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15 Aug 2014
News

Getting a handle on inversion

April 1996 (Revised June 2000)
Case

Boston Beer Company, Inc., The

Capital markets may have overcapitalized the craft brewing industry during a flurry of new IPOs. In the context of this "hot" IPO market each individual company's valuation may seem reasonable. However, after careful analysis of each company's financial statement and... View Details

Keywords: Initial Public Offering; Analysis; Valuation; Industry Growth; Food and Beverage Industry; Boston

February 2009 (Revised April 2011)
Module Note

Financing Growth in Family and Closely Held Firms

By: Belen Villalonga

This note describes the second of four modules in Financial Management of Family and Closely Held Firms, an elective MBA course at Harvard Business School. The note analyzes the pros and cons of different equity financing options that are available to family firms such... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Finance; Business Growth and Maturation

August 2010 (Revised January 2013)
Case

Urban Water Partners (A)

By: Karthik Ramanna, George Serafeim and Aldo Sesia

The case explores a new business venture to bring clean water to residents of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, who otherwise cannot afford it. Management has enough money to get the company through August 2010 but needs more capital thereafter. An HBS alumnus is interested in... View Details

Keywords: Accrual Accounting; Financial Statements; Business Startups; Social Entrepreneurship; Investment; Performance Evaluation; Dar es Salaam; Massachusetts

Article

The Promise and Peril of Russia's Resurgent State

By: Rawi Abdelal

The article discusses the effect of the global financial crisis of 2008-2009 on the outlook for Russia's economic growth. The discussion focuses on the status of capitalism in Russia and the government's central role in business. A brief history of Russia's economic... View Details

Keywords: Economic Growth; Economic Systems; Financial Crisis; Investment; Globalized Economies and Regions; Policy; Russia

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30 Sep 2010
Working Paper Summaries

Does Mandatory IFRS Adoption Improve the Information Environment?

Keywords: by Joanne Horton, George Serafeim & Ioanna Serafeim

Article

ESG Integration in Investment Management: Myths and Realities

By: Sakis Kotsantonis, Christopher Pinney and George Serafeim

The authors’ aim in this article is to set the record straight on the financial performance of sustainable investing while also correcting a number of other widespread misconceptions about this rapidly growing set of principles and methods. Myth Number 1:... View Details

Keywords: ESG; Sustainability; Investment Management; Finance; Corporate Social Responsibility; Integrated Corporate Reporting; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Investment; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Governance

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Teaching Interest

MBA Elective Curriculum: Investment Strategies

By: Malcolm P. Baker

This is a CORE course for students pursuing careers in finance. Thus, students interested in pursuing careers in mutual funds, hedge funds, pension funds, endowments, wealth management, financial consulting, marketing and client service, sales and trading,... View Details

August 2020
Article

Leverage and the Beta Anomaly

By: Malcolm Baker, Mathias F. Hoeyer and Jeffrey Wurgler

The well-known weak empirical relationship between beta risk and the cost of equity—the beta anomaly—generates a simple tradeoff theory: As firms lever up, the overall cost of capital falls as leverage increases equity beta, but as debt becomes riskier the marginal... View Details

Keywords: Risk Anomaly; Leverage; Capital Structure; Risk and Uncertainty

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November 2010 (Revised May 2014)
Case

Dow's Bid for Rohm and Haas

By: Benjamin C. Esty and David Lane

This case analyzes Dow Chemical Company's proposed acquisition of Rohm and Haas in 2008. The $18.8 billion acquisition was part of Dow's strategic transformation from a slow-growth, low-margin, and cyclical producer of basic chemicals into a higher-growth,... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Financial Crisis; Capital Structure; Financial Condition; Financial Management; Contracts; Lawsuits and Litigation; Risk and Uncertainty; Valuation; Chemical Industry

February 2017
Case

Eve Hall: The African American Investment Fund in Milwaukee

By: Steven Rogers and Alterrell Mills

The case highlights the role of minority chambers of commerce and the background of Eve Hall, a well-regarded multi-sector leader asked to revive Wisconsin's African-American chamber. This case study examines the lending options that a minority chamber of commerce... View Details

23 Apr 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, April 23, 2019

https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=55999 forthcoming Journal of Accounting Research The Role of Gatekeepers in Capital Markets By: Srinivasan, Suraj, and Sugata Roychowdhury Abstract—Gatekeepers in View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

July 1993 (Revised November 1993)
Case

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development: Marketing Strategy for the Debut Bond Offering

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the first supranational financial institution of the post-Cold War era, is planning its debut in the international capital markets through a bond issuance of $500 million. The bank must determine its marketing... View Details

Keywords: Bonds; Marketing Strategy; Capital Markets; Banks and Banking; Banking Industry; Europe

December 2004 (Revised July 2008)
Case

Delaware Worldwide Corporation

By: Ronald W. Moore

Discusses the bankruptcy reorganization process, with an emphasis on valuation and capital structure. Serves as the basis for a bankruptcy reorganization game that has been used for many years in Creating Value Through Corporate Restructuring, a second-year finance... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Capital Structure; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Financial Strategy; Valuation

05 Nov 2021
Op-Ed

Is the Business World Finally Ready for the Wisdom of Shibusawa?

Eiichi Shibusawa continues to gain influence in Japan—even though he died almost a century ago. Japan’s government announced earlier this year that the 19th century business leader would be the face on 10,000 yen ($90) bank notes—the highest value denomination in... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones and Rei Morimoto; Financial Services; Retail

Rawi E. Abdelal

Rawi Abdelal is the Herbert F. Johnson Professor of International Management at Harvard Business School, the Emma Bloomberg Co-Chair of the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, and the European Faculty Chair of Harvard Business School’s Global... View Details

May 2020 (Revised July 2020)
Case

COVID-19: The Global Shutdown

By: Laura Alfaro and Sarah Jeong

In the first months of 2020, a pandemic overwhelmed the world. COVID-19, commonly known as the coronavirus, spread from China and created a severe public health emergency across countries. While an immediate fear of the disease’s impact on human life permeated society,... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Microeconomics; Macroeconomics; Financial Crisis; Economy; Economic Systems; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Economic Sectors; Health Pandemics

15 Oct 2019
News

Goldman Sachs’ $500 Million Bet on Small Businesses

April 2023
Case

Drive Capital: A New Road for Venture

By: Paul A. Gompers and Alicia Dadlani

Founded by two former Sequoia Capital partners, Columbus-Ohio-based Drive Capital’s mission was to build a world-class venture capital firm in the middle of the U.S., an area historically overlooked by VCs. Drive faced early challenges of attracting investors, sourcing... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Investment; Business Strategy; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; United States; Ohio