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In July 2019, Green Trend Holdings Co. Ltd. (Green Trend) faced a difficult situation with regard to flaws in the preparation of its proposed initial public offering on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. According to the remedy measures raised by the underwriter facilitating the initial public offering process, Green Trend needed to raise additional capital of ¥1 billion with a proposed annual interest rate of about 30 per cent. Of course, the company could have postponed the initial public offering; however, without the long-awaited return following a successful initial public offering, all the efforts taken in past years would be in vain. The uncertainty of the capital market would further complicate the future road to an initial public offering. Did Green Trend have better alternatives?

On October 22, 2016, U.S. telecom operator AT&T Inc. and television media giant Time Warner Group announced that AT&T Inc. would acquire Time Warner Group for $107.50 per share, using half cash and half stock, to a total equity value of $85.4 billion. Although the chief executive officers from both companies were very confident about the future prospects for their shareholders once the transaction was approved and completed, there was much controversy surrounding the acquisition. A portfolio manager with a significant portion of her investment portfolios tied up in AT&T Inc. equity wondered if the price was fair. She needed to make a thorough valuation analysis to ensure that she could anticipate the future value of the merged firm and mitigate any possible loss in value for her investors.

Student Spreadsheet to accompany product 9B19N022.

Instructor Spreadsheet to accompany product 8B19N022.

In January 2018, an investment portfolio manager learned of a safety recall for Ford Motor Company (Ford) involving faulty airbags that failed to deploy upon collision. An investigation by U.S. regulators found that the company had been aware of these faulty airbags but had not taken proactive measures to mitigate the potential damage. As a result, in just one day, the share price for Ford dropped from $13.10 to $12.18 per share. The portfolio manager needed to anticipate the future of Ford and come up with a plan to protect his investors' wealth.

Spreadsheet for product 9B18N027.

An analyst at Vaux Gibson Inc., a fund that managed a portfolio of North American equities, was tasked with reviewing the fund’s holdings of Under Armour Inc. (Under Armour) and providing recommendations for the fund’s prospective investment strategy with the company. Under Armour had experienced significant revenues and bottom-line growth over the past three years, but this growth slowed significantly in 2017 and the company reported a net loss, resulting in the significant depreciation of its stock price. The analyst wondered if it was time to exit the investment, providing investors with an above-market return, or if there was still room for Under Armour to recover and grow.

Spreadsheet to accompany product 9B18N022.

Instructor Spreadsheet to accompany product 8B17N011.

In mid-2016, the chief executive officer of Tesla, a U.S. manufacturer of electric cars, was interested in acquiring SolarCity, a U.S. solar power manufacturer and distributor. Both Tesla and SolarCity operated in young, high-growth industries; however, despite their high growth rates, both companies were also losing money every year. Both companies had similar products and could be a strong strategic fit. The chief executive officer needed to convince Tesla’s shareholders that SolarCity would be a good acquisition target and then determine a fair price to offer.

Student Spreadsheet to accompany product 9B17N011.

In 2014, a newcomer to Canada has the opportunity to start a Chinese restaurant in a small Canadian city. The entrepreneur needs to decide whether to invest in the project, and if so, how to finance it: using debt or equity financing. She has to evaluate the impact of the financing options on the viability of the business, her investment returns, and the financial and business risks. The case provides an opportunity for a comprehensive FRICTO analysis of capital structure, and creates tension by putting the students in a small business owner’s shoes.

In early January 2016, FinSAS Financial Research Inc. needed to recruit more programmers because of its rapid growth. However, the average annual salary for financial programmers had been increasing significantly. The financial research company decided that it needed advice from a “programming strategist” from the software engineering industry. The company contacted such a strategist to build a reusable module for use by all company programmers, to avoid coding the same functionality over and over. FinSAS provided access to some of its programs and asked the strategist to prepare a proposal for the project. Would the strategist’s proposal meet the needs of FinSAS and its programmers?