Publications

January 2020
Article

How Do Venture Capitalists Make Decisions?

By: Paul A. Gompers, William Gornall, Steven N. Kaplan and Ilya A. Strebulaev

We survey 885 institutional venture capitalists (VCs) at 681 firms to learn how they make decisions across eight areas: deal sourcing, investment selection, valuation, deal structure, post-investment value-added, exits, internal firm organization, and relationships... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Value Creation; Capital Structure; Entrepreneurship; Decision Making

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September 2010 (Revised December 2010)
Supplement

Enman Oil, Inc. (E)

By: David F. Hawkins

Company pursues ways to reduce its debt to equity ratio by resorting to off balance sheet debt transactions. View Details

Keywords: Energy Sources; Capital Structure; Financial Statements; Energy Industry; Mining Industry; United States

September 2010 (Revised December 2010)
Supplement

Enman Oil, Inc. (C)

By: David F. Hawkins

Company pursues ways to reduce its debt to equity ratio by resorting to off balance sheet debt transactions. View Details

Keywords: Energy Sources; Capital Structure; Financial Statements; Energy Industry; Mining Industry; United States

November 1999
Case

Interactive Minds (B)

By: Ashish Nanda, Thomas J. DeLong, Christina L. Darwall and Scot H. Landry

Two recent Harvard Business School graduates start a venture capital/consulting firm focused on opportunities related to the Internet. View Details

Keywords: History; Venture Capital; Internet and the Web; Capital Structure; Entrepreneurship; Consulting Industry

26 Aug 2013
Lessons from the Classroom

Built for Global Competition from the Start

Kerr says, is to create a global replication platform that will encourage more entrepreneurship in Spain. Blink Booking served as a springboard for the class to discuss what makes a good candidate for international replication, along with the View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Education

29 Apr 2021
News

Equal Partner

Photo courtesy Pialy Aditya Photo courtesy Pialy Aditya A couple of years ago, Pialy Aditya (MBA 2005) got an unexpected inquiry from a venture capital firm: Would she be interested in being a partner? Though she wasn’t looking for a new... View Details

Keywords: Diversity; Inclusion

02 Nov 2020
Blog Post

WE RISE

group for entrepreneurs in 2017. What started as a group of 25 is now the 20,000-member Female Founders Alliance, a social purpose organization that provides guidance to founders and works to change elements of the venture capital View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital / Private Equity; Venture Capital / Private Equity; Venture Capital / Private Equity

June 2009
Supplement

Midland Energy Resources, Inc.: Cost of Capital, Instructors Spreadsheet (Brief Case)

By: Timothy A. Luehrman and Joel L. Heilprin

Keywords: Risk Assessment; Risk Management; Valuation; Capital Structure; Cash Flow

November 2006 (Revised June 2007)
Case

Centre Partners - American Seafoods 2003

Centre Partners, a leading private equity firm, is contemplating ways to realize liquidity from its successful investment in American Seafoods Corp., Inc. An apparently innovative solution is developed, which calls for issuing Income Deposit Securities. Does this... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Financial Liquidity; Capital Structure; Financial Services Industry

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May 2022
Article

Investment as the Opportunity Cost of Dividend Signaling

By: Zach Kaplan and Gerardo Pérez Cavazos

We provide evidence that firms with weak investment opportunities (those whose current earnings justify a greater valuation than firms with strong investment opportunities) signal their permanent earnings level through their dividends. In the cross-section, we show... View Details

Keywords: Dividends; Earnings; Investment Opportunities; Payout Policy; Signaling; Capital Structure; Business Earnings; Investment; Opportunities

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October 2013 (Revised May 2014)
Supplement

The TELUS Share Conversion Proposal, Spreadsheet Supplement

By: Lucy White and Benjamin C. Esty

A proxy battle between a Canadian firm and a US hedge fund over a proposal to unify the firm's dual class share structure. View Details

Keywords: Stock Shares; Capital Structure; Investment Funds; Telecommunications Industry; Canada; United States

21 Feb 2024
Blog Post

Hiring at HBS: How Summer Interns Make an Impact at Bridges Fund Management

work for another project,” Sullivan said. “She also supported us with financial modeling and producing presentation material.” This internship structure allowed her to have direct support along with exciting opportunities to dig into live... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital / Private Equity

January 1994
Case

National Convenience Stores, Inc.

By: Steven R. Fenster, Stuart C. Gilson and Roy Burstin

National Convenience Stores seeks to emerge from Chapter 11. Central to the nature of the reorganization plan is the company's determining enterprise value. The various constituencies (secured debt, unsecured debt, etc.) will seek to find an enterprise value that... View Details

Keywords: Capital Structure; Valuation; Restructuring; Strategic Planning; Borrowing and Debt; Food and Beverage Industry; Texas

January 2023
Teaching Note

MicroStrategy’s Investment in Bitcoin

By: C. Fritz Foley, Celine Chammas and Donal O'Cofaigh

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 222-048. View Details

Keywords: Bitcoin; Corporate Strategy; Acquisition; Investment Portfolio; Capital Structure; Equity

December 2004 (Revised January 2006)
Case

Simon's Hostile Tender for Taubman (A)

Simon Property Group launched a hostile tender offer for upscale Taubman Centers. This case discusses issues of Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) valuation, financial policy, and corporate governance, as Robert Taubman and his company's independent directors must... View Details

Keywords: Capital Structure; Valuation; Investment; Acquisition; Corporate Governance; Real Estate Industry

October 2012
Teaching Note

Hill Country Snack Foods Co. (Brief Case)

By: W. Carl Kester and Craig Stephenson

Keywords: United States; Debt Management; Retail Trade; Risk Management; Food; Capital Structure; Borrowing and Debt; Financial Strategy; Retail Industry; United States

February 2014 (Revised March 2022)
Case

School Specialty, Inc.

By: Stuart C. Gilson and Kristin Mugford

Set in 2013, School Specialty was a financially troubled supplier of educational products to primary and secondary schools in the United States. The company planned to file Chapter 11 in order to address its excessive debt load, but needed to arrange... View Details

Keywords: School Specialty; Bankruptcy; Section 363; Financing; Chapter 11; Capital Structure; Financing and Loans; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Distribution Industry; Education Industry; United States

May 2016 (Revised August 2019)
Teaching Note

Project Deutschland: Unpeeling the Onion of a Distressed Real Estate Portfolio

By: Nori Gerardo Lietz and Ricardo Andrade

James Tallest analyzed the opportunity to invest in a distressed portfolio of high quality properties in Germany by acquiring one or more non-performing loans from Deutschland Bank. While he considers the many aspects of the deal that is about to unfold, he must decide... View Details

Keywords: Real Estate; Distress Investing; Non-performing Loan; Borrowing and Debt; Capital Structure; Private Equity; Negotiation Deal; Valuation; Real Estate Industry; Financial Services Industry; Germany; Europe

March 1990 (Revised November 2004)
Case

O.M. Scott & Sons Co. Leveraged Buyout

By: George P. Baker III and Karen Wruck

Documents the organizational changes that took place at O.M. Scott & Sons Co. in response to their leveraged buyout. Provides the opportunity for students to discuss the effects of high leverage on management decision making, and the differences between operating as a... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Capital Structure; Borrowing and Debt; Organizational Structure; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Management; Business Conglomerates; Cost of Capital; Financial Services Industry