Publications

July 2015
Case

Vita: Cosmetics in the Nordics

By: Das Narayandas, Krishna Palepu and Kerry Herman

Vita is a Norwegian cosmetics retailer owned by FSN Capital, a Scandinavian private equity company. The company has a strong market position in Norway. The case focuses on two strategic issues: how to develop an e-commerce strategy to supplement the company's... View Details

Keywords: E-Commerce Strategy; Norway; Cosmetics; Managing Under Private Equity Ownership; Strategy; Private Equity; Internet and the Web; Growth and Development Strategy; E-commerce; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Retail Industry; Norway

01 Sep 2006
News

Private Sector and Public Interest Meet at Global Leadership Forum

the unique juncture at which the United States now finds itself, with many speakers urging their audience to get involved in the issues of the day. The event also featured some twenty sessions led by HBS faculty on a variety of subjects... View Details

20 Oct 2021
Blog Post

Mobilizing Private Sector Action For Racial Equity in Milwaukee: SE Summer Fellow Zach Komes (MBA 2022)

in diverse urban public schools, which forged my passion for racial equity. After graduating from college in Washington, DC, I was founding director of the DC Community Anchor... View Details

September 2009
Supplement

One South: Investing in Emerging Markets (B)

By: Nicolas P. Retsinas and Justin Seth Ginsburgh

A United States private equity fund, The Saboput Group, must decide whether to invest in a new technology park development in Chennai, India. The B case provides the reader with due diligence observations, which reveal numerous potential problems with the investment.... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Private Equity; Investment; Foreign Direct Investment; Markets; Emerging Markets; Problems and Challenges; Partners and Partnerships; Valuation; Real Estate Industry; Chennai; United States

February 2021 (Revised June 2021)
Case

Barbarians at the Gate or Turnaround Gurus? Private Equity and the Rise of the LBO

By: Tom Nicholas and John Masko

During the 1980s, leveraged buyouts (LBOs) and the private equity (PE) firms responsible for carrying them out revolutionized both investment and management in the U.S. Between 1980 and 1989, buyout activity in the U.S. surged from $1 billion per year to $60 billion.... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Conglomerates; Restructuring; Borrowing and Debt; Private Equity; Bonds; Investment Return; Institutional Investing; Profit Sharing; Business History; Management Style; Private Ownership; Performance Effectiveness; Value Creation; Financial Services Industry; United States

08 Aug 2014
News

Public Pensions Cannot Stop Chasing Performance

30 Oct 2015
News

DraftKings raised $200m in investments in summer

January 2018 (Revised January 2021)
Case

Colombia's 4G Road Program: The Pacífico 3 Bond Offer

By: John Macomber, Maria Fernanda Miguel and Mariana Cal

Colombia conceived its 4G (Fourth Generation) Road Program to try to attract $17 billion from the private sector for investment in toll roads. The nation had also created the National Infrastructure Agency of Colombia (ANI) to oversee multiple investments, and the... View Details

Keywords: Private Public Partnerships; Infrastructure; Projects; Finance; Emerging Markets; Colombia

12 Jan 2015
News

Good Investments

Seattle-based Elevar Equity. Her childhood summers in the Philippines, with its extreme poverty and extreme wealth, inspired an interest in development; a career in View Details

Keywords: Dan Morrell; impact investing; ideas; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments

03 Oct 2019
News

Where Are All the Women in Private Equity?

September 2012 (Revised July 2014)
Case

Blackstone's Investment in Intelenet

By: Josh Lerner, Sandeep Bapat and Rachna Tahilyani

Three years had passed since Blackstone's investment in Intelenet Global Services, their third largest investment in India. Great progress had been made, but now a new challenge loomed. Globank, a large global bank, was Intelenet's largest customer. Intelenet's... View Details

Keywords: India; Blackstone; Private Equity; Financial Services Industry; India

April 2009 (Revised December 2010)
Case

Equity International: The Second Act

By: Nicolas P. Retsinas, Ben Creo and Ricardo Reisen de Pinho

Thomas McDonald, senior vice president of Equity International (EI), is weighing an investment in the Brazilian homebuilder Gafisa. Was this the right country? The right company? The right co-investor? The right time? McDonald would be investing alongside a Brazilian... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Investment; Emerging Markets; Partners and Partnerships; Interests; Brazil

October 2023
Case

Shredder Setups or Straightlining into Risk?: Investing in What You Love

By: Lauren Cohen and Grace Headinger

Bob Hall, President of Green Gables Partners, evaluated whether to angel invest into an up-and-coming ski brand. As the son-in-law of the founder of Vera Bradley and having retired from a lengthy career on Wall Street, Hall was well-versed in both direct investing and... View Details

Keywords: Family Office; Angel Investors; Direct Investment; Family Business; Business Growth and Maturation; Small Business; Financial Strategy; Personal Finance; Investment Portfolio; Private Equity; Decision Choices and Conditions; Risk and Uncertainty; Consumer Products Industry; Montana; United States

Clubs

Women in Investing Club

Keywords: Venture Capital / Private Equity / LBO; Venture Capital / Private Equity / LBO

February 2024 (Revised June 2024)
Case

Can Families Conquer Private Equity? Pritzker Private Capital

By: Lauren Cohen and Sophia Pan

Anthony (Tony) Pritkzer, Paul Carbone, and the Pritzker Private Capital (PPC) team wondered how to approach the firm’s next phase of growth. PPC was a private equity firm that offered a differentiated approach to the family capital market. Back in 2016, the partners... View Details

November 2013
Case

Canyon-Agassi Investing in Charter Schools

By: Nicolas P. Retsinas, Nicole Shomair, Vernon Beckford and Lisa Strope

After an unusual round of doubles in May 2011, real estate investor Bobby Turner, Managing Partner, Canyon-Agassi Charter School Facilities Fund (CACSFF) and Chairman, CEO, and Co-Founder of Canyon Capital Realty Advisors, found himself at a loss for words. Turner was... View Details

Keywords: Charter Schools; Real Estate; Fund Raising; Social Entrepreneurship; Education; Real Estate Industry; United States

November 1995 (Revised October 2000)
Case

Acme Investment Trust

By: Josh Lerner

Acme Investment Trust is considering investing in a private equity partnership that is seeking only 15% of the profits, instead of the standard 20%. The management fee requested, however, is higher than in its earlier fund. The pension managers must consider the... View Details

Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Private Equity; Organizations; Investment Funds; Motivation and Incentives; Financial Services Industry

April 2004 (Revised June 2004)
Case

Neeley University Investment Management Company

This case analyzes the problem of a university looking to reduce its private equity exposure in its endowment. The university hires Cogent Partners, a small investment bank specializing in private equity secondary trading. View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Private Equity; Higher Education; Financial Services Industry; Education Industry