Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(202)
- Faculty Publications (61)
- May 2005 (Revised October 2022)
- Case
The Octopus and the Generals: The United Fruit Company in Guatemala
By: Geoffrey Jones and Marcelo Bucheli
Examines the overthrow of President Jacobo Arbenz of Guatemala in 1954 in a U.S.-backed coup in support of the United Fruit Co. Over the previous half century, United Fruit had built a large vertically integrated tropical fruit business that owned large banana... View Details
- December 2003 (Revised August 2004)
- Case
Circon (A) (Abridged)
By: Brian J. Hall, Christopher Rose and Guhan Subramanian
In 1996, U.S. Surgical launched a hostile takeover bid against Circon Corp. CEO Richard Auhll recruited an old HBS friend, George Cloutier, to the Circon board to help him defend the company. Circon's primary defenses include a "poison pill" and a staggered board and... View Details
- July 2003 (Revised February 2004)
- Background Note
M&A Legal Context: Hostile Takeovers
By: Carliss Y. Baldwin, Constance E. Bagley and James Quinn
Introduces students to the main tactical maneuvers used by hostile bidders, including bear hugs, proxy fights, tender offers, and toeholds. Also describes how, in the United States, tender offers are regulated by the federal government via the Williams Act. View Details
- March 2003 (Revised January 2008)
- Case
Northrop versus TRW
By: Carliss Y. Baldwin and James Quinn
TRW, a leading supplier of advanced technology products for the auto, defense, and aerospace markets, receives an unexpected stock-for-stock offer from defense company Northrop Grumman Corp. The $11.4 billion aggregate offer, which represents a 22% premium over the... View Details
- August 2002 (Revised June 2003)
- Case
New Wachovia (A), The
By: Carliss Y. Baldwin and Jeremy Swinson
In April 2001, First Union Corp. announced an agreement to merge with Wachovia Corp., a fellow North Carolina-based commercial bank. While the banks were preparing to consummate the merger, SunTrust Banks, Inc. of Atlanta, made a hostile offer for Wachovia, setting in... View Details
- May 2002
- Supplement
Circon
By: Brian J. Hall and Guhan Subramanian
This case consists of two parts. Part one contains portions of a panel discussion on corporate governance, the poison pill, and hostile takeover attempts/defenses. Part two contains clips from separate visits by George Cloutier and Richard Auhll to the HBS classroom. View Details
- March 2001 (Revised December 2003)
- Case
Circon (A)
By: Brian J. Hall, Guhan Subramanian and Christopher A Rose
In 1996, U.S. Surgical launched a hostile takeover bid against Circon Corp. After building the company for 20 years, CEO Richard Auhll takes a defensive stand that includes inviting an old HBS friend (George Cloutier) to join the fight as a director of Circon. A... View Details
- December 2000
- Case
Drug Wars, The: Pfizer's Hostile Bid for Warner-Lambert in 1999
By: Stephen P. Bradley and Matthew Sandoval
Describes Pfizer's hostile bid for Warner-Lambert in the fall of 1999. Allows for an evaluation of the possible synergies created and poses the question as to whether Pfizer will pay too much. View Details
- May 2000 (Revised August 2001)
- Case
Telecom Italia Takeover (A)
By: Michael D. Watkins, James K. Sebenius and Ann Leamon
After two months at the helm of Telecom Italia, Franco Bernabe is confronted by a hostile takeover bid from a much smaller rival. He has a few days in which to maneuver. The case describes the background of Italian telecoms and of the bid itself. Also presents the... View Details
- December 1999 (Revised April 2000)
- Case
Franco Bernabe: Reflections on Telecom Italia (A)
By: Linda A. Hill and Kristin Doughty
In November 1998, Franco Bernabe left ENI to become CEO of Telecom Italia, Italy's primary telecommunications provider. Three months later, Roberto Colaninno, CEO of Olivetti SpA, an Italian computer and telecom company one fifth the size of Telecom Italia, launched a... View Details
- July 1999 (Revised April 2001)
- Case
Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. (A)
By: Jay W. Lorsch and Katharina Pick
Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. faces a hostile takeover bid from its competitor, Mentor Graphics. Mentor makes the bid at a moment when Quickturn's stock price is depressed and the company is defending against a patent suit filed by Mentor. The two companies have a... View Details
- October 1998 (Revised January 1999)
- Case
Echlin vs. SPX
By: Paul M. Healy, Bjorn N. Jorgensen and Penny Joseph
Echlin has received a hostile takeover offer from SPX. Both companies have been undertaking major restructurings, and Echlin's shareholders face a difficult decision of whether to support current management or sell out to SPX. Students are asked to analyze the two... View Details
- April 1998 (Revised May 2001)
- Supplement
Acquisition of Consolidated Rail Corporation (B), The
By: Benjamin C. Esty, Lori A. Flees and Mathew M Millett
Eight days after CSX announced it was going to buy Consolidated Rail (Conrail) for $88.65 per share, Norfolk Southern made a hostile $100 per share bid for Conrail. Over the next several months, the potential acquirers upped their bids while exchanging criticism in the... View Details
- January 1997
- Case
Dr. Sergio Ceccuzzi and SMI: Negotiating Cross-Border Acquisitions in Europe (B)
Since the 1960s, SMI has quietly executed a series of brilliantly negotiated takeovers throughout Europe, often acquiring companies much larger than itself. Despite formidable obstacles, SMI has managed to acquire state-owned competitors in Italy and France, as well as... View Details
- December 1996 (Revised July 1997)
- Case
USG Corporation
By: Benjamin C. Esty and Tara L. Nells
In 1988, USG was the world's largest gypsum producer and one of the world's largest building-products companies. On May 2, 1988, USG's board of directors announced a proposed leveraged recapitalization plan to thwart a hostile cash tender offer by Desert Partners. With... View Details
- July 1996 (Revised June 2001)
- Case
Atlantic Corporation-Abridged
By: Thomas R. Piper
A major paper company is considering acquiring the assets of a company that is threatened by a hostile takeover. The acquisition can be evaluated in terms of industry attractiveness, comparative advantage, and cash-flow analysis. View Details
- June 1996 (Revised July 1997)
- Case
Hostile Bid for Red October, The
By: Benjamin C. Esty and Alan Bigman
Manatep Bank, a Russian investment bank, has just announced the country's first hostile tender offer for Red October, a confectionery company located in Moscow. As the chief financial officer of the target company, Yuri Yegorov must decide how to respond, how much his... View Details
- November 1995 (Revised November 1999)
- Case
National Power and the Privatization of the British Power Generation Industry
By: Willis M. Emmons III and Ed Simnett
The British government privatized the nation's electric utility sector in 1991 through a complex process involving the restructuring of the industry as well as the creation of a new regulatory oversight body. National Power plc, the largest of the privatized power... View Details
- August 1992 (Revised December 1994)
- Case
Sexual Harassment, Free Speech or ...?
By: Lynn S. Paine
Presents two brief vignettes about female employees who object to gender discrimination in their work environment. In one case, the manager of a convenience store removes "adult" magazines from the store's shelves because she sees them as damaging to women. In the... View Details
- January 1992 (Revised April 1993)
- Case
FBO, Inc.
FBO, Inc. is a fixed-base operator at a large metropolitan airport. The general manager must decide if the current pooling format is the appropriate way to staff the commercial refueling operations. If pooling is deemed inappropriate then the implementation of a... View Details