個案總覽

This case tells the story of SMU Group, the third-largest supermarket operator in Chile. Having implemented a second restructuring plan (CIMA) between 2017 and 2019, the company was facing the challenge of having to implement a new corporate restructuring plan from 2020. SMU was created through successive acquisitions made between 2007 and 2013. This inorganic growth had led to a financial crisis, and the CIMA restructuring plan was implemented between 2014 and 2016, with the objective of improving operational efficiency, increasing revenues and reducing debt. Although SMU did achieve operational and commercial improvements, its debt burden remained high and the board of directors decided to continue the restructuring between 2017 and 2019. In an interview on November 24th 2019, Pilar Dañobeitía, president of the board and the decision maker in this case, highlighted that plan CIMA had positioned SMU as a solid company organizationally, financially, operationally and commercially. However, the credit ratings agencies International Credit Rating (ICR) and Humphreys had concerns about whether the operational and financial improvements at SMU represented a structural improvement. The following day, Pilar was due to announce the new corporate restructuring plan 2020-2022 to shareholders, but she wondered whether the new plan should include a direct response to the criticisms made by the ratings agencies, or just state that the current plan was addressing their concerns. In other words, Pilar asked herself whether the new CIMA plan should incorporate the criticisms made by the ratings agencies, or limit itself to continuing the current plan.

Latam Airlines (henceforth, Latam) was born from the merger of the Chilean airline LAN, owned by the Cueto family, and the Brazilian airline TAM, owned by the Amaro group, in 2012, which consolidated it as the most important airline group in South America. The present case relates the financial problems that motivated Latam to sign a strategic agreement with Delta, which if materialized, would cause the Cueto family (Latam's controlling group) to relinquish its ownership interest in the company.The agreement between Latam and Delta was announced on September 26, 2019 and established that Delta would acquire a 20% stake in the South American airline. A day later, Ignacio Cueto, the decision maker in the case, member of the controlling family and Chairman of Latam's Board of Directors, reflected on the benefits and disadvantages of the strategic agreement with Delta in an interview with a Chilean media outlet. Cueto predicted that the agreement would offer solutions both to the expansion problem the company was facing and to the consequences that this problem had generated in the company's financial position and performance. However, Ignacio was concerned about the changes that this alliance would cause in Latam's management and ownership. He could not stop thinking about other alternatives for creating corporate value in the long term without giving up ownership interest in the company.

Spreadsheet supplement for case CL0019.