Publications

February 2005
Case

Bayside Motion Group (A)

By: H. Kent Bowen and Bradley R. Staats

After purchasing a business and successfully growing it for 18 years, the sole owner is presented with an attractive acquisition offer from a Fortune 500 company. The company's future is bright, but is now the right time to sell? Can he create more value by waiting?... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Decisions; Entrepreneurship; Cash Flow; Private Equity; Financing and Loans; Growth Management; Success; Private Ownership

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Innovation, in cities and other contexts, often involves adaptation and repurposing, a program scaled to another place or a private sector tool tweaked for public use. But starting from scratch and doing something truly new can sometimes be the key to solving... View Details

December 2014 (Revised February 2017)
Case

Simplot Plant Sciences: Designing a Better Potato

By: Jose B. Alvarez and Mary Shelman

Privately held Simplot has developed a new genetically engineered potato that substantially reduces waste and does not turn brown after cutting. Unlike other GMOs, it does not contain foreign genes. The case describes the company's commercialization plans in light of... View Details

Keywords: GMO; Sustainability; Agribusiness; Biotechnology; Food And Environment; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Food; Disruptive Innovation; Technological Innovation; Marketing; Product Positioning; Genetics; Value Creation; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; United States

May–June 2023
Article

A New Approach to Building Your Personal Brand: How to Communicate Your Value

By: Jill Avery and Rachel Greenwald

For better or worse, in today’s world everyone is a brand. Whether you’re applying for a job, asking for a promotion, or writing a dating profile, your success will depend on getting others to recognize your value. So you need to get comfortable marketing... View Details

Keywords: Personal Brand; Influencer Marketing; Leadership Development; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Identity; Reputation; Competency and Skills

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May 2014
Case

WeaveTech: High Performance Change

By: Michael Beer and Paul Swiercz

WeaveTech, formerly Johnson-Ware, is a clothing company that produces jackets, coats, overalls, coveralls, and fire-resistant clothing for the military. A private equity firm renamed the company after it acquired Johnson-Ware several years ago. WeaveTech now faces a... View Details

February 2016 (Revised January 2017)
Case

Bidding for Finansbank

By: David Scharfstein and Esel Çekin

Because of the deepening Greek crisis, in October 2015, National Bank of Greece (NBG) was required to sell one of its most valuable assets, Finansbank, the eighth largest Turkish bank. There were three potential buyers: Garanti Bank, Turkey's second largest private... View Details

Keywords: Banking; Acquisitions; International Acquisition; Cross-border Investment; Bidding; Bidders; Regulations; ROE; Cost Synergies; Regional Growth; Emerging Market; Sales Process; Valuation; Mergers and Acquisitions; Banking Industry; Turkey; Europe

February 2006 (Revised June 2007)
Case

Brazos Partners and Cheddar's Inc.

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

Randall Fojtasek, a partner at Brazos Private Equity Partners, must decide whether to invest more money in Cheddar's restaurant chain, which the firm invested in 10 months earlier. The incremental investment would fund a real estate subsidiary that would own the... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Deal; Price; Partners and Partnerships; Management; Investment; Leadership; Business Subsidiaries; Stocks

June 2024
Supplement

Heritage Holding (B)

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

Pre-Abstract: Instructors should consider the timing of making videos available to students, as they may reveal key case details.

Abstract: The summer of 2022 marked a crucial period for Heritage Holding co-founders, Alex de Pfyffer and Ross Porter. The... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Small Business; Cost vs Benefits; Decisions; Business Education; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Business or Company Management; Problems and Challenges; Private Equity; Corporate Strategy; Business Model; North America

March 2008 (Revised June 2009)
Case

Actis: January 2008

By: Felda Hardymon, Josh Lerner and Ann Leamon

Paul Feltcher, the CEO of Actis, a leading private equity investor in emerging markets, is preparing for an executive retreat at which the management team will consider how best to position the firm for the future. Actis could move in a number of different directions... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Private Equity; Investment; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Teams; Emerging Markets; Organizational Change and Adaptation

August 2017 (Revised April 2024)
Case

Ardian: Portfolio Company Governance

By: Lynn S. Paine, Emer Moloney and Tonia Labruyere

Leaders of the mid-cap buyout group at Ardian, the Paris-based private equity firm led by Dominique Senequier, have been asked to review and assess the governance model the firm uses for majority-owned companies in its portfolio. The case describes the governance model... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Strategy; Decision Making; Private Equity

October 2013 (Revised November 2013)
Case

Blackstone and the Sale of Citigroup's Loan Portfolio

By: Victoria Ivashina and David Scharfstein

The credit boom that preceded the 2007-2009 financial crisis led to several lending practices that exposed banks to large risks. In particular, when the financial crisis unraveled, there were several billion dollars' worth of leveraged buyout (LBO) loans that were... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Private Equity; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Credit Derivatives and Swaps; Financial Markets; Investment; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry