Using the example of the acquisition of Syngenta by ChemChina in 2016/17, the case highlights the credit, legal and regulatory risks associated with a complex cross border acquisition finance transaction from a lenders point of view. The case focuses on the credit risk of a short-term bridge loan that is established to enable the borrowing group and its financial advisors to structure a long-term financing solution. Such transactions are typically structured using various special purpose vehicles (SPVs) in different jurisdictions. The complex structure of the transaction, crossing several jurisdictions and regulatory environments, requires the credit analysts to consider not only financial risks but also non-financial risks such as the questions of enforceability of the lender's claims.
Popular Japanese fast-food chain Saizeriya operates affordable family-style Italian restaurants in Japan with subsidiaries in a number of Asian locations. Since the company's Australian suppliers require payments to be made in Australian dollars (AUD) instead of Japanese yen (JPY), volatile currency exchange rates continue to be a serious risk to Saizeriya's operations. The company's president, Issei Horino, believes foreign currency hedging could reduce the costs associated with exchange rates. But an earlier attempt to use foreign currency coupon swap contracts from BNP Paribas went horribly wrong- it cost the company JPY15bn to break those contracts. As the JPY continued to depreciate, together with declining restaurant sales and a falling share price, Horino decided to revisit the company's previous use of foreign currency hedging to investigate whether Saizeriya could adopt an appropriate foreign currency hedge.
This case details the challenges Kiana Nelson faced at Central Valley Towing, a fictional towing company Nelson acquired. In the case, Nelson must decide whether to overrule a direct report's decision regarding firing an employee, determine what to do about a talented but abrasive employee, and respond to a top performer who wants a promotion and another top performer who has decided to leave the company.
Founded in 1885, Crayola has since established itself as US-based iconic brand with a wide array of quality products and deep connections with consumers, retailers, and licensing and business partners. By March 2020, Crayola had achieved category leadership and was outselling the majority of its competitors. It was on trend with new products and online content for educators, parents, and children—all with the goal of inspiring creativity among children. Crayola had also created strong relationships with and earned the respect of retailers, who had come to value the role Crayola played in their business, especially during the two most important retail seasons: back-to-school and Christmas. At the beginning of the second quarter of 2020, Crayola had to make some critical decisions. The rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus across the United States had led to business and school closures across the country (and the world), as well as personal physical restrictions. Crayola needed to immediately focus on three key areas: maintaining company culture, collaborating with partners to preserve the volume of back-to-school revenue, and ensuring a strong supply chain to meet consumers’ needs. These three actions would ensure that Crayola could take advantage of key opportunities and continue creating strong and sustainable relationships with educators, parents, and children.
In recent years, India had experienced a digital revolution, emerging as a forerunner in cashless payments and, in the process, dramatically raising the level of financial inclusion in the country. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), established in 2008 with the mandate to improve national payment systems, became a global gold standard for facilitating innovative financial technology (fintech) solutions. NPCI was created as a not-for-profit “coopetitive” organization, initiated by India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India, but owned by a consortium of India’s leading banks and largely run independently. While NPCI’s success in devising an open innovation platform had led to a new competitive playing field, it had also raised the question of whether or not its original coopetitive organizational design was still suitable for sustaining the flow of fintech innovations.
What does it take to build the infrastructure to recycle plastic bottles that is economically viable? The case looks at the economics of the circular economy, focusing on the development of a business case for a beverage producer to create a closed-loop PET bottle recycling facility on the island of Malta.
This case focuses on the entrepreneurial journey of Sino Suisse Pte Ltd, an external asset manager (EAM) in Singapore. This case is motivated by three observations: (1) the ability of Sino Suisse to rise rapidly from failure in a short span of 3 years to achieve an asset under management (AUM) of US$ 4 billion, (2) the strong conviction of the founder in the "triple-wins" positioning of the EAM business model, and (3) the use of technology to maintain a lean organizational structure. The case examines the motivations of Mr Albert Liu, founder of Sino Suisse, in switching from a salaried employee in private banking to an entrepreneur in 2017. It goes on to explore the entrepreneurship lessons learnt by Liu. The case further presents the business and revenue models of a typical EAM and the value propositions of the EAM model to high net worth clients. It illustrates the "three-win" positioning of an EAM espoused by Liu and continues with the differentiating value propositions of Sino Suisse to clients, which includes, • an open architecture with access to products, pricings and markets from multiple private banks and investment banks, • an aggregator platform called the "Happy Alliance" which allows other EAMs to participate in idea generation and sharing of best practices, new products and ideas via various channels including seminars, online forum, and events, • an exclusive business network called the "Hippo Club" where ultra-high net worth clients of Sino Suisse can source for direct investment deals and philanthropic ideas, among the members. Finally, the case prompts the reader to analyze a key concern of Liu, namely the risk of a negative externality on Sino Suisse from a reputational loss in the broader EAM industry, and brainstorm ways to mitigate this risk for Sino Suisse and the broader EAM sector.
Xiaomi India Private Limited (Xiaomi India), a subsidiary of the Chinese smart phone company Xiaomi Corporation, controlled a major share in the Indian market. However, its dominance was threatened by geopolitical tensions between India and China. The two countries shared a 4,000 kilometre border and a history of dispute over the border’s actual demarcation. Tensions brewing over the international border during early 2020 precipitated an armed clash between Indian and Chinese troops at one border post that resulted in the death of 20 Indian soldiers. In response, the Indian government issued orders for companies to declare the identity of products made in China, with a preference for products made in India. A consumer boycott of Chinese products was also posing a threat to the Xiaomi brand’s market leadership position, while competitors saw an opportunity to expand their market share. How could Xiaomi India overcome the current negative environment and prepare for similar potential conflicts in the future?
In mid-2020, Uber Technologies, Inc. (Uber) acquired Latin American-based mobile application Cornershop, which delivered online grocery purchases to the consumer’s home. The operation involved technology firms based on multisided platforms. Uber, which focused on the intermediation of passenger transport, had expanded to businesses such Uber Eats for the delivery of restaurant meals, while Cornershop’s focus was the purchase and delivery of supermarket products. Recently, Walmart had attempted to acquire Cornershop, but Mexico’s antitrust authorities would not authorize the acquisition. Uber’s acquisition of Cornershop involved important managerial challenges. What were the main sources of value? Should the two companies be managed separately or as joint units? Would Walmart have been a better fit for Cornershop? What was the best strategy to grow in this multisided business space?
On February 20, 2020, the executive vice-president and chief financial officer of Input Capital Corporation, the first agricultural commodity streaming company in Canada, was reviewing a capital stream contract that one of his associates had prepared for Sustainable Farms Inc. and submitted for his approval. One important consideration was the rate of return expected from the contract and the risks involved. The executive called a co-op student to his office and assigned her the task of calculating the internal rate of return, or effective yield, on this capital stream contract. He also hinted at an alternative way to assess the profitability of the contract, which was to estimate the contract’s mark-to-market value.
The case provides an opportunity to formulate a late entrant's response to the competitive dynamics set in motion by its repositioning as a low-cost airline. It presents the dilemma before Tony Fernandes-the chief executive officer of AirAsia Sdn Bhd (AAB)-about how he should respond to the competitive retaliation from Malaysia Airlines (MA), the incumbent national carrier of Malaysia. Fernandes entered the Malaysian aviation industry in December 2001 by acquiring an ailing AAB. After acquiring the airline, he repositioned it as a "low-fare, no-frills" airline with the tagline "Now everyone can fly". He focused on all possible avenues to reduce the operations and maintenance costs and maximise the capacity utilisation of the planes. The initiatives yielded results, and AAB became debt-free within eight months of its renewed operations and reported a monthly cash flow of RM 18 million. With the utilisation of 4,000 seats daily and a passenger load factor of 70%, the airline repaid the loan of RM 100 million and earned a monthly profit of RM 2 million. In August 2002, MA retaliated by announcing its super saver offer that provided a full-service flight experience at 50% of the original fare. The tariff reduction resulted in a drop of 40% in AAB's bookings and threatened its survival. Fernandes had to respond to the new development.
This case explores the tradeoffs between product personalization and simplicity as companies grow. The case presents an opportunity to understand whether and how each of these approaches enables and/or limits companies' abilities to provide customer satisfaction while being efficient in their operations. In October 2018, Allianz was one of the world's leading insurers and asset managers with 103 million retail and corporate customers in 70 countries. It was one of only two insurers to rank amongst the world's 50 strongest brands in 2017, a sign that the company's customer-centricity approach drove value and resonated with clients. Allianz's ambition was to reach the top 25 brands in Interbrand's ranking by 2025. For the insurer, the key to success was to focus on simplicity-reducing the complexity of products and processes in order to create a more unified customer experience. However, such a move did not align with current trends in insurance markets, where Allianz's main competitors had opted for hyper-personalization. Furthermore, a strategy focused on simplicity implied a radical move in certain key markets where Allianz had traditionally offered a large diversity of products. Was simplicity the right strategy? Would Allianz be able to embrace customer needs successfully within and across markets while simultaneously growing its business?
In 2017, the Trump Administration made a bold claim-that they would return the next man and the first woman to the lunar surface by 2024, this time to establish a sustainable presence to enable further exploration in the solar system. With the Artemis Program, NASA has demonstrated an interest in bolstering public-private partnerships and developing an international coalition interested in collaborating in lunar exploration. A central piece of infrastructure will be the Lunar Gateway, an orbiting habitat and command module in cislunar space. Should NASA prioritize the Lunar Gateway, especially considering its history managing the International Space Station?
Dr. Andrea Pusic, breast cancer reconstruction surgeon, wants to extend outcomes measurement beyond traditional surgical metrics of infections, complications, and survival rates. The case describes her development of a new mobile phone app, which collects patients' responses to questions about their post-surgical outcomes and experiences using BREAST-Q, a statistically-validated patient-reported outcomes survey instrument she helped develop. The app provides patients with immediate feedback about their progress, and access to resources customized to their recovery needs. Dr. Pusic also leads a time-driven activity-based costing study to measure the cost of treating patients for all disease stages and across all stages of care and treatment modalities, including psychosocial oncology and physical therapy services. The case describes several care decisions based on the new information on patient outcomes and preferences, and the costs of care. The case ends with Dr. Pusic deciding whether to undertake a project that would adapt the new app for community cancer care centers, which have limited resources, more diverse patient populations, and worse outcome than urban academic medical centers.
"One of the hardest disciplines in business and in life is tearing down what you've built to build something better," writes the founder and former CEO of Qualtrics--among the hottest tech companies of the past decade. He explains how the company grew from a family start-up in Provo, Utah, to be acquired by SAP in January 2019 for $8 billion: "the largest private enterprise-software acquisition in history." At its IPO two years later, the opening price valued Qualtrics at three times that amount. Qualtrics transitioned from a single-product market research company primarily serving academia to a multiproduct company serving enterprises with customer-experience, employee-insights, and market research offerings. Along the way, Smith had to ask his colleagues and coworkers more than once to rebuild the technology stack, replace code, and realign a portion of the 300-person workforce.