Publications

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October 1993 (Revised February 1995)
Case

MCI Vision (A) (Condensed)

By: Frank V. Cespedes

Concerns the development, introduction, and first-year sales performance of Vision, a telecommunications service aimed at small- and medium-sized businesses. Introduced in 1990, Vision surpassed goals in that year, but was significantly below target in the first... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Cost vs Benefits; Decision Choices and Conditions; Goals and Objectives; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Marketing Strategy; Product; Sales; Competitive Strategy; Valuation

May 2002 (Revised May 2003)
Exercise

Endeca Negotiation, The: Charlie Yie

By: G. Felda Hardymon, Josh Lerner and Ann Leamon

Students play the role of Charlie Yie, a venture capitalist considering an investment in a venture-backed enterprise software company. In the challenging financing climate of the Fall of 2001, he is trying to decide what terms to offer the company as an outside... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Process; Negotiation Offer; Management Teams; Venture Capital; Valuation; Software; Information Technology Industry; Web Services Industry

December 1994 (Revised December 1995)
Case

The JKJ Pension Fund

By: William J. Poorvu and John H. Vogel Jr.

The JKJ pension fund currently has $187 million invested in 14 properties. Sarah Griffin, the portfolio manager for real estate, needs to value each of the properties and recommend which ones should be sold and which ones to hold. She further needs to recommend... View Details

Keywords: Property; Investment Portfolio; Valuation; Investment Funds; Financial Management; Real Estate Industry; Financial Services Industry

February 2002
Article

Market Timing and Capital Structure

By: Malcolm Baker and Jeffrey Wurgler

It is well known that firms tend to raise equity when their market values are high relative to book and past market values. We document that the resulting effects on capital structure are very persistent. As a consequence, current capital structure is strongly related... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Equity; Capital Structure; Theory; Market Timing; Financial Markets

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October 1987 (Revised January 1989)
Background Note

Purchasing a Business: The Search Process

Describes the steps necessary to purchase a small to medium size company. Provides an eight-part analytical framework. Issues covered in the framework include the following: the self-assessment, deal criteria, deal sources, resources necessary to purchase a business,... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Framework; Resource Allocation; Negotiation Deal; Business Processes; Valuation

October 1990
Case

Parenting Magazine

By: William A. Sahlman

Describes a set of decisions confronting Robin Wolaner, who is negotiating with representatives of Time Inc. about investing in a project to launch a new magazine called Parenting. The negotiations have reached an impasse. Among the issues to be considered are the... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Negotiation; Negotiation Deal; Valuation; Venture Capital; Financing and Loans; Outcome or Result; Risk and Uncertainty; Projects; Journals and Magazines; Journalism and News Industry; Publishing Industry

November 2011
Case

Pacific Grove Spice Company

By: William E. Fruhan and Craig Stephenson

Pacific Grove Spice Company is a profitable, rapidly growing manufacturer, marketer, and distributor of quality spices and seasonings. The company's business model requires significant investment in accounts receivable, inventory, and fixed assets to support sales.... View Details

Keywords: Capital Expenditures; Investments; Acquisitions; Securities Analysis; Debt Securities; Opportunities; Cost of Capital; Valuation; Investment; Capital Budgeting; Business Model; Cash Flow; Financing and Loans; Acquisition; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

December 2008
Teaching Note

LinkedIn Corp., 2008 (TN)

By: David B. Yoffie

Teaching Note for [709426]. View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Social and Collaborative Networks; Rank and Position; Job Search; Revenue; Competition; Valuation; Financing and Loans; Mergers and Acquisitions

February 2017 (Revised June 2017)
Case

ExxonMobil: Business as Usual? (A)

By: George Serafeim, Shiva Rajgopal and David Freiberg

Climate change was becoming an important societal and business issue as more governments were introducing climate change related regulations and investors became increasibly worried about stranded assets within oil and gas firms. In September 2016, the U.S. Securities... View Details

Keywords: Oil ＆ Gas; Oil Prices; Oil Companies; Asset Impairment; Predictive Analytics; Sustainability; Environmental Impact; Innovation; Disclosure; Accounting; Valuation; Climate Change; Renewable Energy; Environmental Sustainability; Financial Reporting; Energy Industry

23 Nov 1999
Research & Ideas

The Future of the Venture Capital Cycle

with a rapid increase in capital commitments have led to less restrictive partnership agreements, large investments in portfolio firms, and higher valuations for those investments. These patterns have led many practitioners to conclude... View Details

Keywords: by Paul A. Gompers & Josh Lerner; Financial Services

06 Apr 2010
First Look

First Look: April 6

credit. In return, the investors would receive a large share of Shurgard's equity and control of its board, which could force a public offering in less than two years. The decision focuses on whether Shurgard Europe should accept the conditions and View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

16 Jul 2013
First Look

First Look: July 16

The Dynamic Effects of Bundling as a Product Strategy By: Derdenger, Timothy, and Vineet Kumar Abstract—Several key questions in bundling have not been empirically examined: Is mixed bundling more effective than pure bundling or pure components? Does correlation in... View Details

Keywords: Anna Secino

20 Feb 2008
First Look

First Look: February 20, 2008

and Jeffrey Wurgler Abstract Abstract We propose and test a catering theory of nominal stock prices. The theory predicts that when investors place higher valuations on low-price firms, managers will maintain share prices at lower levels,... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

June 2016 (Revised May 2017)
Case

FANUC Corporation: Reassessing the Firm's Governance and Financial Policies

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Nobuo Sato and Akiko Kanno

In February 2015, Daniel Loeb (a U.S.–based activist investor) announced his firm had a large investment in FANUC Corporation, a leading producer of industrial robots and software for machine tools. Loeb was demanding that the Japanese firm change its financial and... View Details

Keywords: Hedge Funds; Economic Policy; Investments; Government Policy; Deregulation; Financial Management; Valuation; Investment Funds; Policy; Corporate Governance; Macroeconomics; Investment Activism; Change Management; Financial Strategy; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Japan; United States

23 Apr 2013
First Look

First Look: April 23

and prices as a function of the consumer population's valuation for the service and show that competition has three main effects on the marketplace. First, competition drives the provision of services with a low level of disclosure.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

10 May 2011
First Look

First Look: May 10

reflect fundamental values in the current environment. After announcing the alternative valuation methodology in September 2009, he must convince industry participants—ship owners, appraisers, and bankers—to adopt the new View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

April 1996 (Revised May 1997)
Case

Netscape's Initial Public Offering

By: W. Carl Kester and Kendall Backstrand

In August 1995, Netscape's board of directors was confronted with a decision about what price to offer the company's shares in its initial public offering (IPO). Preliminary demand for shares was high, but the company had not generated any positive earnings at the time... View Details

Keywords: Initial Public Offering; Information Technology; Problems and Challenges; Valuation; Governing and Advisory Boards; Information Technology Industry

February 1996
Case

USX Corporation

By: Stuart C. Gilson and Jeremy Cott

A large diversified steel and energy firm is pressured by a corporate raider to spin off its steel business in order to increase its stock price. As an alternative to the spinoff, management proposes replacing the company's common stock with two new classes of... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Stocks; Valuation; Financial Institutions; Cash Flow

January 1994
Case

National Convenience Stores, Inc.

By: Steven R. Fenster, Stuart C. Gilson and Roy Burstin

National Convenience Stores seeks to emerge from Chapter 11. Central to the nature of the reorganization plan is the company's determining enterprise value. The various constituencies (secured debt, unsecured debt, etc.) will seek to find an enterprise value that... View Details

Keywords: Capital Structure; Valuation; Restructuring; Strategic Planning; Borrowing and Debt; Food and Beverage Industry; Texas