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Spreadsheet Supplement for case 201067

In July 2000, Airbus Industries' supervisory board is on the verge of approving a $13 billion investment for the development of a new super jumbo jet known as the A3XX that would seat from 550 to 1,000 passengers. Having secured approximately 20 orders for the new jet, the board must decide whether there is sufficient long-term demand for the A3XX to justify the investment. At the time, Airbus was predicting that the market for very large aircraft (VLA), those seating more than 500 passengers, would exceed 1,500 aircraft over the next 20 years and would generate sales in excess of $350 billion. According to Airbus, it needed to sell 250 aircraft to break even and could sell as many as 750 aircraft over the next 20 years. This case explores the two sets of forecasts and asks students whether they would proceed with the launch given the size of the investment and the uncertainty in long-term demand.

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.

This case involves part of a module on financing large projects in the elective curriculum course entitled "Large-Scale Investment." It is set in August 1999, just after Iridium, a global communications firm, declared bankruptcy. Although the case describes Iridium's creation, development, and commercial launch, it concentrates primarily on the firm's financial strategy and execution as it raised more than $5 billion of capital. It describes the specific securities Iridium issued, the sequence in which it issued them, and the firm's financial performance prior to bankruptcy. Using analyst forecasts, students can value the firm prior to its bankruptcy, but will recognize how difficult it is to value technology start-ups given the uncertainty in demand.

This case introduces the field of project finance and supplies a statistical overview of the project finance market as of the mid=to late 1990s. It consists of four sections. The first section defines project finance and contrasts it with other well-known forms of financing. The second section describes the evolution of project finance from its origins in the 13th century in the mining industry, to the U.S. electric power industry in the 1970s and 1980s, and then to a much wider range of applications and locations in the 1990s. The third section provides a statistical overview of the project finance market as it exists today in terms of industry, project, and participant data. The final section discusses current and likely future trends. There is also an appendix that describes sources of industry data and other project finance information.

Spreadsheet Supplement for case 200028

It is June 1997, and a team from the International Finance Corp. (IFC) is recommending that the board approve a $120 million investment in a $1.4 billion aluminum smelter in Mozambique, known as the Mozal project. Four factors make the investment controversial: it would be the IFC's largest investment in the world, total investment is almost the size of Mozambique's gross domestic project (GDP), Mozambique had only recently emerged from 20 years of civil war, and several key contractual issues were still undecided. Because commercial bankers have refused to finance the deal unless the IFC is involved, the sponsors have requested IFC participation. Whether the IFC's board will agree that it is the right time and the right place to make such a large investment remains to be seen.

Equate Petrochemical Co. (Equate) is a joint venture between Union Carbide Corp. and Petrochemical Industries Co. (PIC) for the construction of a $2 billion petrochemical plant in Kuwait. The sponsors began construction in August 1994, using a bridge loan, and are in search of permanent, nonrecourse finance. As part of the permanent financing, the sponsors want to use a tranche of Islamic finance--funds that are invested in accordance with Islamic religious principles known as Sharia. The sponsors hired Kuwait Finance House which, in turn, approached The International Investor (TII is a Kuwaiti investment bank) to assist in structuring and underwriting the Islamic tranche. The case is set in early December 1995, as members of The Institutional Investor's Structured Finance Group are deciding which Islamic structure to use, how to resolve various conflicts between the Islamic and conventional tranches, and how large a commitment to make on behalf of their investors.

Spreadsheet Supplement for case 200012.

Provides a basic introduction to the principles of Islamic finance. Examines the religious background and legal foundations of Islamic finance. Also discusses the development of Islamic financial institutions and the financial instruments they use. Concludes with a discussion of recent developments and future challenges for this growing segment of the global financial system.

Spreadsheet Supplement for case 200002.

The Caspian region may become one of the world's next major energy producers. Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan-all former Soviet republics--hold vast and largely undeveloped reserves of oil and gas, but the region's export infrastructure is nearly nonexistent. The Note provides background on Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan-the region's major oil producers-including economic and oil sector data. Also in A, it discusses major options to the surrounding region; B. Covering the advantages and weaknesses of each of the options.

Spreadsheet Supplement for case 299044

Petrozuata is a proposed $2.5 billion oil-field development project in Venezuela. The case is set in 1997 as the project sponsors, Conoco and PDVSA (Venezuela's national oil company), are planning to meet with various development agencies and rating agencies regarding the proposed financial structure. The sponsors hope to raise a portion of the $1.5 billion debt in the capital markets, which will require an investment-grade rating. The key questions are whether the project will achieve an investment-grade rating and, if not, how to finance the project. Describes what turned out to be an extremely well-crafted financial transaction, one that was named "Deal of the Year" in 1997 by virtually every journal covering project finance.

On October 15, 1996, Virginia-based CSX and Pennsylvania-based Consolidated Rail (Conrail), the first and third largest railroads in the eastern United States, announced their intent to merge in a friendly deal worth $8.3 billion. This deal was part of an industry-wide trend toward consolidation and promised to change the competitive dynamics of the Eastern rail market. Students, as shareholders, must decide whether to tender shares into the front-end of a two-tiered acquisition offer. To make this decision, they must value Conrail as an acquisition target and understand the structure of CSX's offer.

Eight days after CSX announced it was going to buy Consolidated Rail (Conrail) for $88.65 per share, Norfolk Southern made a hostile $100 per share bid for Conrail. Over the next several months, the potential acquirers upped their bids while exchanging criticism in the popular press, prompting analysts to call this one of the nastiest takeover battles of the 1990s. The case is set in January 1997, just before Conrail shareholders are scheduled to vote on the proposed deal with CSX. It analyzes the trend toward consolidation in the U.S. railroad industry, the bidding war for Conrail, and the various provisions in Pennsylvania's anti-takeover laws, which restrict the market for corporate control. It also explores the strategic and financial implications of a bidding war and challenges the assumption that failure to acquire is a zero net present value endeavor. Finally, it examines the nature of and economic basis for regulating the market for corporate control.

Marvel Entertainment Group is the leading comic book publisher in the United States, with superheros like Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, the X-Men, and Captain America. It is also one of the leading manufacturers of sports and entertainment trading cards under the Fleer and Sky Box brand names. In the mid-1990s, it experienced sharp declines in both businesses, causing it to file for bankruptcy in December 1996. This case is set in late January 1997, shortly after Marvel filed its reorganization plan with the bankruptcy court and approximately one month before creditors will have to vote on the plan at the confirmation hearing. Two of the most prominent corporate raiders of the 1980s are pitted against each other for control of the company. On one side is Ronald Perelman, who controls Marvel through his MacAndrews & Forbes holding company. On the other side is Carl Icahn, who controls 25% of Marvel's public debt. Icahn and the other bondholders must decide whether to accept Perelman's plan, to reject it in favor of their own plan, or to sell their bonds before the confirmation hearing. Perelman must decide whether to change the plan in response to the debtholders' threats or to wait and see what happens at the hearing. A rewritten version of another case.

Presents a framework for analyzing strategic decisions. Takes as given the practice of value-based management whereby managers use value as a primary criterion when making financial, strategic, or investment decisions. Through a simple valuation model, it shows how equity value is related to three value drivers profitability, advantage horizon, and reinvestment. Also presents a numerical example to illustrate the model as well as empirical evidence to support the relation between value creation and the value drivers.

Spreadsheet supplement for case 297082.

In 1988, USG was the world's largest gypsum producer and one of the world's largest building-products companies. On May 2, 1988, USG's board of directors announced a proposed leveraged recapitalization plan to thwart a hostile cash tender offer by Desert Partners. With only one week remaining before the tender offer was scheduled to expire, shareholders must decide whether to tender their shares or wait and vote in favor of the recapitalization plan.