Publications

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

Find at Harvard

04 Sep 2019
News

In My Humble Opinion: Status Update

celebrities, developers, and news publishers. She also leads mergers and acquisitions. “Facebook’s mission is about giving people the power to build community and bring the world closer together,” she says. “In the short time I’ve been in... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna

26 May 2016
News

W. James McNerney Jr., MBA 1975

find its way forward after a series of mergers and acquisitions, high-profile ethical missteps, and some tough business challenges. His job was to build on strengths, connecting what was good with what could be better. “Boeing had... View Details

Keywords: Susan Young; Air Transportation; Transportation

08 Nov 2011
First Look

First Look: Nov. 8

market, with only a modest net impact on employment. The creative destruction response mainly involves a more rapid reallocation of jobs across establishments within target firms. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/12-033.pdf The Impact of Horizontal... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

March 2022
Case

Shanghai Pudong Science and Technology Investment Co., Ltd.: December 2014

By: Josh Lerner, Luyang Zhang, Xinlai Tong and Yue Kong

In early December 2014, the senior team of Pudong Science and Technology Investment (hereafter, Pudong S&T) gathered in the offices of their chairman, Dr. Xudong Zhu. Before completing its cross-border acquisition of Montage Technology, Pudong S&T—wholly owned by the... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Ownership Stake; Risk Management; Ownership Type; China

2010
Supplement

Berkshire Partners: Bidding for Carter's, Spreadsheet Supplement

By: Malcolm Baker and James Quinn

Keywords: Auctions; Valuation; Leveraged Buyouts; Mergers and Acquisitions; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Retail Industry; Massachusetts

Read Now

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

03 Mar 2003
What Do You Think?

Are Conditions Right for the Next Accounting Scandal?

have been more active in reviewing the mergers of the major firms as the industry consolidated over the last fifteen years." Several responses hinted at the need for audit committees to be more adventurous in their selection of... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Accounting; Financial Services

25 Feb 2002
Research & Ideas

MNCs in Asia: Investing in the Future

said Howson, who focuses on mergers and acquisitions, project finance, and capital markets in his firm's Beijing office. The creation of domestic capital markets, increasing access to foreign capital, legal changes in corporate... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

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

January 2025
Supplement

Creating Value by Splitting Aster (B): Can One Minus One Equal Two?

By: V.G. Narayanan and Kairavi Dey

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Corporate Accountability; Leadership; Change Management; Mergers and Acquisitions; Health Industry; Asia; India; Middle East; United Arab Emirates

May 2022
Case

What to Propose?

By: David G. Fubini

Two audit and financial services firms, one of which your consulting firm has supported extensively, have merged to create one of the largest audit firms in the world. The audit firm's Executive Team has requested proposals aimed at re-evaluating their internal... View Details

Keywords: Consulting; Professional Services; Governance; Presentations; Organizational Structure; Transition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Consulting Industry

January 2022 (Revised April 2025)
Case

Steem Versus Hive: Testing Blockchain Governance

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Shweta Bagai

This case examines a pivotal governance conflict that occurred in 2020 when Justin Sun, founder of the TRON blockchain, acquired Steemit Inc., the company behind a popular social media platform operating on the Steem blockchain. Steem, launched in 2016 by Daniel... View Details

Keywords: Blockchain; Mergers and Acquisitions; Values and Beliefs; Corporate Governance; Organizational Culture; Technology Industry

June 2021
Technical Note

SPAC Space

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

In 2020, over half of all initial public offerings (IPOs) in the United States were special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), blank-check companies that typically had two years to find a business to take public, usually through a reverse merger. Together, 248... View Details

Keywords: Special Purpose Acquisition Companies; SPACs; Mergers and Acquisitions; Going Public; Initial Public Offering; Investment; Strategy

February 2018 (Revised October 2019)
Case

Steinhoff International and the Stock Exchange

By: Siko Sikochi and Austin Lim

Nicky Newton-King, the Chief Executive Officer of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), was put in a difficult position. A scandal had broken out at Steinhoff, a JSE-listed company, under her watch and there were calls to suspend listing of the company securities from... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Financial Reporting; Mergers and Acquisitions; Financial Markets; Corporate Governance; Retail Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Distribution Industry; Africa; South Africa