Publications

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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June 2012
Technical Note

Foreign vs. Local Funds: A Note on the Dynamics of the Private Equity Industry in China

By: Li Jin and Benjamin Y. Lee

Keywords: Fundraising; Investment Management; Foreign Funds; Portfolio Management; Local Funds; Private Equity; Valuation; Investment Portfolio; China

June 2012 (Revised October 2018)
Case

Home Nursing of North Carolina

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

Ari Medoff's (HBS '11) goal was to control his own professional destiny by owning his own company. His search identified a suitable acquisition in Home Nursing of North Carolina, and he had negotiated a purchase price of $3.5 million, or 4.2x trailing EBITDA. Medoff... View Details

Keywords: Search Funds; Small Companies; Acquisitions; Negotiation; Medical Services; Negotiation Process; Valuation; Investment; Acquisition; Health Industry

March 2018 (Revised May 2018)
Supplement

Celgene (B)

By: Malcolm Baker and Emily McComb

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Life Sciences; Biotechnology; Public Market Investing; Celgene; Revlimid; Hedge Fund; Growth Stocks; Valuation; Investment; Decision Choices and Conditions; Analysis; Biotechnology Industry

August 2017 (Revised January 2020)
Case

Berkshire Partners: Party City

By: Victoria Ivashina and Jeffrey Boyar

In 2005, Berkshire Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm specializing in growth equity, was one year into their ownership of Amscan, the market leader of designed, manufactured, and distributed decorated party goods and accessories. However, Amscan's primary... View Details

Keywords: Turnaround; Fundraising; Cross-fund Investment; Private Equity; Vertical Integration; Governance; Valuation; Manufacturing Industry; Retail Industry; United States

December 2003 (Revised February 2005)
Case

HiJinx, Inc.

HiJinx is formulating its financial policy after a failed IPO. Options include landlord financing of its expansion, though with the knowledge that its real estate strategy may be compromised. View Details

Keywords: Initial Public Offering; Expansion; Valuation; Financial Strategy

March 2001 (Revised November 2001)
Case

Security Factors

By: Jay O. Light

A very successful entrepreneur who has built a factoring business in Atlanta is trying to decide how to sell this business. The issues are how to value the company and the strategy of selling. View Details

Keywords: Business Exit or Shutdown; Entrepreneurship; Negotiation; Strategy; Valuation; Atlanta

Web

Launching Global Ventures - Course Catalog

entrepreneurial success. Funding, Growth and Exits: Investigate how global ventures attract capital, manage investor relationships across cultural divides, and execute successful exit strategies. Topics include accelerator models for international startups, expansion... View Details

January 1994 (Revised July 2000)
Exercise

Walt Disney Company's Sleeping Beauty Bonds--Duration Analysis

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin

Walt Disney Co. issues a 100-year bond. This case describes the terms of the bond and immediate capital market reaction. View Details

Keywords: Capital Markets; Bonds; Valuation; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

February 2002 (Revised February 2004)
Case

Brazos Partners: the CoMark LBO

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

The partners of a new midmarket buyout fund are working on a buyout of a closely held modular building company. Although originally structured as a stock deal, they have realized that an asset deal would be preferable from their point of view and are trying to... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Negotiation Deal; Valuation

March 1998
Case

Value Creation: Abridged

By: George P. Baker III, Michael C. Jensen, Karen Wruck and Perry Fagan

Asks students to value a strategic plan while considering the capital investment required to complete the plan. Cummins Engine is used as an example. View Details

Keywords: Investment; Strategic Planning; Valuation; Value Creation

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01 Mar 2004
News

Reforming Company Boards

straight line, it will reduce the huge valuation swings that we’ve seen in the last three years. Greater transparency does not mean that all issues can or should be disclosed — otherwise a company could forfeit competitive advantage. Is a... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Services

June 1991 (Revised July 1993)
Case

Sunbeam Oster Co., Inc.

By: Steven R. Fenster

Japonica Partners, an investment firm, is trying to determine whether there is any unseen value in Sunbeam Oster Co., Inc., a Chapter 11 debtor. If there is, Japonica must consider the means by which they can acquire control of a company in Chapter 11. View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Acquisition; Financial Services Industry

October 2023
Case

Lasell University in 2023: Securing the Future

By: John Jong-Hyun Kim and Mary C. Sauer

In a groundbreaking move on September 20, 2022, Lasell University's President, Michael B. Alexander, announced an extraordinary 33% reduction in tuition, room, board, and fees, signaling a pivotal shift in higher education. Situated in an affluent Boston suburb,... View Details

Keywords: Higher Education; Cost; Valuation; Competitive Advantage; Education Industry; United States; Massachusetts

March 2018 (Revised May 2018)
Case

Celgene

By: Malcolm Baker and Emily McComb

In February 2011, Adam Koppel, a managing director at Brookside Capital, the public equity arm of Bain Capital, must decide whether to increase or exit the firm’s position in Celgene Corporation. News has emerged that raises potential safety concerns associated with... View Details

Keywords: Life Sciences; Biotechnology; Public Market Investing; Celgene; Revlimid; Hedge Fund; Growth Stocks; Valuation; Investment; Decision Choices and Conditions; Analysis; Biotechnology Industry

January 2013 (Revised March 2017)
Teaching Note

Luotang Power: Variances Explained (Brief Case)

By: Robert Simons and Craig Chapman

The primary objective is to explore the concepts of variance analysis in performance from one year to the next and the predictability of contracting counterparts to extract value from contract positions where they can. The general manager of a coal-fired power plant... View Details

Keywords: Variance Analysis; Strategy And Execution; Profitability Analysis; Management Control Systems; Contracts; Valuation; Energy Generation; Accounting; Performance Evaluation; China

July 2012
Case

Transatlantic Holdings, Inc. - The Belle of the Ball

By: Clayton S. Rose and Aldo Sesia

In November of 2011 Transatlantic Holdings, Inc., a global property and casualty reinsurance company, announced it had agreed to sell itself to Alleghany Corporation, ending "the most frenzied takeover battle" of 2011, which involved competitors, Warren Buffett's... View Details

Keywords: Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Finance; Insurance And Reinsurance; Governance; Insurance; Mergers and Acquisitions; Strategy; Valuation; Financial Services Industry; Insurance Industry; United States; Bermuda; Switzerland