Publications

February 2021 (Revised August 2021)
Case

Equity Bank: Challenging a Giant

By: Lauren H. Cohen, Michael Chitavi and Spencer C. N. Hagist

Equity Bank and CEO Dr. James Mwangi must find a way to advance from their hard-fought ascension to second largest bank in Kenya by toppling financial giant Safaricom. Doing so means developing a new strategy and tackling technological frontiers no institution in the... View Details

Keywords: Fintech; Finance; Strategy; Information Technology; Banks and Banking; Kenya

May 2011 (Revised May 2011)
Background Note

A Note on European Private Equity

By: Josh Lerner and Ann Leamon

This note provides an overview of private equity in Europe as of mid-2010. View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Investment; Europe

September 2000 (Revised April 2011)
Background Note

Note on the Private Equity Fundraising

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

Provides an overview of raising venture capital and private equity funds. View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Private Equity; Investment Funds

April 1988 (Revised October 1988)
Case

Equity Management, Inc.

By: David F. Hawkins

Keywords: Investment; Management

Find at Harvard

March 1996 (Revised April 2006)
Case

Global Equity Markets: The Case of Royal Dutch and Shell

By: Kenneth A. Froot and Andre F. Perold

Royal Dutch and Shell common stocks are securities with linked cash flow, so that the ratio of their stock prices should be fixed. In fact, the ratio is highly variable, moving with the markets where the securities are intensively traded. Royal Dutch trades more... View Details

Keywords: International Equity Markets; International Cost Of Capital; Cross-border Valuation; International Finance; Equity; Cost of Capital; Valuation; Cash Flow

14 Jul 2021
News

Job-Hopping Toward Equity

August 2018
Case

Enfoca: Private Equity in Peru

By: Victoria Ivashina and Jeffrey Boyar

This case follows Enfoca, Peru’s largest local private equity firm and its portfolio company Maestro, a leading player in Peru’s hardware retail market. Peru’s GDP growth between 2008 and 2014 was the highest of any Latin American country. Growth of the Peruvian middle... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Emerging Markets; Capital Markets; Transition; Strategy; Peru

11 May 2022
News

Racial Equity Related Stories this Spring

September 2012 (Revised June 2017)
Technical Note

Private Equity Valuation in Emerging Markets

By: Paul A. Gompers, Victoria Ivashina and Timothy Dore

This note provides an opportunity to understand how private equity investors need to adapt to emerging markets. View Details

Keywords: Finance; Private Equity; Valuation; Emerging Markets

Research Summary

Do Equity Covariances Reflect Financial Leverage?

No arbitrage option pricing theory and the efficient market hypothesis predict that firms with higher financial leverage should have higher equity betas, all else equal. This paper finds little support in the data for this prediction. Within industry, there is large... View Details

Clubs

Venture Capital & Private Equity Club

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

Research Summary

Agency Conflicts in Private Equity Transactions

Professor El-Hage has led the development of the Elective Curriculum course, Private Equity Finance. in this course, El-Hage studies private equity transactions, with particualr focus on agency conflicts in this business that prides itself on "alignment of... View Details

Web

Race, Gender & Equity

Built For Change Advancing knowledge, educating leaders, and bridging research & practice Race, Gender & Equity Initiative The Race, Gender & Equity Initiative catalyzes and translates cutting-edge research... View Details

16 Jul 2024
Research & Ideas

Weighing Digital Tradeoffs in Private Equity

When private equity (PE) firms buy a company, they typically follow a standard playbook to create value—streamlining operations, restructuring debt, changing management, and cutting costs. However, as digital technologies and artificial... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services

2024
Working Paper

Private Equity and Digital Transformation

By: Brian K. Baik, Wilbur Chen and Suraj Srinivasan

We study the role which private equity (PE) plays in digital transformation. We find that PE investment is associated with greater investments into portfolio firm’s digital technologies, as measured by IT expenditures and the hiring demand for AI skills. This... View Details

Keywords: Digital Transformation; Private Equity; Selection and Staffing; Investment Portfolio; Value Creation

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2009
Working Paper

Labor Regulations and European Private Equity

By: Ant Bozkaya and William R. Kerr

European nations substitute between employment protection regulations and labor market expenditures (e.g., unemployment insurance benefits) for providing worker insurance. Employment regulations more directly tax firms making frequent labor adjustments than other labor... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Private Equity; Insurance; Investment; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Taxation; Employment; Europe

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June 1985 (Revised December 2002)
Background Note

Basic Ratio Analysis and Equity Valuation

By: David F. Hawkins

Describes the use of common financial ratios to analyze a firm's performance and financial condition. Discusses fundamentals of equity valuation. Based on an earlier note by the same author. View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Financial Condition; Equity