Publications

2019
Chapter

This essay presents new data on appraisal litigation and appraisal outs. I find that appraisal claims have not meaningfully declined in 2016 and that perceived appraisal risk, as measured by the incidence of appraisal outs, has increased since the Dell appraisal in May... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Contracts; Negotiation Process

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August 2013 (Revised November 2013)
Case

Gordon Brothers: Collateralizing Corporate Loans by Brands

By: Paul Healy and Maria Loumioti

The case explores the collateralization of intellectual property in a loan agreement between a highly leveraged apparel company and a large US bank. Leveraging intangibles in the credit market is a new practice that has significantly grown over the past few years.... View Details

Keywords: Intangible Assets; Accounting; Valuation; Finance; Restructuring; United States

January 1998 (Revised June 1999)
Case

Chemdex.com

By: William A. Sahlman, Michael J. Roberts and Laurence E. Katz

An Internet start-up company is developing an online marketplace for specialty chemicals and reagents. David Perry has been named a runner-up in the 1st annual HBS Business Plan contest and now faces seed-stage financing questions--how much money to raise, at what... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Internet and the Web; Chemicals; Business Startups; Capital; Chemical Industry

01 Dec 1997
News

Merton's Economics Research Wins Nobel Prize

accomplishment from both sides of the Charles. "Robert Merton has been an innovative leader in the field of economic valuations and in improving the capacity to manage financial risk," said Harvard President Neil L. Rudenstine. "This is a... View Details

25 Aug 2022
News

Full Stream Ahead

Picasso you can’t put a price on these songs.” By 2016, when Sony purchased Jackson’s share of ATV, the figure had ballooned to a staggering $750 million. Music has been raking in top-dollar valuations ever since, in part because of the... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint; Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries; Arts, Entertainment

26 Mar 2025
Blog Post

How to Approach Your Equity Compensation

What is the vest schedule? Most new hire equity grants come with a four-year vest schedule, meaning that you can only earn your equity over time. But data also shows that most employees leave their companies after just two years. That may be worth broader... View Details

Web

Strategy for Entrepreneurs - Course Catalog

startup’s traction and business model into funding and valuation numbers. How to give other entrepreneurs effective feedback on their startup ideas. Write cogently, persuasively, and effectively. When to ignore and when to listen to... View Details

14 Nov 2007
First Look

First Look: November 14, 2007

on the Market's Valuation of R&D Capital Author:Michael D. Kimbrough Periodical:The Accounting Review 82, no. 5 (October 2007): 1195-1225 Abstract Statement of Financial Accounting Standards 141 (SFAS No. 141)'s requirement that an... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

23 Mar 2010
First Look

First Look: March 23

Cases & Course Materials The Congressional Oversight Panel's Valuation of the TARP Warrants (A) Carliss Y. BaldwinHarvard Business School Case 210-035 The Congressional Oversight Panel wants to value the warrants issued to the... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

28 Apr 2009
First Look

First Look: April 28, 2009

in Confluent. Initially very excited about the deal, Warden becomes concerned about Confluent's valuation and its ability to succeed as a business when he learns about restrictions placed upon Confluent by the licensing agreement. The... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

06 Dec 2016
First Look

December 6, 2016

uncertainty into the consumer's relative product valuations since she is unable to observe the entire catalog of products that the retailer will sell that season. Rationally acting consumers may respond to this additional uncertainty by... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

13 Jan 2015
First Look

First Look: January 13

115-013 Valuation Ratios in the Airline Industry, 2013 Examines factors underlying differences in valuation multiples (price-to-earnings and price-to-book) across four firms in the airline industry. Purchase... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

January 1989 (Revised October 1993)
Background Note

Note: Valuing a Business Acquisition Opportunity

By: William E. Fruhan Jr.

Describes how to value an acquisition opportunity as a capital budgeting problem. Cash flows are discounted at the cost of capital and debt is deducted to value the equity capital of the target company. A key contribution of the note is the discussion of five methods... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Acquisition; Opportunities

2024
Working Paper

Priceless: How to Create, Trade, and Protect What Matters Most

By: Debora L. Spar

This article explores the concept of the "sacred economy," a realm of human interactions and exchanges that transcends traditional market dynamics. It illustrates the emotional and relational aspects of human connections that cannot be quantified or traded like... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Relationships; Human Needs; Goods and Commodities

SSRN

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June 2017 (Revised November 2020)
Teaching Note

Tableau

By: Boris Vallee and Botir Kobilov

Teaching Note for HBS No. 216-045. View Details

Keywords: Hedge Fund; Long-short Equity; Growth Investing; Growth and Development Strategy; Investment; Valuation; Technology; Technology Industry; Waltham

2008
Working Paper

Some Neglected Axioms in Fair Division

By: John W. Pratt

Conditions one might impose on fair allocation procedures are introduced. Nondiscrimination requires that agents share an item in proportion to their entitlements if they receive nothing else. The "price" procedures of Pratt (2007), including the Nash... View Details

Keywords: Resource Allocation; Valuation; Price; Cost

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December 2008 (Revised July 2010)
Case

TravelCenters of America

By: Robin Greenwood, Daniel Jacob Goldberg and James Quinn

A New York-based hedge fund must decide whether to invest in TravelCenters of America (TA), a recent spin-off from a U.S.-based real estate investment trust. The case confronts students with the question: To what extent is this spin-off opportunity attractive from a... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Investment; Valuation; Real Estate Industry; Travel Industry; United States

February 2008
Teaching Note

Silic (TN) (A) and (B): Choosing Cost or Fair Value on Adoption of IFRS

By: David F. Hawkins, Edward J. Riedl, Vincent Dessain and Andrew Barron

Teaching Note for 108-030 and 108-031. View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; International Accounting; Cost; Valuation

August 2013
Case

HgCapital and the Visma Transaction (A)

By: Paul A. Gompers, Karol Misztal and Joris Van Gool

This case concerns the negotiations of a deal by HgCapital, a UK-based private equity firm, to buy Visma, ASA, a Norwegian software company. Visma has received an offer from Sage Group, a strategic acquirer. HgCapital must determine if it wants to bid and how to outbid... View Details

Keywords: Management Buyout; Deal Structuring; Negotiations; Private Equity; Finance; Valuation; Leveraged Buyouts; Negotiation Deal; Negotiation; Strategy; Europe