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It supplements case UV5622

Spreadsheet supplement for product UV6418.

This case examines issues surrounding the choice of financing arrangements for the acquisition of Radiologix in July 2006. The case follows Mark Stolper, the CFO of RadNet, as he considers how to raise the $363 million in funds necessary to finance the acquisition. When completed, the combined firms will be the largest private diagnostic-imaging provider in the United States. When Stolper joined RadNet in 2003, he confronted a company with ""too much debt, and the wrong kind of debt."" His goal is to finance the acquisition in a way that further enhances the financial strength and operating flexibility of the company. Given the large size of funding required, the firm is unlikely to be able to fund the entire transaction with first-lien or bank debt. His financial advisors differ in their recommendations for how to raise the remaining funds-one suggests using second-lien debt, and the other, high-yield debt. The purpose of the case is to familiarize students with frequently encountered types of debt financing that are used to finance mergers and acquisitions and other corporate transactions. The case provides information on the distinctions among first-lien, second-lien, and high-yield debt in relation to their price, availability, flexibility of covenants, repayment ease, and composition of likely investors. The case is designed for use in courses that cover corporate financing, M&As, and debt financing.

The Nokia case provides an opportunity to explore financial policy in a situation of broad strategic change. In recent years, Nokia, the world's leading producer of mobile phones, had seen its market share and profits eroded by rival products such as Apple's iPhone and phones featuring Google's Android operating system. In February 2011, Stephen Elop, the recently appointed president and CEO of Nokia, announced a broad strategic plan and partnership with Microsoft to correct the company's course and improve its competitive position. Analysts regard the next two years as a period of great uncertainty for the company. The CFO of Nokia must reassess the firm's financial policy in light of the plan and consider its effects on the potential need for external funds, and the appropriate mix and cost of the debt or equity financing that might be used to raise those funds. Nokia, like many technology companies, often carried high cash balances to preserve financial flexibility, but in 2008 and 2009 in response to the global financial crisis it had drawn down cash to historically low levels and experienced several downgrades of its debt by major credit rating agencies. Students must evaluate the tradeoffs between maintaining cash reserves and the need for external funds and work through the implications of financing the projected need for external funds with debt or equity.

Spreadsheet supplement for case UV5656.

At a time of market turmoil, a university investment manager wants to unload the school's entire private equity portfolio, yet no public market exists, so the assistance of a partner at a PE firm is sought. This case provides an introduction to a range of secondary transactions and the valuation challenges that arise.

It supplements case UV5620

Spreadsheet Supplement for case UV2555.

This note focuses on the valuation of late-stage companies with a particular emphasis on leveraged buyouts (LBOs). In addition to LBOs, late-stage investments can arise in situations involving growth equity, turnarounds, mezzanine investments, and distressed debt. In contrast to venture capital, where firms are typically at an early stage of development, late-stage investments involve more established businesses that have an ability to take on higher levels of leverage to augment investor returns. While in practice there are several approaches to valuation, the approach chosen often comes down to which provides the most accurate representation of the situation and perspectives of the parties involved. This note takes the perspective of a PE investor and assumes some basic familiarity with the structure of PE investing. It provides a basic overview of the primary sources of financing and the metrics used to gauge LBO capital structures and a step-by-step example of an LBO analysis.

This case explains marketing process for follow-on equity offerings, the direct and indirect costs of issue, and the long-run performance of equity issuers. Students use analysts' projections from which to estimate the intrinsic value of the company's share-including the cost savings from the VEBA and financial improvements over the next several years. It is appropriate for use in corporate finance courses covering the topics of capital raising, equity financing, capital structure, costs of financing, funding alternatives, investment banking, and valuation. It presents the classic profile on an equity issuer-a firm whose stock price has risen to new heights in recent months. Will the issue lead to additional value that creates opportunities for shareholders, or is it a sign the firm is overvalued? The case explores the thinking of a prominent investment manager who had accumulated a large stake in Goodyear and who did not see the need for Goodyear to make an equity issue at this time. The company's position was that the high stock would allow it to further strengthen its balance sheet and pursue international growth opportunities. Students are asked to decide what the investor should do with respect to the current offer-buy, sell, or hold.

In November 2006, Alec Berg, a successful hedge fund manager, must decide whether to invest in the initial public offering (IPO) of the Hertz Corporation. The IPO followed a leveraged buyout (LBO) of Hertz that was completed in December 2005 by three prominent private equity firms that had combined to purchase Hertz from the Ford Motor Company for $14.9 billion. The LBO sponsors had borrowed an additional $1 billion on top of the buyout financing to pay themselves a special dividend in June 2006. This loan would be repaid with the IPO proceeds and any remaining proceeds from the IPO would go to the sponsors. The IPO generated widespread criticism with respect to the speed with which the IPO was conducted and the payment of special dividends. In the face of this criticism, the demand for the Hertz IPO weakened, and the offer price was reduced from the initial file price range of $16-$18 to just $15. Berg must assess whether at $15 per share, Hertz offers an attractive investment for this fund. The case provides the necessary information for students to analyze the sponsors' returns on their investment in Hertz and the attractiveness of the $15 offer price to public shareholders. The case also offers an opportunity for students to discuss the controversy surrounding the payment of special dividends and the claim that private equity sponsors invest with a long-term perspective that creates value for the company.

In November 2006, Alec Berg, a successful hedge fund manager, must decide whether to invest in the initial public offering (IPO) of the Hertz Corporation. The IPO followed a leveraged buyout (LBO) of Hertz that was completed in December 2005 by three prominent private equity firms that had combined to purchase Hertz from the Ford Motor Company for $14.9 billion. The LBO sponsors had borrowed an additional $1 billion on top of the buyout financing to pay themselves a special dividend in June 2006. This loan would be repaid with the IPO proceeds and any remaining proceeds from the IPO would go to the sponsors. The IPO generated widespread criticism with respect to the speed with which the IPO was conducted and the payment of special dividends. In the face of this criticism, the demand for the Hertz IPO weakened, and the offer price was reduced from the initial file price range of $16-$18 to just $15. Berg must assess whether at $15 per share, Hertz offers an attractive investment for this fund. The case provides the necessary information for students to analyze the sponsors' returns on their investment in Hertz and the attractiveness of the $15 offer price to public shareholders. The case also offers an opportunity for students to discuss the controversy surrounding the payment of special dividends and the claim that private equity sponsors invest with a long-term perspective that creates value for the company.

This case is designed as an introductory exercise to familiarize students with several methods used to value early-stage companies. The value of a young biotech company is compared under the venture capital (VC), discounted cash flow (DCF), and real option methods of valuation. Students are asked to value the firm under the VC and DCF methods and then compare those values to the value obtained under the real option method. It is suggested that the student spreadsheet (UV4357) be assigned in advance of the class with instructions to have students value the firm under the VC and DCF methods. A separate worksheet in the file (which can be hidden at the instructor's discretion) provides the option valuation for later discussion purposes. A technical note, "Valuing the Early-Stage Company" (UV1363), covering the basics of the VC and DCF methods of valuation can be assigned with the case.

This case is designed as an introductory exercise to familiarize students with several methods used to value early-stage companies. The value of a young biotech company is compared under the venture capital (VC), discounted cash flow (DCF), and real option methods of valuation. Students are asked to value the firm under the VC and DCF methods and then compare those values to the value obtained under the real option method. It is suggested that the student spreadsheet (UV4357) be assigned in advance of the class with instructions to have students value the firm under the VC and DCF methods. A separate worksheet in the file (which can be hidden at the instructor's discretion) provides the option valuation for later discussion purposes. A technical note, "Valuing the Early-Stage Company" (UV1363), covering the basics of the VC and DCF methods of valuation can be assigned with the case.

In August 2005, The Carlyle Group and its partners (Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, and Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity) must finalize the terms of a bid to purchase the Hertz Corporation. The Ford Motor Company had put Hertz, a wholly owned subsidiary, up for sale in April 2005, and in June 2005 Hertz entered a dual-track process, that would result in its sale or an initial public offering (IPO). The case provides detailed pro forma projections for the transaction that allow students to examine the synergies of the deal and estimate a value and bid for Hertz. Students must consider whether their bid provides an adequate return to the sponsors, can produce a higher value for Hertz than can an IPO, and can best the bid of a rival bidding group. The case is appropriate for use in courses on corporate finance, private equity, or deal valuation. Because of the rich range of issues that can be considered, the case also works well as a capstone case or in a case competition. For instructors wishing to provide students an overview of the role and practices of private equity, we recommend combining the Hertz LBO case with its companion case, "Investing in Sponsor-Backed IPOs: The Case of Hertz" (UV1409). The Hertz IPO was announced in July 2006, just seven months after the LBO was completed. The two cases cover a wide range of issues that arise over the course of entry and exit of private equity investments.

Spreadsheet supplement for case UV1056.

This case is suitable for courses on corporate finance at the graduate or advanced undergraduate level that cover banking, financing, security design, capital structure, or capital markets. The case covers the events that led to the collapse of Bear Stearns's (Bear's) hedge funds in July 2007 and traces management's response to the situation through January 2008. These events include macroeconomic factors that fueled the housing boom, the growth of securitization, structured products, and credit default swaps, and the maturity mismatch of financial institutions' funding strategies. The case provides a rich setting for students to understand the increasingly interrelated nature of banking activities, which poses large systemic risk to the financial sector. Two key questions are posed: "What factors were responsible for the collapse of Bear's hedge funds?" and "Was the response by Bear's management adequate in light of the collapse and the credit problems that ensued?" John Corso is a hedge fund manager with large cash balances in a prime brokerage account at Bear. In January 2008, he receives a call from a senior Bear executive reassuring him that the firm is in good hands following a shakeup of top management. The previous summer, two Bear hedge funds collapsed as a result of their investments in collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) that were backed by subprime mortgages. As a longtime client of Bear, Corso must evaluate whether the steps taken by management have been sufficient to resolve its credit problems or whether now is the time to remove his funds from the firm.

This case is suitable for courses on corporate finance at the graduate or advanced undergraduate level that cover banking, financing, security design, capital structure, or capital markets. The case covers the events that led to the collapse of Bear Stearns's (Bear's) hedge funds in July 2007 and traces management's response to the situation through January 2008. These events include macroeconomic factors that fueled the housing boom, the growth of securitization, structured products, and credit default swaps, and the maturity mismatch of financial institutions' funding strategies. The case provides a rich setting for students to understand the increasingly interrelated nature of banking activities, which poses large systemic risk to the financial sector. Two key questions are posed: "What factors were responsible for the collapse of Bear's hedge funds?" and "Was the response by Bear's management adequate in light of the collapse and the credit problems that ensued?" John Corso is a hedge fund manager with large cash balances in a prime brokerage account at Bear. In January 2008, he receives a call from a senior Bear executive reassuring him that the firm is in good hands following a shakeup of top management. The previous summer, two Bear hedge funds collapsed as a result of their investments in collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) that were backed by subprime mortgages. As a longtime client of Bear, Corso must evaluate whether the steps taken by management have been sufficient to resolve its credit problems or whether now is the time to remove his funds from the firm.

Student spreadsheet to case UV1064