個案總覽

Andrés Perez had one month leading up to March 30, 2022, to present the available alternatives and his recommendation to the family council, which would determine the future of Arqustik Vitruvio S.A.S. The company in Palmira, Colombia, specializes in producing PVC doors and windows and has been grappling with a severe financial crisis over the past four years. This crisis was primarily attributed to inadequate management under the previous administration, further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the social unrest experienced in Colombia in April 2021. Andrés found himself at a crossroads, faced with the crucial decision of recommending the most favorable course of action to his family. The available options were to either retain ownership of the company by restructuring the debt and introducing new product lines, sell it to a construction company that had presented a concrete offer, or consider the proposition of an external partner specialized in door and window manufacturing, who had expressed interest in buying 40% of shares. His recommendation needed to balance the economic and non-economic interests of his family.

Spreadsheet Suppliment for Case NA0818

The central theme of this case is corporate restructuring; in particular, its thematic unit is the process of financial stress within an organization. The courses and programs are for undergraduate courses such as Finance iii and Financial Strategy, with emphasis on financial analysis and modeling; for postgraduates such as the Masters in Finance in courses such as Financial Analysis and Corporate Finance; in the MBAs in the Financial Management course. These last three courses at the graduate level, although they contemplate financial analysis and modeling within their dynamics, would focus on the evaluation of restructuring alternatives. Likewise, this case can be applied to different executive education programs related to crisis management in family businesses, financial issues in general, and crisis management. In general, the case provides a situation for management decision-making in the process of financial stress, supported by financial modeling tools.

Spreadsheet supplement for case AN0081.

Ernesto Blanco, a leading Venezuelan businessman in the financial sector, was proposing to create a foundation with the aim of promoting the development of the stock market in his country. He wanted this initiative to be aligned with the strategic vision of his business group, as much as possible. However, he did not rule out sponsoring something not directly linked to the line of interest of his organization, if it had an impact on the status quo of the national stock market. Given the wide spectrum of issues that would fit into such an initiative, he decided to focus his efforts by developing a strategic planning exercise run by his old friend Ramón Piñango from the Business Academic Training Center (CAAE). For a day, a group of important opinion-makers from the academic and business worlds helped to think about the challenges of this proposal. These discussions resulted in the design of "four strategic topics" on which the project should focus: ≈ Development of the population's technical and financial capacities ≈ Ability of Venezuelan companies to operate in stock markets ≈ Capacity of the regulatory environment to boost competition ≈ Stimulation of the demand for securities Although Ernesto Blanco was convinced that the strategic planning exercise, run by Piñango, had been a success, he still felt that he had not resolved his greatest concern: where to position his foundation in the thematic area that would have the greatest impact on society, while aligning it with the long-term development interests of his corporate group.

In the midst of the macroeconomic crisis in Venezuela, Luis Marcano − business analyst with Productos La Valentina (PLV, for its acronym in Spanish) Group − had been assigned the valuation of the most emblematic enterprise in the group, Helados La Valentina (Ice-Creams La Valentina, HLV for its acronym in Spanish) in order to assess the convenience of the divestiture or retention of the business. PLV Group analyzed what changes they needed to make to their business portfolio in order to reduce political risk exposure related to its investments in Venezuela. In this context, Helados La Valentina − business around which the major PLV Corporation had been built − was a possible choice for divestiture. Marcano was to present the Investment Committee with a recommendation that would define the future of the business within the group. Should the group sell HLV or not? The answer to this question called for the valuation of the business in no time, based on the information available at that time. In order to embark on this endeavor, Marcano had to choose the valuation method that could better adjust to the existing constraints (a week's time margin) and − in turn − create a response that might be sufficiently robust to satisfy the inquisitive committee.