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Strategic Secret of Private Equity
Finance & Accounting Magazine ArticleThe huge sums that private equity firms make on their investments evoke admiration and envy. Typically, these returns are attributed to the firms' aggressive... -
SPACs: What You Need to Know
Finance & Accounting Magazine ArticleSpecial purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, have been around in various forms for decades, but during the past two years they've taken off in the... -
Stock or Cash?: The Trade-Offs for Buyers and Sellers in Mergers and Acquisitions
Accounting Magazine ArticleCompanies are increasingly paying for acquisitions with stock rather than cash. But both they and the companies they acquire need to understand just how big a difference that decision can make to the value shareholders will get from a deal. -
Strategic Analysis for More Profitable Acquisitions
Financial analysis Magazine ArticleLess than a decade after the frantic merger activity of the late 1960s, we are again in the midst of a major wave of corporate acquisitions. In contrast to the 1960s, when acquirers were mainly freewheeling conglomerates, the merger movement in the 1970s includes such long-established giants of U.S. industry as General Electric, Gulf Oil, […] -
Making M&As Fly in China
Strategy & Execution Magazine ArticleCross-border mergers and acquisitions are gaining momentum in China. To be successful, acquiring companies must understand certain M&A idiosyncrasies... -
"I Think of My Failures as a Gift"
Leadership & Managing People Magazine ArticleLafley, the former CEO of Procter & Gamble, is regarded as one of the most successful chief executives in recent history. But like everyone else, he's... -
Whole Foods Is Becoming Amazon’s Brick-and-Mortar Pricing Lab
Pricing strategy Digital ArticleAnd changing how Americans think about the cost of healthy food. -
Capturing the Real Value in High-Tech Acquisitions
IT management Magazine ArticleMany high-tech companies looking for hot new products have caught acquisition fever. Smart buyers keep their eye on building the right long-term capabilities, which often means keeping the right people. -
Takeovers: Last Chance for Self-Restraint
Leadership & Managing People Magazine ArticlePrivate sector reform could forestall government intervention in the takeover arena. A voting concentration charter provision that would allow shareholders... -
The CEO and CFO Pairing That Makes Mergers More Successful
Strategy & Execution ResearchResearch finds optimism and pessimism play an important role. -
Indispensable (HBR Case Study)
Leadership & Managing People Magazine ArticleEdward Bennett has done wonders at Astar Enterprises. In the 15 years he's been CEO, the company has more than tripled in size through product line extension... -
Kraft, Cadbury, and Hershey: A Not-So-Sweet Deal?
Mergers and acquisitions Digital ArticleLarge-scale mergers often plague the “winning” bidder with what academics call the “Winner’s Curse.” The winner’s curse takes place when a bidder does indeed win the object for which he or she was bidding, but the value of that object turns out to be less than what was bid for it. What’s a recipe for […] -
The Board View: Directors Must Balance All Interests
Organizational Development SpotlightIn "The Board View: Directors Must Balance All Interests," Barbara Hackman Franklin, an expert in corporate governance, proposes important changes boards... -
Are You Paying Too Much for That Acquisition?
Mergers and acquisitions Magazine ArticleThe key is knowing what your top price is—and having the discipline to stick to it. -
Cross Selling or Cross Purposes? (HBR Case Study)
Sales & Marketing Magazine ArticleSoftware maker TopTek has acquired a consulting and systems-integration firm, mainly to profit from the software sales that are a natural by-product of... -
Using APV: A Better Tool for Valuing Operations
Finance and investing Magazine ArticleToday’s technology can put adjusted present value into the arsenal of every general manager. -
Shareholder Votes for Sale
Corporate communications Magazine ArticleWhatever you think of Carly Fiorina’s management style, she is a shrewd tactician. In the acrimonious proxy battle surrounding the 2002 Hewlett-Packard–Compaq merger, the promerger group, headed by the former HP CEO, squeaked by the antimerger dissidents with less than a 1% margin. But before Fiorina’s side could claim victory, the dissidents brought suit, accusing […] -
The Staying Power of the Public Corporation
Finance and investing Magazine ArticleReports of the “eclipse of the public corporation” underestimate its institutional staying power and unique capacity for renewal. In his recent HBR article, Michael C. Jensen, a distinguished scholar of corporate finance and governance, argues for a revolution in the structure of ownership and control in the U.S. economy.1 I share many of his criticisms […] -
Giving Mergers a Head Start
Organizational culture Magazine ArticleBy tapping former employees, companies can get a jump on the all-important integration process. -
WPP's CEO on Turning a Portfolio of Companies Into a Growth Machine
Leadership & Managing People Magazine ArticleIn 1985 WPP was a small, publicly traded company, worth about $1.3 million. It manufactured shopping carts and other wire and plastic products. Today...
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Prabhu Bank Limited: The Challenges of Merging with Ailing Banks
Leadership & Managing People Case Study8.95View Details In FY2018-19, Prabhu Bank, an 'A' class Nepalese commercial bank, reported its operating profit of Rs1.74 billion, a significant decrease of 34 per cent... -
Timken Co.: Market Entry into Romania (A)
Strategy & Execution Case Study8.95View Details On November 17, 1997, Jon T. Elsasser, then vice-president of The Timken Co. bearings business for Europe, Africa, and West Asia, reviewed the company's... -
Timken Co. Market Entry into Romania (B)
Strategy & Execution Case Study5.00View Details Supplements the (A) case. -
LKQ-Stahlgruber
Sales & Marketing Case Study15.05View Details Through a combination of organic growth and acquisitions, LKQ Corp. became the leading aftermarket auto parts distributor in the U.S. by the early 2000s.... -
Bharti Airtel in Africa, Chinese Version
Global Business Case Study8.95View Details In June 2010, Bharti Airtel, India's largest mobile services operator, acquired the African assets of Bahrain-based Zain Telecom for $10.7 billion-the... -
Aladdin Knowledge Systems
Sales & Marketing Case Study8.95View Details The founder, president, and CEO of a leading software security company has just announced the $5.1 million cash acquisition of a key competitor. As a... -
Buenos Aires Embotelladora S.A. (BAESA): A South American Restructuring, Spanish Version
Finance & Accounting Case Study8.95View Details In 1998, BAESA, PepsiCo's largest bottler and distributor outside North America, experienced severe financial difficulty and had to restructure its debt... -
Genmor Pharmaceuticals' Acquisition of Vascorex Corporation
Finance & Accounting Case Study8.95View Details This case asks students to identify and evaluate the merits of two factors that have led a buy-side analyst to conclude that an acquiring company is a... -
Waking the Bear (B): "Danonizing" the Bolshevik Biscuit Factory
Leadership & Managing People Case Study5.00View Details Supplement to case IN1056. Direct foreign investment in Russia was only 1% of GDP in 1999, and Russian industry was only half as productive in that year... -
David Pyott: The Battle for Allergan (B)
Strategy & Execution Case Study5.00View Details This case series charts the evolution of the hostile battle for Allergan and its ultimate sale to a white knight, Actavis. David Pyott had been the CEO... -
Schneider Electric: Becoming the Global Specialist in Energy Management
Finance & Accounting Case Study8.95View Details Global electrical products company assesses growth and market demands in India. Company must decide between a products acquisition or developing a service... -
mPharma (B)
Strategy & Execution Case Study5.00View Details mPharma pioneered electronic prescriptions in Ghana, and aimed to increase drug affordability and accessibility in Africa, but the company remained unprofitable.... -
Best Buy after Circuit City (in 2011): What's Next?
Strategy & Execution Case Study8.95View Details Best Buy has survived the economic recession that took out competitor Circuit City only to find an increasingly competitive landscape. Their dominance... -
MW Petroleum Corp. (A), Spanish Version
Finance & Accounting Case Study8.95View Details Amoco Corp. is negotiating to sell a wholly-owned subsidiary, MW Petroleum, to Apache Corp. MW owns large reserves of oil and gas comprising many properties... -
Central European Distribution Corporation: Hostile Takeover, Bankruptcy Makeover
Finance & Accounting Case Study8.95View Details In early 2013, CEDC, a large publicly-traded producer and distributer of vodka and spirits in Eastern and Central Europe, has suffered significant declines... -
Alpha and Omega, Spanish Version
Organizational Development Case Study8.95View Details ... -
Strategy and Governance at Yahoo! Inc., Chinese Version
Strategy & Execution Case Study8.95View Details Yahoo! faces a number of governance and strategic challenges in late 2011 as it tries to compete with rivals such as Google and find ways to monetize... -
Valuing the AOL Time Warner Merger
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study8.95View Details On January 11, 2000, AOL and Time Warner announced their intention to merge, creating what AOL CEO Stephen Case and Time Warner CEO Gerald Levin called... -
Warner Music Group
Finance & Accounting Case Study14.00View Details TH Lee, a leading private equity firm, needs to decide whether to commit to the acquisition of AOL Time Warner's music group, and whether to commit the... -
Competition Policy in the European Union in 1995
Strategy & Execution Case Study8.95View Details Describes the history of the competition policy in the European Union, and focuses on the evolution of pan-European and member-state statutes. The tension...
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Strategic Secret of Private Equity
Finance & Accounting Magazine ArticleThe huge sums that private equity firms make on their investments evoke admiration and envy. Typically, these returns are attributed to the firms' aggressive... -
SPACs: What You Need to Know
Finance & Accounting Magazine ArticleSpecial purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, have been around in various forms for decades, but during the past two years they've taken off in the... -
Stock or Cash?: The Trade-Offs for Buyers and Sellers in Mergers and Acquisitions
Accounting Magazine ArticleCompanies are increasingly paying for acquisitions with stock rather than cash. But both they and the companies they acquire need to understand just how big a difference that decision can make to the value shareholders will get from a deal. -
Prabhu Bank Limited: The Challenges of Merging with Ailing Banks
Leadership & Managing People Case Study8.95View Details In FY2018-19, Prabhu Bank, an 'A' class Nepalese commercial bank, reported its operating profit of Rs1.74 billion, a significant decrease of 34 per cent... -
The BP-Amoco Merger : Executive Compensation, Teaching Note
Strategy & Execution Digital ArticleTeaching Note for UV1696. -
Timken Co.: Market Entry into Romania (A)
Strategy & Execution Case Study8.95View Details On November 17, 1997, Jon T. Elsasser, then vice-president of The Timken Co. bearings business for Europe, Africa, and West Asia, reviewed the company's... -
Strategic Analysis for More Profitable Acquisitions
Financial analysis Magazine ArticleLess than a decade after the frantic merger activity of the late 1960s, we are again in the midst of a major wave of corporate acquisitions. In contrast to the 1960s, when acquirers were mainly freewheeling conglomerates, the merger movement in the 1970s includes such long-established giants of U.S. industry as General Electric, Gulf Oil, […] -
Timken Co. Market Entry into Romania (B)
Strategy & Execution Case Study5.00View Details Supplements the (A) case. -
LKQ-Stahlgruber
Sales & Marketing Case Study15.05View Details Through a combination of organic growth and acquisitions, LKQ Corp. became the leading aftermarket auto parts distributor in the U.S. by the early 2000s.... -
Bharti Airtel in Africa, Chinese Version
Global Business Case Study8.95View Details In June 2010, Bharti Airtel, India's largest mobile services operator, acquired the African assets of Bahrain-based Zain Telecom for $10.7 billion-the...