Publications

2008
Working Paper

Structural Closure and Exposure: Market Reactions to Announcements of Acquisitions and Divestitures

By: Mikolaj Jan Piskorski and Nitin Nohria

This paper develops an exchange-network perspective on corporate diversification and proposes two measures of corporate scope: structural closure and structural exposure. Structural closure focuses on exchanges of goods and services inside the firm... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Market Transactions; Diversification; Boundaries; Valuation

November 2002 (Revised March 2007)
Case

Keane's Acquisition of Metro Information Services (A)

By: Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez

On August 21, 2001, Keane, Inc. announced the acquisition of Metro Information Services, Inc. This case analyzes the challenges facing firms and examines transactions whose major source of value creation hinges on intangible assets (e.g., people or knowledge). View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Value Creation; Goodwill Accounting; Problems and Challenges; Information Technology Industry; Consulting Industry

November 1994 (Revised March 2001)
Case

Security Plus, Inc.

By: David F. Hawkins and Norman Bartczak

A company acquires an alarm system company and converts its customers from operating to sale-type leases. View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Leasing; Growth and Development Strategy; Service Industry

March 2009 (Revised January 2010)
Supplement

The Walt Disney Company and Pixar Inc.: To Acquire or Not to Acquire? An Update

By: Juan Alcacer, David J. Collis and Mary Furey

This four-page update to the case, "The Walt Disney Company and Pixar Inc.: To Acquire or Not to Acquire?" details the Walt Disney Company's acquisition of Pixar, including deal terms, executive appointments, and operating guidelines for the two studios. View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Managerial Roles; Negotiation Deal; Operations; Motion Pictures and Video Industry

March 2005 (Revised January 2009)
Case

Wabash Music, Inc.

By: Timothy A. Luehrman

Wabash Music, Inc. is contemplating an acquisition outside its core music business as a way of diversifying and developing cash for unexpected commercial success. View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Music Entertainment; Cash; Diversification

January 1997
Case

Dr. Sergio Ceccuzzi and SMI: Negotiating Cross-Border Acquisitions in Europe (A)

By: James K. Sebenius

Over several years, Societa Metallurgica Italiana SpA (SMI), a small Italian copper processing firm, successfully completed a number of challenging acquisitions. This case explores SMI's negotiation strategies and tactics, concentrating especially on its acquisition of... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Negotiation; Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; France; Italy

Profile

Shaila Ittycheria

core set of skills in finance," says Shaila, "but became more intrigued by the business groups' strategy teams." She joined the Online Services Group to work on acquisitions strategies. By the time she left, Shaila was a View Details

Fast Answer

Corporate Strategy Course - Project Resources

style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(51, 122, 183); text-decoration-line: none;">International Directory of Company Histories Histories include company development and background; merger and acquisition history; impact of sales and... View Details

2009
Simulation

Finance Simulation: M&A in Wine Country (Facilitator's Guide)

By: Timothy A. Luehrman, W. Carl Kester and Heide Diener Abelli

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Negotiation; Valuation; Value Creation; Food and Beverage Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

May 2000 (Revised August 2001)
Case

Telecom Italia Takeover (A)

By: Michael D. Watkins, James K. Sebenius and Ann Leamon

After two months at the helm of Telecom Italia, Franco Bernabe is confronted by a hostile takeover bid from a much smaller rival. He has a few days in which to maneuver. The case describes the background of Italian telecoms and of the bid itself. Also presents the... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Process; Mergers and Acquisitions; Leadership Style; Telecommunications Industry; Italy

28 Sep 2010
First Look

First Look: September 28, 2010

Organization 28, no. 4 (2010) Abstract In a repeated game setting of a vertically related industry, we study the collusive effects of vertical mergers. We show that any vertical merger facilitates upstream collusion, no matter how large... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Dec 1999
News

Hawes Family Funds New Classroom Building

with a recruiter in an HBS corridor in 1969 led Hawes to a small Connecticut company that focused on insurance company mergers and acquisitions. In 1972, he ventured out on his own and founded Insurance Investment Associates, which soon... View Details

13 Nov 2020
News

Insatiably Curious

experience was exactly what she needed. “I was drinking from the fire hose,” she says. “At MIT, I learned how to problem solve. At HBS, I got a framework that allowed me to see the bigger picture.” The School also facilitated her career transition—from technology to... View Details

30 May 2019
Working Paper Summaries

US Antitrust Law and Policy in Historical Perspective

Keywords: by Laura Phillips Sawyer; Education

August 1997 (Revised February 1999)
Case

Argentina's YPF Sociedad Anonima (D): The International Platform

By: Michael Y. Yoshino and Carin-Isabel Knoop

In March 1995, YPF (the former Argentine state-owned oil and gas utility, privatized in late 1993) acquired the Dallas-based Maxus Energy Corp., one of the world's largest independent oil and gas exploration companies. YPF's first acquisition is nearly bankrupt, with... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Globalization; Borrowing and Debt; Privatization; Managerial Roles; Energy Industry; Argentina; Texas

21 Nov 2005
Research & Ideas

The Geography of Corporate Giving

will illustrate the need to geographically diversify social spending. I want to point out also that this may have social implications that have not yet been systematically explored. Given the continuing trends in large-scale mergers and... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

01 Sep 2015
News

Case Study: Golden Ticket

other gate-related event services. The company—which formed in late 2014 in a merger of a ticket-selling operation and a youth sports–focused custom commemoratives business—currently works with about two dozen schools in California, has... View Details

May 2017
Case

Cambridge Franchise Partners

By: Richard Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

Two partners commence a rollup in the quick-service restaurant segment. They focus on operating improvements and spinning-off real estate. View Details

Keywords: Real Estate; Mergers and Acquisitions; Operations; Performance Improvement; Property; Management