Publications

January 2009 (Revised February 2014)
Case

Mylan Lab's Proposed Merger with King Pharmaceutical (Abridged)

By: Lucy White

Perry Capital owns shares in King and, to facilitate approval of the merger, buys shares in Mylan, whilst hedging out its economic exposure to Mylan's share price using derivatives. The price at which Mylan proposes to merge with King is generous to King shareholders,... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Voting; Ethics; Stock Shares; Investment; Lawsuits and Litigation; Ownership Stake

20 Jan 2015
First Look

First Look: January 20

over the first thirty-four years of the FASB (1973-2006). We examine the influence of auditors' lobbying incentives arising from three basic factors: managing expected litigation and regulatory costs; catering to clients' preferences for... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

October 2018 (Revised October 2019)
Case

Rio Tinto vs. the Securities and Exchange Commission

By: Aiyesha Dey, Krishna G. Palepu and Sarah Gulick

June 2024
Case

Caesars Entertainment: Governance on the Road to Bankruptcy

By: Kristin Mugford

Caesars Entertainment was a large casino operator in the United States that had been purchased in a 2008 leveraged buyout by Apollo and TPG. In January 2015, Caesars Entertainment Operating Company (CEOC), its largest subsidiary, filed for Chapter 11. This set up a... View Details

Keywords: Gaming; Chapter 11; Fraudulent Conveyance; Apollo; TPG; Bankruptcy; Leveraged Buyouts; Restructuring; Capital Structure; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Private Equity; Financial Management; Lawsuits and Litigation; Negotiation; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Borrowing and Debt; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Las Vegas

25 Jul 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas: July 25, 2017

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... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

02 Nov 2010
First Look

First Look: November 2, 2010

211-033 This case introduces students to the fundamental issues that managers face when deciding what international trade finance terms to use when transacting with other firms. In late 2009, Pam Arnold, the head of global credit at Belco... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

26 Jun 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, June 26, 2018

https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=54634 forthcoming Journal of Finance Limited Investment Capital and Credit Spreads By: Siriwardane, Emil N. Abstract—Using proprietary credit default swap (CDS) data, I investigate how... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

03 Apr 2007
First Look

First Look: April 3, 2007

another EMR company offered eCW the chance to grow quickly in an industry that is estimated to take in more than $40 billion in overall revenues in 2007. But this acquisition would require outside financing of some sort. Was this the... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

July 2002 (Revised August 2003)
Case

Unilever Superannuation Fund vs. Merrill Lynch, The

By: Andre F. Perold and Joshua Musher

In 2001, the Unilever Superannuation Fund sued Merrill Lynch for damages of 130 million British pounds. Over the period 1977 to 1998, the Unilever Fund had significantly underperformed the benchmark, and its trustees contended that the poor returns resulted from... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Lawsuits and Litigation; Performance Evaluation; Agreements and Arrangements; Customer Relationship Management; Risk and Uncertainty; Asset Management; Risk Management; Legal Liability; Financial Services Industry; United Kingdom

10 Nov 2009
First Look

First Look: Nov. 10

insider stock purchases are significantly greater after SOX than before. Abnormal trading volumes around filings of insider sales are also greater post-SOX on average, but stock returns are not more negative. However, once controlling for pre-planned transactions,... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

18 Sep 2007
First Look

First Look: September 18, 2007

2006. Examines the possible impact that public litigation will have on the two firms. The impact of the litigation will be different for each firm because they are at dissimilar development stages and plan... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

February 2010 (Revised June 2014)
Supplement

CityCenter (C): Turmoil and Choices

By: John D. Macomber

"CityCenter (C)" follows the (A) and (B) cases chronologically. The (C) case explores the decisions facing MGM MIRAGE following a lawsuit by partner Dubai World and suspension of Dubai World's cash contributions to the project in early 2009. Issues include the... View Details

Keywords: Lawsuits and Litigation; Private Equity; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Decisions; Partners and Partnerships; Conflict and Resolution; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Nevada

January 2002
Case

Price-Fixing Vignettes

By: Guhan Subramanian and Michelle Kalka

This case escribes the antitrust prosecutions in the United States and abroad of the international bulk vitamins cartel. Both the civil and criminal fines were historically high, and it was the first time the United States prosecuted foreign nationals for U.S. criminal... View Details

Keywords: Price; Lawsuits and Litigation; Governance Compliance; Auctions; Laws and Statutes; Monopoly; Globalized Markets and Industries; Retail Industry; Health Industry; United States

20 Feb 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, February 20, 2018

large-scale corporations and free competition, American Fair Trade argues that trade associations of independent proprietors lobbied and litigated to reshape competition policy to their benefit. At the turn of the 20th century, this... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 2008 (Revised October 2008)
Case

Shareholder Activists at Friendly Ice Cream (A1)

By: Fabrizio Ferri, V.G. Narayanan and James Weber

Two activist investors, one a founder and one a hedge fund manager, seek to improve board oversight at a chain restaurant company. Prestley Blake founded Friendly Ice Cream in 1935 with his brother, and the two created a chain of full-service restaurants. In 1979, they... View Details

Keywords: Investment Activism; Governing and Advisory Boards; Lawsuits and Litigation; Business or Company Management; Business and Shareholder Relations; Conflict of Interests; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

April 2008 (Revised September 2008)
Case

Shareholder Activists at Friendly Ice Cream (A)

By: Fabrizio Ferri, V.G. Narayanan and James Weber

Two activist investors, one a founder and one a hedge-fund manager, seek to improve board oversight at a chain restaurant company. Prestley Blake founded Friendly Ice Cream in 1935 with his brother, and the two created a chain of full-service restaurants. In 1979 they... View Details

Keywords: Investment Activism; Governing and Advisory Boards; Lawsuits and Litigation; Business or Company Management; Business and Shareholder Relations; Conflict of Interests; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

Article

Consequences of Financial Reporting Failure for Outside Directors: Evidence from Accounting Restatements and Audit Committee Members

By: Suraj Srinivasan

I use a sample of 409 companies that restated their earnings from 1997 to 2001 to examine penalties for outside directors, particularly audit committee members, when their companies experience accounting restatements. Penalties from lawsuits and Securities and Exchange... View Details

Keywords: Outcome or Result; Business Earnings; Financial Statements; Lawsuits and Litigation; Labor; Markets; Financial Reporting; Accounting Audits; Cost; Reputation

SSRN

Find at Harvard

December 2012 (Revised November 2014)
Case

W.R. Grace & Co.: Dealing with Asbestos Torts

By: Stuart C. Gilson and Sarah L. Abbott

A manufacturer of building products and specialty chemicals, W. R. Grace & Co. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2001 in response to a flood of lawsuits alleging that its products contained asbestos, and had caused hundreds of thousands of people to contract... View Details

Keywords: Bankruptcy Reorganization; Business Failures; Environmental Regulations; Class Action Lawsuits; Natural Environment; Valuation; Health Disorders; Capital Structure; Restructuring; Lawsuits and Litigation; Chemicals; Crisis Management; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Legal Liability; Construction Industry; Chemical Industry; United States