Publications

July 2013 (Revised November 2021)
Module Note

This module note introduces James March's concept of exploration and exploitation, and the management challenge of balancing the allocation of resources to the two activities in the firm. The note also touches on the O'Reilly and Tushman paper on the ambidextrous... View Details

March 1980 (Revised December 1995)
Case

American Chemical Corp.

By: William E. Fruhan Jr. and John P. Goldsberry III

A large chemical manufacturer divests a plant that is acquired by a small specialty chemicals manufacturer. The acquisition decision is viewed from the vantage point of the small specialty chemicals manufacturer. View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Chemicals; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Decision Making; Manufacturing Industry; Chemical Industry

March 2002 (Revised June 2005)
Case

AOL Time Warner, Inc.

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Erin Sullivan

AOL Time Warner, which has been billed as the "first fully integrated media and communications company of the Internet Century," raises the fundamental question of how value will be created and captured by the merger of AOL and Time Warner. This case describes just how... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Internet and the Web; Value Creation; Organizational Culture; Consolidation; Change Management; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United States

July 2012 (Revised April 2013)
Case

Peter Jepsen

By: Howard H. Stevenson, Michael J. Roberts and James M. Sharpe

About to break bank covenants, Peter Jepsen has to deal with a contentious prior owner, improve profitability and staff appropriately all while maintaining credibility with his investors, in the furniture hardware company he has owned for less than a year. View Details

10 Jun 2015
News

M&A boom a sign of the top?

Web

Introduction - Railroads and the Transformation of Capitalism | Harvard Business School

Railroads Finance Management Business Analysts Mass Distribution Mergers & Syndicates Research Links Introduction More than 240,000 miles of railroad track laid down in the United States from the mid-to-late 1800s connected vast regions... View Details

February 2000 (Revised April 2004)
Case

Butler Capital Partners and Autodistribution: Putting Private Equity to Work in France

Describes a proposed buyout transaction of Autodistribution, an entrepreneurial firm that is the leading car-parts distributor in France. The deal became feasible because of a failed takeover battle for Autodistribution's parent company. Private equity investor Butler... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Leveraged Buyouts; Valuation; Executive Compensation; Entrepreneurship; Distribution Industry; Auto Industry; France

January 2017
Supplement

Bayer AG: Bidding to Win Merck's OTC Business

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Marc Baaij and Arjen Mulder

Keywords: Acquisition; Bidding Strategy; Valuing Synergies; Negotiations; Corporate Strategy; Business Unit Strategy; Bidding Process; Discounted Cash Flow; Cross-border M＆A; Tax Shields; Valuation; Competitive Strategy; Auctions; Germany; United States; United Kingdom

November 2005 (Revised October 2012)
Case

The MCI Takeover Battle: Verizon versus Qwest

By: Malcolm P. Baker and James Quinn

MCI's board of directors is considering competing bids from Verizon and Qwest. Qwest, a smaller company with a weaker balance sheet, is offering almost a billion dollars more. But Verizon, one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world, has a history of... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Decision Choices and Conditions; Capital Markets; Financial Strategy; Governing and Advisory Boards; Valuation; Telecommunications Industry; United States

November 2016 (Revised December 2016)
Module Note

Strategy Execution Module 7: Designing Asset Allocation Systems

By: Robert Simons

This module reading provides tools and analyses for acquiring and allocating resources. The module begins by reviewing the importance of setting strategic boundaries as a basis for asset acquisitions. Next, a distinction is made between new assets acquired to meet... View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Implementing Strategy; Execution; Asset Allocation Systems; Payback; Discounted Cash Flow; Internal Rate Of Return; Strategic Investments; Analyzing Acquisitions; Strategy; Capital Budgeting

May 1994 (Revised May 1997)
Case

Nelson Paper Products, Inc.

By: W. Carl Kester

A comprehensive review case that entails both investment and financing decisions. Students must value an acquisitions opportunity and determine how Nelson Paper ought to finance both the acquisition and its regular capital expenditures program. View Details

Keywords: Cash Flow; Financing and Loans; Investment; Acquisition; Financial Strategy

November 2008 (Revised August 2010)
Case

Whole Foods Acquires Wild Oats (A)

Examines the implications of Whole Foods' CEO's anonymous message board postings including its potential impact on the company's proposed merger with Wild Oats. View Details

Keywords: Forms of Communication; Acquisition; Communication Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

15 Aug 2016
Research & Ideas

Black Swans and Big Trends Can Ruin Anyone's Internet Prediction

a handful of internet startups were acquired by big incumbents during 2001: HotJobs by Yahoo, MP3.Com by Universal, and Peapod by Ahold. The pace of acquisitions didn’t really pick up until 2004. If you read... View Details

Keywords: by Thomas R. Eisenmann; Technology

October 2000 (Revised November 2000)
Case

Harmonized Savings Plan at BP Amoco, The

By: Luis M. Viceira

On August 11, 1998, United States' Amoco Corp. (NYSE: AR) and the British Petroleum Co. (BP) p.l.c. (NYSE: BP) announced the BPC merger with Amoco. This deal was the largest industrial merger to date, and created the world's third-largest oil company, BP (NYSE: BP).... View Details

Keywords: Financial Strategy; Mergers and Acquisitions; Compensation and Benefits; Energy Industry; North and Central America

Web

Kress Collection of Business and Economics Graphic Materials | Baker Library

Kress Collection of Business and Economics Graphic Materials [The Fight of the Money-Bags and the Coffers], 1558? Kress Collection of Business and Economics Graphic Materials.... View Details

Web

Field Course: Value Creation in Small and Medium Firms - Course Catalog

take VCSME together with the field course Entrepreneurship through Acquisition (EtA). Career Focus: This course is geared towards students interested in Entrepreneurship through Acquisition including Search... View Details

December 1998 (Revised September 1999)
Case

Novartis: Betting on Life Sciences

By: Ray A. Goldberg, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Srinivas Sunder

The merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz produced genomic-based synergies for health care, agribusiness, and nutritional supplements. How to build on the strength of the individual divisions and provide synergies that would continue Novartis' leadership role is the question... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Divisions; Health Care and Treatment; Leadership; Product Positioning; Science-Based Business; Corporate Strategy; Pharmaceutical Industry

December 2002
Article

Knowledge Seeking and Location Choice of Foreign Direct Investment in the United States

By: Juan Alcacer and Wilbur Chung

To what extent do firms go abroad to access technology available in other locations? This paper examines whether and when state technical capabilities attract foreign investment in manufacturing from 1987-1993. We find that on average state R&D intensity does not... View Details

Keywords: Knowledge Acquisition; Foreign Direct Investment; Research and Development; Information Technology; Production; Geographic Location; United States