Publications

October 2012
Supplement

Winfield Refuse Management, Inc.: Raising Debt vs. Equity, Spreadsheet for Students (Brief Case) (CW)

By: W. Carl Kester and Sunru Yong

Keywords: United States; Acquisitions; Equity Capital; Debt Management; Financial Analysis; Administrative/Support/Waste Management/Remediation Services; Expansion; Capital Structure; Leveraged Buyouts; Borrowing and Debt; Equity; United States

February 2018 (Revised March 2019)
Case

Sandlands Vineyards

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Gregory Saldutte

Approximately 80% of the wineries in the U.S. break even or lose money. An even greater percentage lose money on an economic basis (i.e., after a charge for the cost of equity). Tegan Passalacqua is a successful, young, Californian winemaker who specializes in making... View Details

01 Mar 2023
News

Step Change

had long been part of the cultural mindset. Today’s startup scene in Egypt is hopping. Venture capital funding reached $491 million in 2021, with a compounded annual growth rate of 117 percent between 2017 and 2021, according to Magnitt.... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; photographed by Abdelrahman Gabr – Koree; entrepreneurship; women; venture capital; Egypt; developing economies; Finance

October 2012
Teaching Note

Winfield Refuse Management, Inc.: Raising Debt vs. Equity (Brief Case) (TN)

By: W. Carl Kester and Sunru Yong

Keywords: United States; Acquisitions; Equity Capital; Debt Management; Financial Analysis; Administrative/Support/Waste Management/Remediation Services; Expansion; Capital Structure; Leveraged Buyouts; Borrowing and Debt; Equity; United States

December 2001
Case

Natural Pork Production

By: Ray A. Goldberg and James M Beagle

An entrepreneurial hog farmer's creative use of contracts and capital structure drives very successful growth and returns in a depressed commodity industry. View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Capital Structure; Futures and Commodity Futures; Credit Derivatives and Swaps; Goods and Commodities; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Contracts; Success; Consumer Products Industry

January 2003 (Revised October 2007)
Case

DoubleClick, Inc.

Examines DoubleClick's capital structure from IPO. Discusses additional offering of common stock, stock splits, dividends, sale of convertible debt, repurchase of convertible debt, and repurchase of common stock. View Details

Keywords: Initial Public Offering; Financial Instruments; Capital Structure; Accounting

October 2012
Case

Harrah's Entertainment

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

This case examines the issues of establishing and managing a capital structure for the leveraged buyout of Harrah's Entertainment. View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Debt Markets; Loan Contracts; Covenants; Casinos; Gaming; Private Equity; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

June 2004
Case

TechnoServe and the Tanzanian Specialty Coffee Industry

In 2003, TechnoServe, a U.S.-based, international, nonprofit organization, was deciding how to structure the capital investments required for Tanzanian business groups to acquire coffee bean central pulperies. This case explores the challenges of capital budgeting and... View Details

Keywords: Small Business; Nonprofit Organizations; Cash Flow; Emerging Markets; Financing and Loans; Capital Budgeting; Tanzania

2015
Working Paper

What Do Private Equity Firms Say They Do?

By: Paul A. Gompers, Steven N. Kaplan and Vladimir Mukharlyamov

We survey 79 private equity investors with combined assets under management (AUM) of over $750 billion about their practices in firm valuation, capital structure, governance, and value creation. Investors rely primarily on internal rate of return (IRR) and multiples to... View Details

Keywords: Governance; Value Creation; Private Equity; Capital Structure; Valuation; Management Practices and Processes

SSRN

Read Now

March 1996 (Revised July 1996)
Case

Service Corporation International

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Craig F Schreiber

The CFO of a high-growth company in the low-growth and fragmented funeral services industry must decide how to optimize capital structure and earnings growth while maximizing the company's market value. View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Value Creation; Business Growth and Maturation; Consolidation; Industry Growth; Capital Structure; Expansion; Service Industry; United States; North and Central America

January 2001 (Revised April 2004)
Case

Term Sheet Negotiations for Trendsetter, Inc.

Describes two aspiring entrepreneurs who have just received offering documents for venture funding (known as term sheets) from two venture capital firms. Neither of the entrepreneurs have experience in raising capital and they are wondering how to compare the two... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; Decision Making

January 2017 (Revised November 2018)
Case

Vox Capital: Pioneering Impact Investing in Brazil

By: Julie Battilana, Marissa Kimsey, Falko Paetzold and Priscilla Zogbi

Vox Capital was the first certified impact investing fund in Brazil. Founded in 2009, it provides early-stage capital for companies offering innovative and scalable solutions to enhance the lives of low-income Brazilians, while aiming to simultaneously generate... View Details

Keywords: Impact Investing; Social Performance Measurement; Social Entrepreneurship; Investment Funds; Social Enterprise; Brazil

July 2014
Case

Paramount Equipment, Inc.

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin and Wei Wang

Paramount Equipment, Inc., based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, is a large manufacturer of cranes and compact construction equipment, aerial work platforms, and food service equipment. Founded in 1987, Paramount now had manufacturing operations in 24 countries. However, it... View Details

April 2005 (Revised August 2011)
Case

Berkshire Partners: Bidding for Carter's

By: Malcolm P. Baker and James Quinn

A five-member team from Berkshire Partners must recommend a final bid and financial structure for a leveraged buyout of William Carter Co., a leading producer of children's apparel. Investorcorp, a global investment group, has put the company up for auction. Goldman... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Capital Structure; Private Equity; Financing and Loans; Auctions; Bids and Bidding; Valuation; Apparel and Accessories Industry

01 Mar 2012
News

The Incentive Bubble

Andre F. Perold

André Perold is a Founder, Partner, and Chief Investment Officer of HighVista Strategies, a Boston-based investment firm. HighVista focuses on investing in structurally inefficient public and private markets, including in life sciences, lower middle market private... View Details

Keywords: banking; financial services; information; investment banking industry; professional services

August 1990
Case

Legacy Fund, Inc.

By: Jeffry A. Timmons and James Weber

Two young HBS graduates propose to create a new venture capital fund in 1989. The case focuses on: 1) evaluation of the venture capital industry; 2) whether there is an opportunity for a new specialized fund; 3) the structuring of risks and rewards in the fund; 4)... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Product Design; Investment Funds; Financial Services Industry

Find at Harvard

2016
Working Paper

Financing Payouts

By: Joan Farre-Mensa, Roni Michaely and Martin Schmalz

We study the extent to which firms rely on the capital markets to fund their payouts. We find that 42% of firms that pay out capital also initiate debt or equity issues in the same year, resulting in 32% of aggregate payouts being externally financed. Most firms with... View Details

Keywords: Payout Policy; Financing Decisions; Debt Issues; Equity Issues; Capital Structure; Decision Making; Financing and Loans; Corporate Finance

SSRN

September 1994 (Revised May 2010)
Case

Hamilton Test Systems, Inc.

By: William A. Sahlman and Norman Klein

The protagonists must decide whether to invest in an auto emissions testing company as the first investment in the leveraged buyout fund they recently formed. Issues of how to raise the needed equity capital and how to structure the acquisition are emphasized. View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Leveraged Buyouts; Environmental Sustainability; Investment; Service Industry; Auto Industry