In April 2006, Ocean Park, Hong Kong's only home-grown theme park, launched a syndicated loan to raise HK$4.1 billion for a master plan to revamp the park. The master plan represented the park's strategic responses to the arrival of Hong Kong Disneyland, which had opened the previous year. Faced with a formidable competitor, Ocean Park repositioned itself as a world-class marine theme park. Looks at how Ocean Park positioned itself against an international competitor and how Disneyland's failure to accommodate local culture consolidated Ocean Park's position
Following the violent overthrow of the Allende regime, Chile embarked on economic reforms that emphasized free markets. These reforms were followed by rising inequality as well as growth. In 2005, business leaders speak out on the necessity of reducing the inequalities.
Using examples from financial markets, this note examines links among market prices, stated interest rates, and compounding assumptions. The note emphasizes how interest rates are expressions of market prices, and pays particular attention to the role of compounding assumptions. Market prices are converted into stated interest rates for different compounding assumptions. Guidance is offered on how to make intelligent comparisons across markets that use different compounding conventions. The note is useful as background for the study of a wide array of pricing issues in fixed-income and options markets.
This note introduces options (both calls and puts) and their valuation. After covering the history of options and the basic nature of their payoffs, the note provides an intuitive discussion of the determinants of an option's value. The note then introduces and applies the Black-Scholes option-pricing model to real data, using an Excel-based version of the model. Throughout, the emphasis is on the basics of options and their valuation.
This note shows how dividend payments affect option values owing to the effects of dividend payments on share price and resulting investor behavior. In addition to discussing the underlying logic, the note shows how to value options for dividend-paying stocks by adapting the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. The note addresses issues of early exercise and the underlying incentives of investors who own call or put options.
This note examines how spot and forward interest rates relate to bond prices and to each other. After defining spot and forward rates, the note shows how to estimate spot rates from data on either zero-coupon bonds or coupon bonds. It also shows how to express these stated rates for different compounding assumptions. The note pays particular attention to understanding how arbitrage forces in markets establish the links between forward and spot rates and how to infer one set of rates from the other. The note deepens understanding of bond pricing, assuming that the reader is already familiar with the basics of present-value techniques. It is a useful springboard for topics (e.g., swaps) that require familiarity with spot and forward rates.
This note is a brief introduction to the logic and practice of using stock options to compensate executives. The Black-Scholes option-pricing model is used to estimate the value of option grants for a company. The note affords the opportunity to apply options valuation in the context of executive compensation, and serves as a companion to introductions to options that expose the reader to the Black-Scholes option-pricing model.
This note discusses the Black-Scholes option-pricing model and then applies the model to call options. The underlying logic of the model is emphasized and illustrated through the use of simple examples. The model is then applied using real data. The note pays particular attention to procedures for estimating the potential for stock-price changes (volatility). It also provides the reader with an appreciation of the economic underpinnings of the model as well as the ability to apply the model to real data.
This note provides an overview of techniques used to value assets, including multiples, arbitrage pricing, and discounted cash flow. The note emphasizes the basic nature of valuation approaches and their logical underpinning, focusing on how techniques are applied to assets that are or might be traded in financial markets. The note sets the stage for specific (and often complicated) applications of the pricing techniques.
The president of a national placement agency is preparing to make a final pitch to sign Greyhound Canada as a client. Greyhound wants to reposition its brand as a mainstream travel option, particularly for suburban commuters, and needs cost-effective ways to get its message to consumers. The company views product placement as a viable tool for building brand awareness, but worries about losing control over its brand image. Even more serious are concerns about the absence of reliable metrics to assess the overall effectiveness of product placement. The case covers fundamentals of product placement, particularly with respect to strengths and weaknesses, and provides an excellent basis for discussing its value as part of an overall marketing communications strategy.
Steve Jones, senior investment analyst at Stonehill Capital, among other responsibilities, had to ensure that his team prepared a pitch book which presented all the numbers and graphs necessary to acquire a client's business. Jones was already overworked so he enlisted his intern, Joe Livingston, to help with the task. As the deadline approached, Jones and Livingston worked 18-hour days preparing the pitch book and were very tired and sleep deprived. The morning after the day of the pitch, Jones received an email from the vice-president of Investment Banking telling him that the bank's deal team had been embarrassed by having to explain an error in the pitch book during their meeting to try to secure the deal. Jones is now being asked to explain what happened.
The case describes Naseeb Networks (Naseeb), a social networking site that seeks to offer Muslims an online forum that conforms to Islamic cultural traditions. Using a product platform strategy, the company has been able to expand to other online services to Muslims, including greeting cards and job search. As a company, Naseeb has a number of advantages that distinguish it from other Islamic Internet companies. The case looks at the conditions under which a company can seek to enter a mature market by offering highly specialized niche services and raises questions about how to monetize a niche service with limited expansion options. From an information systems perspective, it provides an example of how a technology platform can be used to expand into other service areas with minimal development costs. Lastly, the case considers how companies that host online communities attempt to balance user-generated content and company-sponsored content and activities.
The founding entrepreneur of Honey Care Africa revitalized Kenya’s national honey industry by focusing on small-holder farmers across the country. Central to success was an innovative business model: a synergistic partnership between the development sector, the private sector, and rural communities that drew on the core competencies of each party as well as their complementary roles. This tripartite model was combined with local manufacturing of beehives, effective beekeeping training, a guaranteed market for small-holder farmers through forward contracts, and prompt payments. Four years later, Honey Care had achieved a 68 per cent market share in Kenya and distributed several brands of organic, fair-trade honey internationally, and was a lead distributor of beeswax. The business model had been successfully replicated in neighbouring Tanzania, and there were plans to expand to Uganda and Sudan.
As opposed to other emerging countries, the tire market in India was almost exclusively dominated by local players: 90 per cent of all tires on the Indian market were made and sold by local Indian companies. It is important to note that the big names of the world tire industry - Michelin, Bridgestone, Goodyear and Continental - were hardly visible in India. Michelin was absent from the Indian tire market and it is very surprising that the world leader of the tire industry had neither a production facility nor a distribution network in India. Why such an absence? Why did Michelin have so little presence in Asian emerging countries and especially in India? This case presents the main features of the tire industry in India. The case allows students to carry out a comprehensive strategic evaluation of the industry's attractiveness as well as an in-depth analysis of the structure of competition. Students will also conduct performance analysis for each company.
This is a supplement to Michelin in the Land of the Maharajahs (A): A Note on the Tire Industry in India, product 9B07M030. This case presents the performance and the geographic positioning of Michelin as well as its international expansion strategy. The information provided allows students to analyse Michelin's strategy and performance.
Two managers attending a week-long executive education course are working on an assignment which requires them to estimate the cost of capital for EnCana Corporation, a leading North American oil and gas producer. The two managers disagree about which costs need to be taken into account to complete the assignment. They are not sure about the costs of different sources of capital, the overall cost of capital and the appropriate use of the hurdle rate.
A vice-president of Ventures West, a leading Canadian venture capital firm, must decide what due diligence to conduct in order to recommend an investment in AudienceView, a company that provides software and services for the sports and entertainment ticketing markets. While the case is focused on due diligence, there is sufficient information to allow for a full venture capital investment analysis, including valuation and deal terms.