Publications

September 2019 (Revised September 2020)
Case

SOFWERX: Innovation at U.S. Special Operations Command (Abridged)

By: Herman Leonard, Mitch Weiss, Jin Hyun Paik and Kerry Herman

James "Hondo" Geurts, the Acquisition Executive for U.S. Special Operations Command was in the middle of his Senate confirmation hearing in 2017 to become Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition. Overseeing acquisitions in one of the... View Details

Keywords: Open Innovation; Crowdsourcing; Prototyping; Navy; Entrepreneurship; Public Equity; Innovation and Invention; Innovation Leadership; Acquisition; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Public Administration Industry; United States

04 Oct 2007
What Do You Think?

Has Managerial Capitalism Peaked?

Summing Up The clear consensus of those responding to this month's column is that managerial capitalism, as John Bogle terms it, has peaked. But what will follow it is less clear. Many doubt that the form of owners' capitalism represented by private View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

Career Coach

Adam Bronfin

Adam spent five years in real estate private equity prior to HBS. In his previous role, he gained experience across many different verticals within the industry, including development / construction, private equity, structured View Details

06 Nov 2000
Research & Ideas

The Determinants of Corporate Venture Capital Success

and private venture funds. Corporate efforts lack the partnership-based organizational structure that many have identified as critical to the success of private equity funds. On the other hand, corporations are able to exploit... View Details

Keywords: by Paul Gompers & Josh Lerner

08 Sep 2003
Research & Ideas

A Bold Proposal for Investment Reform

managers to act in owners' interests. However, as recent research in behavioral finance indicates, it also encourages investors to switch assets to the most recent hot funds each quarter. This creates problems for fund managers that want... View Details

Keywords: by Ann Cullen; Financial Services

01 Aug 2016
Blog Post

Reflecting on the Value of an MBA

You get a lot of good advice at HBS. I’ve kept pretty much every single sheet of paper I’ve received while I’ve been here, trying to retain it for later. One sticks with me now as I head back into the world of work. On the last day of my Venture Capital & Private... View Details

29 Sep 2008
Research & Ideas

Financial Crisis Caution Urged by Faculty Panel

his insights to set the stage. Senior Lecturer Clayton S. Rose, who for 20 years worked at JP Morgan & Company and headed global investment banking and global equity there, discussed the implications of change in commercial and... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Financial Services

August 2018
Case

Tapping Growth at Lord Hobo Brewing Company

By: Ethan Rouen and Susanna Gallani

Lord Hobo Brewing Company accounts for its inventory process as it prepares to create its first set of professional financial statements for investors. View Details

Keywords: Inventory; Start-ups; Craft Brewing; Investing; GAAP; Brand Management; Accounting; Working Capital; Entrepreneurship; Private Equity; Business Startups; Business and Shareholder Relations; Food and Beverage Industry; Boston; New England; United States

06 Apr 2020
News

Peter A. Brooke, Dean of Boston’s Venture Capitalists, Dies at 90

December 2010 (Revised January 2013)
Case

Triple Point Technology

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

The founding CEO of Triple Point Technology, Peter Armstrong, was considering the sale of the company. The company specialized in providing its clients with software used for transaction processing and risk management in various commodity markets. Triple Point... View Details

Keywords: Business Exit or Shutdown; Private Equity; Financial Management; Negotiation Offer; Sales; Valuation

October 2008 (Revised November 2010)
Case

NEC Electronics

By: C. Fritz Foley, Robin Greenwood and James Quinn

Why do shares in NEC Electronics, a publicly listed subsidiary of Japan conglomerate NEC, trade at a discount to their fundamental value? Can Perry Capital, a U.S. hedge fund, restructure this subsidiary and generate significant returns? This case provides students... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Private Equity; Investment Return; Ownership Stake; Business and Shareholder Relations; Financial Services Industry; Japan

February 1999 (Revised June 1999)
Case

Investitori Associati: Exiting the Savio LBO (A)

By: Josh Lerner, Dino Cattaneo and Giampiero Mazza

Investitori Associati seeks to exit a leveraged buyout investment. Choosing the appropriate way in which to undertake their exit-an initial public offering or sale of the firm-proves problematic. View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Initial Public Offering; Business Exit or Shutdown; Leveraged Buyouts

October 2019 (Revised December 2019)
Case

BC Partners: Acuris

By: Victoria Ivashina and Terrence Shu

This case follows Nikos Stathopoulos, Managing Partner of BC Partners, as he and his team evaluate the potential sale of one of BC Partners’ portfolio companies, Acuris. Acuris was a global financial intelligence, news, and data company that had been acquired by BC... View Details

Keywords: Fund Management; Fund Raising; Leveraged Buyout; Buyout; Portfolio Management; Operations Improvement; Exit; Exit Strategy; Valuation Ratios; Finance; Private Equity; Leveraged Buyouts; Operations; Performance Improvement; Acquisition; Valuation

24 Apr 2014
News

A commitment to conservation supports the bottom line

sustainability. “We strongly believe in the appeal of a strategy that achieves the goals of both purely financial investors and mission-driven investors, as it allows us to access more capital and have a greater impact,” explains Hoffer. Lyme Timber, a Hanover, New... View Details

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

24 Apr 2014
News

Showing possibilities and new experiences to young people

Sam Duboc (MBA 1988), a private equity investor, talks about leading the nonprofit Pathways to Education to open possibilities and new experiences to young people in Canada. (Published April 2014) View Details

September 2009 (Revised September 2010)
Case

Avid Radiopharmaceuticals and Lighthouse Capital Partners

By: Matthew Rhodes-Kropf and Ann Leamon

In fall 2008, a venture lender must decide whether to make a loan to Avid, a small but promising venture-backed life sciences firm. In reviewing her proposal, Cristy Barnes considers the company's characteristics and how they differ from a typical investment. At the... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Decision Choices and Conditions; Financial Crisis; Venture Capital; Private Equity; Financing and Loans; Investment; Financial Services Industry; Health Industry

23 Nov 1999
Research & Ideas

The Future of the Venture Capital Cycle

financial product. The supply of venture capital is also likely to continue growing. Within the past two years, numerous pension funds have invested in private equity for the first time. Many experienced investors have also decided to... View Details

Keywords: by Paul A. Gompers & Josh Lerner; Financial Services

February 1997 (Revised August 2016)
Case

Stone Container Corporation (A)

By: W. Carl Kester and Kirk Goldman

In early 1993, Stone Container was heavily burdened by debt following a series of highly leveraged acquisitions. A prolonged depression in paper prices necessitated the development of a comprehensive financial plan to relieve the financial pressures on Stone. Among the... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Borrowing and Debt; Capital Structure; Equity; Price; Strategic Planning