Publications

February 2008 (Revised October 2010)
Case

Mellon Financial and The Bank of New York

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin and Ryan Taliaferro

Bob Kelly, the new CEO of Mellon Financial, is considering the terms of a proposed "merger of equals" with The Bank of New York, just before the final Board meeting to approve the deal. The combination offers a great strategic fit, and the expected synergies are large.... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Equity; Banks and Banking; Business and Shareholder Relations; Valuation; Banking Industry; Pittsburgh

April 2001
Teaching Note

MindSpring TN

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Steven Silverman and William A. Sahlman

Teaching Note for (9-899-178). For book only - not listed on case. View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Growth and Development Strategy; Mergers and Acquisitions; Organizational Culture; Competitive Strategy; Web Services Industry

25 Jun 2019
News

After the Storm

of a merger with supermodel Petra Nemcova’s Happy Hearts Fund. The organization is volunteer-driven and prides itself on showing up early and staying late in the wake of natural disasters, working closely with local agencies to provide,... View Details

Keywords: Paul Flannery

January 2025
Case

Negotiating a Legacy at Sustainable Harvest (A)

By: Jillian Jordan, Julian Zlatev, Alicia Dadlani and Martha Hostetter

The specialty coffee importer Sustainable Harvest was the first certified B Corp in the coffee industry due to its investments in building coffee farmers’ capacity and livelihood. But in 2022, after coffee prices plummeted and the company’s bank declined to extend its... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Mergers and Acquisitions; Trust; Ethics; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Volatility; Futures and Commodity Futures; Social Enterprise; Valuation; Business Model; Credit; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; Europe

08 Jul 2008
First Look

First Look: July 8, 2008

Deals-Announcement Effects, Risk Arbitrage and Event Risk Harvard Business School Note 208-103 The announcement of merger or acquisition conveys new information to the capital markets. This note describes how the stock prices of a Buyer... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

29 Jun 2022
Blog Post

Harvard Business School Announces the 2022-2023 Blavatnik Fellows

low-income settings using open-source electronic health records. He also worked as a physician on the front lines during the civil war in Syria. Alex gained valuable experience in the financial sector as a long/short equities hedge fund investor and View Details

September 1993
Supplement

Manufacturing at ALZA: The Right Prescription? (C)

By: Dorothy A. Leonard

ALZA, a drug delivery company, considers marketing its own and other companies' products. The primary issue is whether to build an internal sales force focused on a few niche markets, to finance a sales force through alliances, or to acquire a marketing company. View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Product Marketing; Alliances; Research and Development; Salesforce Management; Business Strategy; Pharmaceutical Industry

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October 2021
Case

Diversifying P&G's Supplier Base (A)

By: Kris Ferreira, Kym Lew Nelson, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Sarah Mehta

In February 2003, P&G hosted two meetings—one with its largest woman- and minority-owned suppliers and one with its largest non-minority-owned suppliers. Attendees in each meeting heard the same message: P&G was keen to grow its commitment to inclusive supply chains,... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Model; Business Organization; Family Business; Joint Ventures; Demographics; Diversity; Ethnicity; Race; Ethics; Fairness; Ownership; Supply Chain Management; Consumer Products Industry; Service Industry; United States; Ohio

June 2009
Teaching Note

COFCO Xinjiang Tunhe Co., Ltd. (TN)

By: David E. Bell, Sarah Morton and Mary Louise Shelman

Teaching Note for [508079]. View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Customer Focus and Relationships; Goals and Objectives; Quality; Price; Competitive Strategy; Contracts; Supply and Industry; Business or Company Management; Problems and Challenges; Safety; Cost Management; Food and Beverage Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; China

25 Apr 2005
Research & Ideas

New Learning at American Home Products

The success of American Home Products reflects a unique path of learning. The company originated with the merger of several companies in related businesses. During the seventy years following its formation in 1926, the company's senior... View Details

Keywords: by Alfred D. Chandler Jr.; Chemical; Health; Manufacturing; Pharmaceutical

October 2008 (Revised October 2008)
Case

Lehman Brothers and Peabody Coal

When Texas Utilities Company (TXU) wanted to acquire The Energy Group, the latter needed to spin-off its coal mining assets, Peabody Coal, to avoid running afoul of antitrust authorities. In this case, TXU's investment banker, Lehman Brothers, considers whether to... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Investment Banking; Monopoly; Conflict of Interests; Mining Industry; Utilities Industry

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May 2000
Case

CMGI: Organizational and Market Innovation

By: Josh Lerner

CMGI is considering acquiring yesmail, an e-mail marketing firm. In assessing the potential acquisition, it must assess the fit with its own organization, which consists of a unique blend of venture capital investments and publicly traded subsidiaries. View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Invention; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Mergers and Acquisitions; Organizational Structure; Venture Capital; Business Subsidiaries

January 2007
Article

Acquisitions and Firm Growth: Creating Unilever's Ice Cream and Tea Business

By: G. Jones and Peter Miskell

This article provides a longitudinal case study of the use of acquisitions by the Anglo-Dutch multinational Unilever to build the world's largest ice cream and tea businesses. The study supports recent resource-based theory which argues that complementary rather than... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Integration; Value; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Business and Shareholder Relations; Interests; Business Ventures; Employees; Food and Beverage Industry

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Read Now

15 Dec 2015
First Look

December 15, 2015

Huntsman Corporation (A) In July 2007, after several failed attempts to acquire Huntsman Corporation, Hexion/Apollo prevailed in a bidding war for the company and signed a definitive merger agreement. Apollo had down bid Huntsman during... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

17 Jan 2012
First Look

First Look: January 17

correlations between their risk-based return premia, and periodic flights to quality. Read the paper: http://www.people.hbs.edu/mbaker/cv/papers/Comovement_RAPS.pdf The Effect of Reference Point Prices on Mergers and Acquisitions... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

July 2012 (Revised March 2013)
Supplement

Shanghai Diligence Law Firm (B)

By: Robert G. Eccles and Catherine Zhang

Shanghai Diligence Law Firm continued with its approach to grow through a merger, rather than organically, and was eventually merged into a bigger law firm in China. After the merger, a refined A-B-C-D model is still in use as compensation system, although the... View Details

Keywords: Professional Service Firms; Compensation; Law Firms; Motivating Professionals; Client Management; Developing Professionals; Entrepreneurship; China; Mergers and Acquisitions; Employee Relationship Management; Compensation and Benefits; Groups and Teams; Legal Services Industry; China

July 2007 (Revised May 2008)
Case

Cable & Wireless America

By: Guhan Subramanian and Eliot Sherman

Describes the auction of Cable & Wireless America (CWA), a bankrupt subsidiary of the British telecommunications company Cable & Wireless. While an initial "stalking-horse" bid valued the assets at $125 million, after a long day and night of bidding between eight... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Auctions; Bids and Bidding; Negotiation Process

October 2006 (Revised August 2007)
Case

Warner Music Group

TH Lee, a leading private equity firm, needs to decide whether to commit to the acquisition of AOL Time Warner's music group, and whether to commit the entire amount needed, $1.4 billion. The music industry has suffered greatly in recent years, largely as a result of... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Decision Choices and Conditions; Music Entertainment; Private Equity; Investment; Music Industry

January 2001
Case

First Community Bank (B): Community Banking Group

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Daniel Galvin

After nine years of leading First Community Bank (FCB), BankBoston's unique venture targeting low- to moderate-income communities, and finally gaining recognition and respect for her efforts, Gail Snowden must once again faces the challenge of justifying FCB's value,... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Valuation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Problems and Challenges; Business and Community Relations; Banking Industry