Venture capital by necessity is a long-run investment. Consequently, since the mid-1960s virtually all venture financing has been raised through private partnerships with a ten-year or longer life span. To govern these investments, complex contracts have sprung up between venture capitalists and limited partners. These contracts provide an insight into the complex challenge of raising and managing a venture capital fund.
In 1992 PepsiCo is considering two opportunities to expand its restaurant business, Carts of Colorado, a $7 million manufacturer and merchandiser of mobile food carts, and California Pizza Kitchen, a $60 million chain in the casual dining segment. The discussion focuses on whether PepsiCo should pursue these opportunities, and if so, how the relationships might be structured, given PepsiCo's large organization and decentralized management structure. Examines strategy formulation and coordination issues in a related set of businesses that are part of a large, decentralized consumer products company.
Discusses accounting for intercorporate investments and the preparation of consolidated statements. U.S. and non-U.S. accounting standards are covered with emphasis on SFAS No. 52.
Ocean Spray Cranberries, one of the nation's most successful agricultural cooperatives, faces some difficult environmental management problems associated with water usage and wetlands development. Because of federal and state wetlands laws, new bogs for expansion had become virtually impossible to develop. Moreover, to protect its valuable brand, Ocean Spray needs to make reasonably certain that its 800 grower-owners utilize the best possible environmental practices in water management and the use of agricultural chemicals. A single incident could cause the company significant harm. The case describes some of the innovative programs undertaken to facilitate best practices among the loose knit community of growers.
Sandford Smith, CEO of Repligen, faces the breakdown of negotiations about a proposed joint venture with a large pharmaceutical firm. He must decide whether to proceed using his firm's internal resources or whether to seek to revise the proposed collaboration. If the deal is to be revived, he must decide on what aspects to compromise.
Aberlyn Capital Management, a venture leasing firm specializing in providing capital to biotechnology firms, proposes to introduce a new product. Aberlyn will base a lease on an intangible product: the patent of a biotechnology firm. This poses a series of short and longer run challenges.
InSpeech, Inc., the largest U.S. provider of speech, occupational, and physical therapists to nursing homes and hospitals, is faltering badly. The company is having trouble retaining its frontline employees--the clinicians who deliver its services--and its customers. Senior managers must assess the problem and devise a turnaround strategy.
NovaCare's CEO is considering how further to institutionalize the company's espoused values and beliefs. One challenge is integrating two newly acquired businesses; another is better aligning the values of the company's managers with those of its front-line employees--the health care providers who deliver rehabilitative services to patients in nursing homes and hospitals.
Presents a business game that allows participants to make 12 scheduling decisions under conditions of demand uncertainty. Played with groups of 3 to 5 participants, this game does not require a computer.
In 1990, Xerox undertook an "Environmental Leadership Program" designed to make Xerox an industry leader in non-polluting operations, recycling, and products actually designed for the environment. This effort flowed naturally out of the system of total quality management developed at Xerox in the 1980s. Under the new program, Xerox planned to design its products for complete reuse, remanufacturing, and recycling. This effort entailed a complete redesign of the company's product-delivery system, from initial designs, to materials acquisition, to manufacturing, marketing, and after-sales service.
National Convenience Stores seeks to emerge from Chapter 11. Central to the nature of the reorganization plan is the company's determining enterprise value. The various constituencies (secured debt, unsecured debt, etc.) will seek to find an enterprise value that coincides with their interest. The case provides detailed projection data to permit full utilization of the relevant techniques.
EMC Corp. is the target of a shareholder class-action lawsuit for the second time. CEO, Richard Egan, must decide whether to settle the case, as is done in 96% of such cases and as EMC itself did previously, or fight the action.