Publications

June 2025
Case

Vail Resorts: Responding to Activist Pressure (A)

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Edward A. Meyer

On January 27, 2025, the head of a relatively small hedge fund named Late Apex Partners sent a highly critical letter to the board of directors of Vail Resorts, the world’s largest ski resort operator. In his letter, and the 88-slide presentation that accompanied his... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Finance; Capital Budgeting; Corporate Governance; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Leading Change; Valuation; Investment Activism; Climate Change; Management Succession; Financial Management; Risk Management; Business and Shareholder Relations; Sports Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Travel Industry; United States; Australia; Canada

24 Jan 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research: January 24, 2017

Matrix's management team wonders whether the recent market volatility presents an opportunity to add to their existing long position. This case highlights a variety of methodologies to valuate a high-growth company in the tech sector and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

05 Mar 2013
First Look

First Look: March 5

of Einhorn's arguments and the counter claims. The case exposes students to a detailed strategic, financial, and accounting analysis of a business and provides an example of how a thorough business and accounting analysis using primarily public information can change... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

24 Apr 2012
First Look

First Look: April 24

case:http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/web/product_detail.seam?E=3985220&R=112702-MMC-ENG&conversationId=189822 China Magic Going Home Li Jin, Zhihong Yi, and Jun JiangHarvard Business School Case 211-036 The largest Chinese energy company is thinking about a... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

02 Nov 2010
First Look

First Look: November 2, 2010

and how to finance those opportunities, including raising external capital. The case focuses on the decision of what opportunities Windward should consider and on the valuation of the firm if it decides to raise external capital. Purchase... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

23 Jan 2006
Research & Ideas

Financial Reporting Goes Global

firms. There we find that investor relations can lead to increased institutional investing, analysts following, share turn, and even have some valuation impact. That work was inspired by some of the international work that indicated how... View Details

Keywords: by Cynthia Churchwell; Accounting; Financial Services

04 Dec 2012
First Look

First Look: December 4

base firms' stock returns, valuation multiples, forecasted and realized growth rates, research and development expenditures, and various other key financial ratios. Our results highlight the usefulness of EDGAR data, as well as the latent... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

16 Dec 2020
News

A Creator in the Era of Disruption

country’s first unicorn and is now Indonesia’s super app—connecting users with everything from transportation, to food delivery, financial services and even massage services—with a valuation near $10 billion. In 2017, Gojek acquired... View Details

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

29 Oct 2013
First Look

First Look: October 29

often conflicting. This case highlights these conflicts and stressors from all perspectives, providing unique insights and offering potential options. Purchase this case: http://hbr.org/search/114009-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 213-043 Private Equity View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

05 Jun 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, June 5, 2018

of equity (or factor models) fail to exhibit systematic predictive power internationally, which is due in large part to functional form, rather than earnings-forecast, errors. LPV models derived using common valuation anchors such as... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

12 Jan 2016
First Look

January 12, 2016

role in determining what is and is not innovative and important—and therefore valuable—in the market. Museums, collectors, and critics also play a significant role in affecting public perception and valuation of works of art, while... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

30 Jun 2015
First Look

First Look: June 30, 2015

corruption geographic segments, but not in low corruption segments. The net effect on valuation from sales growth and changes in profitability is close to zero. The findings are robust to a number of sensitivity tests, including analysis... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

April 2015 (Revised October 2017)
Teaching Note

Buffett's Bid for Media General's Newspapers

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Annelena Lobb

On May 12, 2012, BH Media Group, a subsidiary of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, announced an offer to buy Media General's (MEG) newspaper division for $142 million in cash and provide debt financing to the struggling firm. Reactions from investors and industry... View Details

Keywords: Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Bankruptcy; Mergers and Acquisitions; Valuation; Capital Structure; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Financial Strategy; Risk Management; Executive Compensation; Cash Flow; Business Exit or Shutdown; Media; Advertising; Restructuring; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Publishing Industry; United States

June 2013 (Revised April 2015)
Case

Buffett's Bid for Media General's Newspapers

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Aldo Sesia

On May 12, 2012, BH Media Group, a subsidiary of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, announced an offer to buy Media General's (MEG) newspaper division for $142 million in cash and provide debt financing to the struggling firm. Reactions from investors and industry... View Details

Keywords: Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Bankruptcy; Mergers and Acquisitions; Valuation; Capital Structure; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Financial Strategy; Risk Management; Executive Compensation; Cash Flow; Business Exit or Shutdown; Media; Advertising; Restructuring; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Publishing Industry; United States

01 Dec 1999
News

A Class Act

doing well. We are a leading provider (or so we like to believe) in the topsy-turvy world of Internet banking. Like any good, young Internet company, we are struggling for revenue, are losing money, and have a valuation that beggars the... View Details

Keywords: Nancy O. Perry

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; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; Europe