Publications

02 Feb 2016
First Look

February 2, 2016

detail on the design strategy for the Watson system. Purchase this case: https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/616025-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 616-027 Upwork: Reimagining the Future of Work Upwork, the world's largest freelance talent platform, was the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

11 Dec 2007
First Look

First Look: December 11, 2007

merger or acquisition is called "consideration." Consideration can be in the form of cash, shares, or a combination of the two. Lays out the basic mechanics of equity consideration. Derives formulas for the Deal NPV of an... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

28 Jun 2016
First Look

June 28, 2016

Canadian Pacific Railroad (CPR) has just made its third bid to acquire Norfolk Southern Corporation (NSC), one of the largest railroads in the United States. Having rejected the prior offers, NSC’s CEO James Squires and the NSC board must now value the current offer... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

January 2018
Case

Ak Gıda: IPO or Strategic Sale

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Eren Kuzucu

In 2015, Yıldiz Holding, one of the world’s largest producer of confections, biscuits and crackers, was at the end of its divestiture process from Ak Gida, one of the leading dairy companies in Turkey. The company had adopted a dual track process, pursuing an initial... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Private Sector; For-Profit Firms; Business Model; Business Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Growth and Development Strategy; Value Creation; Decision Making; Growth Management; Mergers and Acquisitions; Initial Public Offering; Business Conglomerates; Business Exit or Shutdown; Family Business; Joint Ventures; Food and Beverage Industry; Turkey

May 2011
Article

Consequences and Institutional Determinants of Unregulated Corporate Financial Statements: Evidence from Embedded Value Reporting

By: George Serafeim

I analyze Embedded Value (EV) reporting by firms with life insurance operations to assess the impact of unregulated financial reporting on transparency and to examine the institutional characteristics that promote unregulated reporting. Under EV accounting the present... View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Mergers and Acquisitions; Financial Reporting; Cash Flow; Contracts; Equity; Profit; Value; Corporate Disclosure; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Business and Shareholder Relations; Business Earnings

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08 Jun 2010
First Look

First Look: June 8

economic theory of the costs and benefits of corporate culture—in the sense of shared beliefs and values—in order to study the effects of 'culture clash' in mergers and acquisitions. I first use a simple analytical framework to show that... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

29 Sep 2008
Research & Ideas

Financial Crisis Caution Urged by Faculty Panel

as mutual funds and pensions that wanted to invest in those securities. Investment banks also provided advice on mergers and acquisitions. In the early 1980s the derivative markets were quite small and relatively unsophisticated, and the... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Financial Services

25 Sep 2007
First Look

First Look: September 25, 2007

Dollar General Corporation's acquisition by private equity sponsor KKR, which took the company private in 2007. Although the proposed merger generated a 30% premium over the stock price at the time, and the enterprise value to EBITDA... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

16 Nov 2010
First Look

First Look: November 16, 2010

CEOs are retained in a sample of mergers in the 1990s, we find greater retention of better-performing and higher-paid CEOs—both measures of valuable human capital. We also show that the performance-retention link is stronger when the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

March 2017
Case

Cantel Medical

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

Cantel Medical Corporation provided infection prevention and control products and services for patients, caregivers, and other healthcare providers. In 2016, Cantel generated sales of $665 million and net profits of $60 million, double the levels of five years earlier.... View Details

Keywords: Cantel; Charles Diker; Furniture Industry; Matrix Organization; Acquisition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Conglomerates; Business Units; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Chemicals; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Health; Health Care and Treatment; Business History; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Structure; Problems and Challenges; Research and Development; Opportunities; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Information Technology; Biotechnology Industry; Chemical Industry; Health Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States; New Jersey

November 2003 (Revised November 2004)
Case

Ottawa Devices, Inc. (B)

By: Henry B. Reiling and Harry Clegg Midgley IV

The Rollins family assembly was meeting to discuss and decide which one or combination from among an estate freeze, installment sale of stock, ESOP (employee stock ownership plan), leveraged capitalization, annual gifts of stock, one-time outright gift of stock, or... View Details

Keywords: Employee Stock Ownership Plan; Property; Mergers and Acquisitions; Decision Choices and Conditions; Stocks; Business Exit or Shutdown; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Family Business; Human Needs; Financial Strategy; Manufacturing Industry

29 Apr 2014
First Look

First Look: April 29

Harvard Business School Case 413-096 Novartis: Leading a Global Enterprise Novartis, the world's leading health care company, was formed in 1996 out of a merger of two very different, mid-tier Switzerland-based pharma companies. The case... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

08 May 2012
First Look

First Look: May 8

is more than the sum of its parts. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/12-097.pdf Financial vs. Strategic Buyers Authors:Marc Martos-Vila, Matthew Rhodes-Kropf, and Jarrad Harford Abstract Within the great oscillations of overall View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

27 Jan 2009
First Look

First Look: January 27, 2009

b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=509032 Offering the Right Service in the Right Place: Growing Orthopedics at the Brigham and Women's/Faulkner (BW/F) Hospitals Harvard Business School Case 108-016 After the merger of two local... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

August 1997 (Revised March 1998)
Case

Unilever's Butter-Beater: Innovation for Global Diversity

By: Clayton M. Christensen and Jorg Zobel

Unilever, one of the world's largest food product manufacturers, has achieved impressive growth in Europe, primarily by acquiring local food companies. Initially Unilever allowed each acquired company to manage its own product development in a way that was tailored to... View Details

Keywords: Growth Management; Brands and Branding; Product Development; Mergers and Acquisitions; Local Range; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Marketing Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Innovation and Management; Food; Conflict Management; Food and Beverage Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Europe