Publications

December 2015
Article

Introduction: New Perspectives on Corporate Capital Structure

By: Viral Acharya, Heitor Almeida and Malcolm Baker

The National Bureau of Economic Research held a symposium titled "New Perspectives on Corporate Capital Structures" on April 5–6, 2013 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In its call for the submission of theoretical and empirical papers for the symposium, the NBER noted that... View Details

Keywords: Capital Structure; Economic Growth; Financial Crisis; Corporate Finance

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February 2021 (Revised March 2023)
Supplement

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic and the Global Economy (B)

By: Alberto Cavallo and Christian Godwin

By December 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had swept across the globe, creating widespread disruption in all aspects of everyday life. Almost 90 million people had been infected and nearly two million had died from the disease. By this point in the pandemic—a year since... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Economy; Health Pandemics; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Global Range; Crisis Management; Disruption

April 2010 (Revised March 2011)
Case

The Auction for Travelport (A)

By: Andrei Hagiu and Misha Sanwal

A senior Blackstone director is deciding how aggressively to bid for Travelport, a travel distribution business containing several key services and platforms. Travelport's most important properties were Galileo, one of the top 3 global distribution systems (GDSs),... View Details

Keywords: Value Creation; Product Positioning; Cost vs Benefits; Private Equity; Leveraged Buyouts; Competitive Advantage; Auctions; Industry Structures; Travel Industry

25 Mar 2013
Research & Ideas

How Chapter 11 Saved the US Economy

the airline to work with the court to restructure and unload a significant amount of its debt, giving an iconic company "a second bite of the apple," says Gilson. An unabashed advocate of Chapter 11 and debt restructuring,... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Financial Services

February 2012 (Revised November 2012)
Case

Bain Capital: Outback Steakhouse

By: Paul Gompers, Kristin Mugford and J. Daniel Kim

Bain Capital had purchased Outback Steakhouse in 2007 and despite the myriad initiatives to improve operations, the financial collapse in 2008 threatened the company's ability to meet its loan covenants. Outback's performance steadily declined throughout the year. How... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Acquisition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Performance Expectations; Borrowing and Debt; Financial Services Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

February 2000 (Revised October 2000)
Case

Kendle International Inc.

By: Dwight B. Crane, Paul W. Marshall and Indra Reinbergs

Candace Kendle and Christopher Bergen, the CEO and COO of Kendle International, Inc., are reviewing ways to finance the growth of their privately-owned company. Kendle is a contract research organization that conducts clinical drug trials for pharmaceutical and... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Financing and Loans; Venture Capital; Stock Options; Banks and Banking; Debt Securities; International Finance; Financial Strategy; Management Skills; Private Ownership; Initial Public Offering; Biotechnology Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

November 1990 (Revised June 1993)
Case

FMC Corp.: A Recapitalization

By: William J. Bruns Jr. and Julie H. Hertenstein

A proposed recapitalization will use new debt to pay a large dividend to some shareholders in return for a reduction of their voting power. The result will be a highly leveraged financial structure and negative owners' equity. Students can trace the effects of proposed... View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Financial Strategy; Asset Management; Financial Management; Business Conglomerates; Borrowing and Debt; Business and Shareholder Relations; Capital Structure; Equity; Private Equity; Chemical Industry

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June 2015
Case

The Valuation and Financing of Lady M Confections

By: Mihir A. Desai and Elizabeth A. Meyer

This case explores the decision-making process that small, private businesses must undertake when considering an expansion and when selling equity to outside investors. In the process, students are asked to complete two exercises: a break-even analysis and a valuation... View Details

Keywords: Lady M; Bakery; Foodservice Industry; Breakeven Analysis; Restaurant Industry; Forecasting; Forecast; Financial Analysis; Borrowing and Debt; Corporate Finance; Equity; Financial Management; Financial Strategy; Finance; Food; Valuation; Food and Beverage Industry; New York (city, NY)

20 Aug 2012
Research & Ideas

The Acquirers

private equity firms and strategic companies. With this effect, a strategic company financing multiple long-term projects won't be as drawn to take advantage of cheap debt just because it's available, for... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Financial Services

January 2025
Case

Arsenal Capital Partners' Refinancing of Pinnacle

By: Victoria Ivashina and Srimayi Mylavarapu

Arsenal Capital Partners’ portfolio company, Pinnacle, a leading producer of high-performance adhesive technologies, has experienced rapid growth under Arsenal’s ownership. Over just two years, Pinnacle's EBITDA increased from $13.5 million to $60 million. By mid-2021,... View Details

Keywords: Business Exit or Shutdown; Decision Choices and Conditions; Private Equity; Financing and Loans; Growth Management

15 Jun 2010
First Look

First Look: June 15

identifying the effects of bank credit supply. First, we focus on firms' choice between two close forms of external financing: bank debt and public bonds. By conditioning the sample of firms raising new debt, we can rule out a demand... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

04 Apr 2000
Research & Ideas

The Right Way to Restructure Conglomerates in Emerging Markets

that dominate the private sector. These include huge conglomerates such as the chaebol in Korea, the Tata Group in India, and the Koc Group in Turkey. The arguments for restructuring conglomerates are simple. Selling off assets could... View Details

Keywords: by Tarun Khanna & Krishna Palepu

May 2014
Case

Building a High Performance Culture at IDFC

By: V.G. Narayanan and Vidhya Muthuram

IDFC was set up in 1997 to direct private finance to infrastructure projects in India. Over the years, it expanded its capabilities to become a 'complete solutions provider' offering financing solutions including debt and equity, investment banking, brokerage and asset... View Details

February 2019 (Revised January 2020)
Case

Pierre Foods Acquisition of Advance Foods (A)

By: Guhan Subramanian and Mike Harmon

This case (A), and its related cases (B-E), establish a setting to discuss an M&A transaction and some of the key legal contracts that are associated with it. In 2010, private equity backed food manufacturer Pierre Foods is contemplating the acquisition of a key... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Contracts; Agreements and Arrangements; Negotiation; Complexity

May 2007 (Revised July 2007)
Case

JetBlue: Prepare for Financing

The CFO of JetBlue is trying to decide which of two financing proposals to pursue. A straight equity issue will dilute his principal shareholders' ownership, but seems like the safer alternative in an industry that is notorious for its high failure rate. On the other... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Private Equity; Public Equity; Financing and Loans; Air Transportation Industry; United States

March 2005 (Revised July 2007)
Case

Capital Controls in Chile in the 1990s (A)

By: Laura Alfaro, Rafael M. Di Tella and Ingrid Vogel

In 1991, Chile adopted a framework of capital controls focused on reducing the massive flows of foreign investment coming into the country as international interest rates remained low. Capital inflows threatened the Central Bank's ability to manage the exchange rate... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Economic Growth; Financial Crisis; Capital; Governance Controls; Business and Government Relations; Chile

15 Jan 2013
First Look

First Look: January 15

http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Publication%20Files/Do%20Analysts%20Add%20Value%20When%20They%20Most%20Can_d87e063a-a7e0-44e2-83fe-a1999565b7f0.pdf Coming Through in a Crisis: How Chapter 11 and the Debt Restructuring Industry Are Helping to... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

August 2007 (Revised April 2008)
Case

Texas Pacific Group--J. Crew

By: Michael J. Roberts, William A. Sahlman and Lauren Barley

Describes Texas Pacific Group's purchase and operation of J. Crew, the catalog and specialty clothing retailer. Highlights the issues involved in financing such a transaction, and then focuses on the operational challenges of turning around the business, and of TPG's... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Private Equity; Financing and Loans; Investment; Operations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Retail Industry