Publications

November 2007
Article

If Private Equity Sized Up Your Business

By: Robert C. Pozen

This article includes a one-page preview that quickly summarizes the key ideas and provides an overview of how the concepts work in practice along with suggestions for further reading. As the dust settles on the recent frenzy of private equity deals (including... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Capital Structure; Private Equity; Investment Return; Governing and Advisory Boards; Executive Compensation; Business and Shareholder Relations; Value Creation; Financial Services Industry

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24 Mar 2009
First Look

First Look: March 24, 2009

issues regarding divergent views amongst the partners, building a brand in a very competitive marketplace, and the stability of the core team. Finally, the firm has been presented with an opportunity to join two other firms in a three-way View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

26 Jul 2004
Research & Ideas

A Better Way to Negotiate: Backward

key analyst, who made our case from the inside. Outflank Blockers While sequencing can build support for an ultimate deal, sometimes it is used to outflank potential opponents. For example, consider how Percy Barnevik brought about the View Details

Keywords: by James K. Sebenius

20 Aug 2001
Research & Ideas

Making an Ally of Uncle Sam

antitrust, intellectual property, product approval processes, and technical standards. When governments review applications for mergers and acquisitions or hear legal cases concerning intellectual-property rights or takeover disputes,... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Watkins, Mickey Edwards & Usha Thakrar

April 1998
Case

Compaq, 1998

By: Steven C. Wheelwright and Matt Verlinden

In 1997, Compaq Computer Corp. had become a $25 billion powerhouse. It had accomplished its revenue growth projections, successfully made a number of strategic acquisitions, and increased its gross margins, principally by moving up market into servers, workstations,... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Transformation; Customer Relationship Management; Profit; Revenue; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Distribution Channels; Alliances; Customization and Personalization; Computer Industry

August 2021 (Revised March 2024)
Case

Danaher Corporation (Abridged)

By: Bharat Anand, David J. Collis and Sophie Hood

Between 1985 and 2007, Danaher has been one of the best-performing industrial conglomerates in the U.S. This case examines the corporate strategy of this diversified, global corporation. It describes the firm's portfolio strategy and the Danaher Business System—a... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Global Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Value Creation; Mergers and Acquisitions; Competitive Strategy

August 2024 (Revised November 2024)
Case

Mercado Bitcoin: M&A, IPO, or Series B?

By: Raymond Kluender, Emanuele Colonnelli, Sabrina T. Howell and Karina Souza

In April 2021, Brazilian cryptocurrency platform Mercado Bitcoin had to decide how to scale: go public, M&A with a bank, or take a VC big check. In a highly volatile market, Roberto Dagnoni, chairman of the board, viewed the unprecedent crypto momentum as a window of... View Details

30 Jul 2024
News

Reddit’s Rise

Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Spotify More Skydeck episodes Dan Morrell: Hi, this is Dan Morrell, host of Skydeck. When Jen Wong (MBA 2004) joined Reddit as COO in 2018, the user-generated content site wasn’t exactly a burning building...but it might have been... View Details

September 1996 (Revised June 1998)
Case

InterSoft of Argentina (B)

By: Linda A. Hill and Stacy Palestrant

Focuses on InterSoft of Argentina, a growing software company in Argentina. In 1993, InterSoft acquires a Russian software company and Emilo Lopez, the vice president and director of InterSoft's Systems Software Lab, must manage a creative, cross-cultural, "virtual"... View Details

Keywords: Applications and Software; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Business Growth and Maturation; Mergers and Acquisitions; Management Teams; Groups and Teams; Partners and Partnerships; Conflict Management; Information Technology Industry; Argentina; Russia

February 2006 (Revised May 2006)
Case

JA Worldwide: Managing Change in a Multi-governed Environment

By: Michael Chu and Barbara Zepp Larson

Post-merger, the head of Junior Achievement (JA) Worldwide must now oversee operations in 98 countries serving 6.6 million students, with over 7,600 local chapter board directors. President and CEO David Chernow's own board has increased to 111 members. Two separate... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Model; Change Management; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Governance; Business or Company Management; Service Operations; Organizational Structure; Nonprofit Organizations; Balance and Stability

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July 2024
Case

Wizards of the Coast and Magic: The Rebounding

By: Boris Groysberg and Tom Quinn

This case traces the history and growth of the Magic: The Gathering trading card game. From its development in 1993 by tiny studio Wizards of the Coast, to Wizards’ acquisition by toy giant Hasbro in 1999, to its evolution into a billion-dollar brand in 2023,... View Details

August 2023 (Revised January 2024)
Supplement

Arla Foods: Data-Driven Decarbonization (A)

By: Michael Parzen, Michael W. Toffel, Amram Migdal and Susan Pinckney

Arla implemented a data-based price incentive system to measure, track, and influence climate friendly changes to reduce CO2 emissions across the world’s fourth largest dairy cooperative. View Details

Keywords: Dairy Industry; Business Earnings; Earnings Management; Environmental Accounting; Agribusiness; Animal-Based Agribusiness; Acquisition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Decision Making; Decisions; Voting; Environmental Management; Climate Change; Environmental Regulation; Environmental Sustainability; Green Technology; Pollution; Moral Sensibility; Values and Beliefs; Financial Strategy; Price; Profit; Revenue; Food; Geopolitical Units; Global Strategy; Ownership Type; Cooperative Ownership; Performance Efficiency; Performance Evaluation; Problems and Challenges; Natural Environment; Science-Based Business; Business Strategy; Commercialization; Cooperation; Corporate Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Europe; United Kingdom; European Union; Germany; Denmark; Sweden; Luxembourg; Belgium

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

30 May 2005
Research & Ideas

Germany’s Pioneering Corporate Managers

decentralized within the organization, rather than moving up into middle management. With the merger movement around 1900, many companies retained their historical roots inside larger firms; they, too, resisted full organizational... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

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

May 1983 (Revised December 1987)
Case

Technical Data Corp.

By: William A. Sahlman

Describes a decision confronting the president of a small company about selling some or all of the shares in his company to another firm. Technical Data Corp. provides analytical services to professional bond market traders over a system of computer terminals operated... View Details

Keywords: Stocks; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Internet and the Web; Information Infrastructure; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Valuation; Negotiation Tactics; Mergers and Acquisitions; Corporate Strategy; Horizontal Integration; Information Industry; Service Industry

January 1997 (Revised November 1997)
Case

Fojtasek Companies and Heritage Partners, The: March 1995

By: Samuel L. Hayes III and Josh Lerner

The Fojtasek Companies, a family business, faces several financing choices to address generational succession issues. Several buyouts have expressed interest in acquiring the firm outright; an investment bank has proposed a leveraged recapitalization; and a private... View Details

Keywords: Family Ownership; Financing and Loans; Private Equity; Mergers and Acquisitions; Investment Banking; Partners and Partnerships; Management Succession; Capital Structure; Financial Strategy