個案總覽

Ben Balbale, a partner at hedge fund Matrix Capital, must decide whether to exit their investment in Rovi Corporation, a company with a diverse portfolio of patents used primarily for digital interactive guides. Rovi's shares are up over 50% from the time Balbale initiated a position in the middle of 2009.

Ben Balbale, a partner at hedge fund Matrix Capital, must decide whether to exit their investment in Rovi Corporation, a company with a diverse portfolio of patents used primarily for digital interactive guides. Rovi's shares are up over 50% from the time Balbale initiated a position in the middle of 2009.

Spreadsheet supplement for case number 205058.

CEO Wesley Edens and the five Fortress principals are contemplating a move unprecedented in the industry: Becoming the first hedge fund and private equity firm to complete an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). This case examines potential reasons for a leading alternative investment firm to go public, including the firm's own rationale relating to "people, permanence, currency, and capital," while also providing analyst expectations regarding target valuation and initial stock performance.

Supplement to (206-018). Download only.

Spreadsheet Supplement for case 207084

Following a successful model in Europe, JP Morgan has introduced a set of five U.S. retail mutual funds with an investment philosophy and marketing strategy grounded in behavioral finance. The asset management group believes that understanding investor biases like overconfidence, anchoring, and loss aversion is key to generating returns on the investment side and educating clients on the advisory side.

Students evaluate the performance of four mutual funds and compute the cost of capital for two companies using fixed benchmarks, the CAPM, and a multifactor model of returns.

Hedge fund SAC Capital and analysts from Gradient Analytics and Banc of America face charges of stock price manipulation from Biovail, a Canadian pharmaceutical company. Gradient and BofA produced negative reports on Biovail's earnings quality. At the same time, SAC built a large short position in the stock. The defendants must consider specific and general strategic responses to these allegations.

Students act as managers or investors. Managers have the ability to manipulate reported earnings, and investors must bid for shares taking this into account.

Students make a market in a new security, posting bid and offer prices and quantities for a new derivative security.

Howard Atkins, the chief financial officer of Wells Fargo, is considering issuing $3 billion in convertible debt. With an investment-grade credit rating, Wells Fargo is not the typical issuer of convertible securities, but the market conditions in 2003 are unusual. Strong demand from both convertible arbitrage hedge funds and income mutual funds appears to create an opportunity for Wells Fargo to raise capital at a low cost.

Morningstar, a publisher of data and ratings for mutual fund investors, is considering an auction-based approach to the company's upcoming IPO, with management weighing the risks and benefits of the auction approach vs. a traditional underwritten offering.

Spreadsheet Supplement for case 206023.

Thomas Weisel Partners (TWP), a San Francisco-based bank focusing on emerging growth companies, is considering its strategy in the context of regulatory, competitive, and legal changes. Blake Jorgensen, the chief operating officer and co-director of investment banking, must decide how best to serve TWP's clients given the Global Research Analyst Settlement, Regulation Fair Disclosure, changes in "soft dollar" commissions, decimalization, and Sarbanes-Oxley.

Corning, with large investments in fiber optic technology, was hit particularly hard by the collapse of the telecommunications industry in 2001. With over $4 billion in debt, the firm's survival appears to rest on raising additional equity capital. The protagonist is considering whether to invest in Corning or in a new mandatory convertible preferred stock that is being offered to the public.

MCI's board of directors is considering competing bids from Verizon and Qwest. Qwest, a smaller company with a weaker balance sheet, is offering almost a billion dollars more. But Verizon, one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world, has a history of successful mergers and acquisitions.

A five-member team from Berkshire Partners must recommend a final bid and financial structure for a leveraged buyout of William Carter Co., a leading producer of children's apparel. Investorcorp, a global investment group, has put the company up for auction. Goldman Sachs, in addition to running the auction, was offering "staple-on" financing. Under this arrangement, the winning bidder would have the option to finance the deal through a prepackaged capital structure.