products, and competitors. Of relevance is the fact that it recently filed for Chapter 11 due to litigation over asbestos-related claims.... View Details

Keywords: Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Innovation and Invention; Lawsuits and Litigation; Competition

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26 Jan 2012
News

The Human Cost of Kodak's Bankruptcy

09 Feb 2015
Working Paper Summaries

Cashing Out: The Rise of M&A in Bankruptcy

Keywords: by Stuart Gilson, Edith Hotchkiss & Matthew Osborn

December 2000 (Revised November 2001)
Case

Rise and Fall of Iridium, The

By: Alan D. MacCormack and Kerry Herman

Examines the history of Iridium Communications, a provider of mobile satellite services. Discusses the genesis of Iridium's technical design, then follows the venture through various stages of development. Describes Iridium's attempts to build a subscriber base after... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Business Model; Business Growth and Maturation; Organizational Structure; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Telecommunications Industry

December 2024
Supplement

Northvolt: Building Batteries to Fight Climate Change (B)

By: George Serafeim, Debora L. Spar, Peter Tufano, Hugo Etchegoyhen and Emilie Billaud

The (B) case explores Northvolt’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing on November 21, 2024, highlighting the company’s struggles to scale operations amid a global EV market slowdown and internal production challenges. While the (A) case detailed Northvolt’s ambitious... View Details

Keywords: Batteries; Electric Vehicles; Climate Change; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Energy; Green Technology; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Investment; Technological Innovation; Risk Management; Failure; Business and Government Relations; Business and Shareholder Relations; Transportation; Green Technology Industry; Europe; Sweden

February 2022 (Revised March 2022)
Case

Hertz in Bankruptcy: A Wild Ride in Pandemic Times

By: Samuel Antill, Stuart Gilson and Kristin Mugford

Hertz filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in response to asset-backed securities (ABS) obligations and the COVID-19 pandemic. Enthusiastic Robinhood investors and shrewd negotiating tactics helped Hertz stabilize. Roughly nine months into the bankruptcy, Hertz received... View Details

Keywords: Bankruptcy Reorganization; COVID-19 Pandemic; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Health Pandemics; Valuation; Capital Structure; Negotiation; Private Equity; Travel Industry; United States

July 2019
Article

Optimal Capital Structure and Bankruptcy Choice: Dynamic Bargaining vs Liquidation

By: Samuel Antill and Steven R. Grenadier

We model a firm’s optimal capital structure decision in a framework in which it may later choose to enter either Chapter 11 reorganization or Chapter 7 liquidation. Creditors anticipate equityholders’ ex-post reorganization incentives and price them into the ex-ante... View Details

Keywords: Default; Dynamic Bargaining; Capital Structure; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Mathematical Methods

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December 2005 (Revised April 2007)
Case

Flagstar Companies, Inc. (Abridged)

A large restaurant chain undergoes a leveraged buyout and subsequent recapitalization. Financial and operating problems at the company force it to consider various restructuring options, including a prepackaged Chapter 11 exchange offer to its public bondholders. Two... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Restructuring; Capital; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Debt Securities; Competition; Valuation; Financial Services Industry; United States

2010
Book

Creating Value through Corporate Restructuring: Case Studies in Bankruptcies, Buyouts, and Breakups

A collection of case studies illustrates real-world techniques, implementation, and strategies on corporate restructuring. Over the period 1981-1998, public companies with combined assets of over half a trillion dollars filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Over the same... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Public Ownership; Value Creation

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The use of M&A in bankruptcy has increased dramatically in recent years, leading to concerns that the Chapter 11 process has shifted toward excessive liquidation of viable firms. In this paper, we argue that the rise of M&A has blurred traditional... View Details

15 Jan 2013
First Look

First Look: January 15

http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Publication%20Files/Do%20Analysts%20Add%20Value%20When%20They%20Most%20Can_d87e063a-a7e0-44e2-83fe-a1999565b7f0.pdf Coming Through in a Crisis: How Chapter 11 and the Debt... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Research Summary

Corporate Restructuring and Business Insolvency: Economic Impact and Best Practices

Stuart C. Gilson is studying how severe financial distress impacts corporate policies and economic resource allocation. He is also studying how managers can best respond to financial distress in order to preserve and grow value. He is undertaking this research... View Details

April 2019 (Revised December 2021)
Case

Sears: The Demise of an American Icon

By: Kristin Mugford and Sarah L. Abbott

In 2019, ESL Investments’ $5.2 billion offer to purchase Sears Holdings out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy, was accepted, despite opposition from the company's unsecured creditors and other parties. ESL, which was led by Eddie Lampert, had acquired a stake in Sears following... View Details

Keywords: Bankruptcy; Reorganization; Bonds; Restructuring; Business Divisions; Transformation; Fairness; Borrowing and Debt; Credit; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Corporate Governance; Motivation and Incentives; Retail Industry; United States

March 2009
Background Note

Note on the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA)

In 2005, new legislation was passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by the President that introduced a number of major amendments to U.S. bankruptcy law, affecting both business and consumer bankruptcies. This legislation, called the Bankruptcy Abuse... View Details

Keywords: Government Legislation; Restructuring; Personal Finance; Laws and Statutes; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Corporate Finance