CMGI is considering acquiring yesmail, an e-mail marketing firm. In assessing the potential acquisition, it must assess the fit with its own organization, which consists of a unique blend of venture capital investments and publicly traded subsidiaries.
UST, Inc. is a very profitable smokeless tobacco firm with low debt compared to other firms in the tobacco industry. The setting for the case is UST's recent decision to substantially alter its debt policy by borrowing $1 billion to finance its stock repurchase program.
Laila Partridge of Intel's Corporate Business Development group has been charged to create a special investment fund to speed the adoption of a new chip architecture. The last architecture upgrade, from 16 to 32 bits, had needed almost a decade to become fully adopted. How can this fund speed the adoption process? How can Partridge structure it to avoid the common tension in corporate venture capital between financial return and strategic goal?
The Micro-Electronic Products Division of SMA has financial and organizational problems. Conflict and lack of coordination exist between functional groups. Employees do not have a sense of direction and morale is low. The cause of these problems is found in a change in business environment followed by change in organization and management. A rewritten version of an earlier case.
Focuses on the recommendations and implementation strategy suggested by the organizational development group for the division's problems. A rewritten version of an earlier case.
Maria Rodale, heir apparent to Rodale Press (Runners' World, Bicycling, Organic Gardening, Prevention Magazine) is about to begin a sabbatical to prepare herself for her as-yet-to-be-determined leadership role. She must consider several challenges: ascertaining her new job and convincing the chairman (her mother) to share power, gaining the confidence of more-experienced senior management, navigating family (shareholder) politics, and charting a new corporate direction and strategy.
Describes the evolution and current situation of Germany's financial system. Based on a discussion of the German economy in the postwar period, the case highlights the impact of financial globalization and EU policies on Germany's domestic system of banking and finance, corporate governance, and banking regulation.
In December 1996, Enron Europe and The Eastern Group were on the verge of signing an innovative transaction in the utility industry. Eastern was going to buy a long-term option to convert natural gas into electricity from Enron, thereby giving it the economic right to operate a "virtual" power station. This structure was vastly different from the traditional independent power plant (IPP) structure, and the executives involved had to convince their superiors of its wisdom before they could proceed. This case was jointly written for Large-Scale Investment and Corporate Financial Engineering, and it covers topics related to both project finance and financial engineering. It illustrates a new paradigm in the electric power industry: the creation of virtual power stations backed by physical power stations with merchant exposure. It also illustrates how physical operations (constructing and operating a power plant) can be used to offset contractual obligations and trading exposures.
Describes the dilemma Martin Kamarck faced as president of the Export-Import Bank in whether to provide U.S. companies financing for China's Three Gorges Dam project.
This case is designed to facilitate a discussion and analysis of Ford Motor Company's e-commerce strategy in 1999-2000. It presents an independent analysis of costs and savings along the automobile-industry supply chain as well as recent information regarding auto dealers' reactions to Ford's e-commerce initiatives.
Health Development Corp. (HDC) owns and operates health clubs in the Greater Boston area. HDC engaged a local investment banker to explore a sale of the company. The most likely buyer views HDC's prior purchase of real estate as a negative. HDC's management is convinced the purchase enhanced value, and a discounted cash flow analysis confirms that it was a substantially positive net present value decision. Nevertheless, the real estate reduces the valuation according to the approach used by the potential buyer. The challenge is to structure a transaction that allows HDC to realize its full value.
The vice-president of an American logistics services provider considers establishing this service in Mexico where the logistics market is controlled by the banks and is very underdeveloped. He must decide whether to establish a greenfield operation or enter a joint venture. Issues of target segments and positioning also needed resolution.
The operations manager at Diverse Industries International's plant needs to make a decision regarding a restructuring of the plant's Automatic Dishwasher Gel production line. The restructuring suggestion which included replacing a loading table with a lift conveyor and hopper system, came from the company's industrial equipment contractor who hoped to sell them some used production equipment. The operations manager, while he was fairly sure the investment was a good idea, was concerned about how he could best justify the cost to the finance department and, if approved, how he could reallocate direct labor on the line to maximize efficiency.