Publications

February 2017
Article

The Effect of Prohibiting Deal Protection on M&A Activity: Evidence from the United Kingdom

By: Fernán Restrepo and Guhan Subramanian

Since 2011, the UK has prohibited all deal protections—including termination fees—in M&A deals. Prior to 2011, the UK permitted termination fees up to 1% of deal value and there was no prohibition on other protection devices. We examine the effect of this regulatory... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; United Kingdom

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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

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

June 2009
Case

Manchester Products: A Brand Transition Challenge

By: John A. Quelch and Heather Beckham

In January of 2005, Manchester Products Inc., a longtime leader in office furniture that only recently entered into the home furniture market, acquired Paul Logan's Furniture Division (PLFD). The acquisition of PLFD made Manchester an instant market leader in household... View Details

Keywords: Acquisitions; Consumer Marketing; Brand Equity; Branding; Brands and Branding; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Mergers and Acquisitions; Retail Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States

September 2009
Teaching Note

"Lather, Rinse, Repeat": FeedBurner's Serial Founding Team (TN)

By: Noam T. Wasserman

Teaching Note for [809089]. View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Mergers and Acquisitions; Decision Making; Negotiation Deal

October 2006 (Revised April 2008)
Case

Ben Walter

By: Andre F. Perold and David S. Scharfstein

Ben Walter is thinking of purchasing Butler Lumber and needs to decide how he would run the business and how much to pay for it. View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Decision Choices and Conditions; Investment; Valuation

1993
Chapter

The Strategy of a Merger: Fleet and Bank of New England

By: D. B. Crane and J.C. Linder

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Strategy; Banks and Banking; Banking Industry; New England

06 Oct 2009
First Look

First Look: October 6

relative to financially under-developed ones. Mergers That Stick Authors:Rosabeth Moss Kanter Publication:Harvard Business Review 84, no. 10 (October 2009) An abstract is unavailable. Purchase the article:... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Fast Answer

Resources for Harvard Economics Students

deal database provides detailed information on new issues, mergers and acquisitions, syndicated loans, and more for the global financial marketplace. Which databases have download limits and why should I care? Bloomberg... View Details

01 Jun 2014
News

School Ties

from a cross-section of society. The group issued a plan that became the foundation for Delaware's winning entry for the Race to the Top program. Strategy implementation. Local business executives are lending their expertise to help educators complete a huge View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons; Elementary and Secondary Schools; Educational Services

10 Apr 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research, April 10, 2018

SolarCity In 2016, electric car manufacturer Tesla announced that it was making an offer to acquire solar panel manufacturer SolarCity in an all-stock offer worth $2.6 billion in Tesla stock. Tesla’s co-founder and CEO, Elon Musk, believed that the View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

August 2010 (Revised March 2012)
Supplement

The Dow Acquisition of Rohm and Haas (E)

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Melissa Barton

Dow completed the acquisition of Rohm and Haas and escaped a battle in a Delaware courtroom View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Legal Liability; Managerial Roles; Complexity

January 1988 (Revised January 1989)
Background Note

The Tax Aspects of Acquiring a Business

Describes the various tax laws that impact the purchase and sale of a business. View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Taxation; Laws and Statutes; Accounting Industry

September 2023 (Revised September 2024)
Case

IBJ, Inc. (A): Seeking Matrimony in Japan

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Akiko Saito

In March 2020, Shigeru Ishizaka, founder and CEO of IBJ, Inc., Japan's largest marriage matching service provider, faced a critical decision regarding the company’s planned ¥3.5 billion (US$32.8 million) acquisition of competitor ZWEI Co., Ltd. IBJ, founded in 2006,... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Risk and Uncertainty; Business Model; Corporate Strategy; Value

July 2021
Teaching Note

Playing the Field: Competing Bids for Anadarko Petroleum Corp.

By: Daniel Green, E. Scott Mayfield and Benjamin C. Esty

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 220-087. View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Bids and Bidding; Decision Making; Cost vs Benefits

March 2009
Background Note

Evaluating M&A Deals: Floors, Caps, and Collars

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin

As equity consideration has become more popular in acquisitions, so has the use of the "pricing-protection" mechanisms, such as floors, caps, and collars. These contractual devices provide insurance to the shareholders of the target and may protect the buyer as well.... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Equity; Price; Contracts; Business and Shareholder Relations

August 2002 (Revised May 2003)
Case

New Wachovia (B), The

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin and Jeremy Swinson

On August 3, 2001, after a hotly contested proxy fight, Wachovia Corp.'s shareholders voted to merge with First Union Corp. The managers of the two banks then turned to face the challenges of integrating the two organizations. Their task was to implement a "merger of... View Details

Keywords: Integration; Mergers and Acquisitions; Problems and Challenges; Banks and Banking; Banking Industry; North Carolina