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Candace Kendle and Christopher Bergen, the CEO and COO of Kendle International, Inc., are reviewing ways to finance the growth of their privately-owned company. Kendle is a contract research organization that conducts clinical drug trials for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. To compete more effectively, Kendle plans to grow through international acquisitions. It is now time to decide whether to go ahead with a full program of two European acquisitions, a large debt financing through Nationsbank, and an initial public offering to repay the debt and provide cash for future acquisitions. The falling stock prices of Kendle's competitors add pressure to the situation. Teaching purpose: To develop skills in designing and implementing an integrated financial and acquisition strategy.

Describes the decisions confronting David Hodges and Garret Turley about whether to grow their chain of veterinary clinics in the United Kingdom. Turley and Hodges must decide whether to attempt to speed up their acquisition pace and raise venture capital.

Starwood Hotels, the world's largest REIT, is interested in acquiring an underperforming hotel in the Pacific Northwest. Steve Goldman, Starwood's VP of acquisitions and development, is wondering how much to pay for the property and how to reposition it.

Spreadsheet Supplement for case 800194

Spreadsheet Supplement for case 200015

Spreadsheet Supplement for case 200036

Describes the development of edocs, an Internet company aimed at revolutionizing the on-line bill presentment market. Kevin Laracey must negotiate a venture capital investment with Jonathon Guerster, an associate at Charles River Ventures. Can be used as a role-playing exercise in negotiating a venture capital deal.

Supplements the (A) case.

Supplements the (A) case.

Honeywell was the first to introduce an integrated risk management program that combined traditionally insured risks with other risks in an insurance contract. This case identifies the benefits of integrating risks and shows how such an approach might be valuable.

In 1997, Kmart received an offer from retail buyout specialists Leonard Green & Partners for the purchase of its ailing 162-store home improvement chain, Builders Square. Green's offer included a $10 million cash payment, a warrant to purchase a 28% stake in the new entity in the future, and the assumption of approximately $1.5 billion in noncancelable Builders Square lease obligations. Kmart would remain contingently liable for the lease payments if the new entity were to fail. In the midst of the fiercely competitive home improvement retail industry, the questions posed include (1) what is the value of the Builders Square subsidiary?,(2) is the Green offer a good deal for Kmart?,and (3) should Kmart accept the offer or hold out for a higher offer or more offers?

The newly appointed CEO of an important high-technology company in Thailand must lead the company through a complicated debt restructuring. Due to the collapse of the Thai currency, the company's debt burden, like that of most Thai companies, has skyrocketed because it has borrowed heavily in U.S. dollars. The CEO, who is a U.S. citizen, must restructure the company under the recently revised, and largely untested, new Thai bankruptcy law. The new law allows troubled companies to reorganize their businesses following an approach that is similar, but not identical, to that practiced in the United States under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code.

In April 1999, the CEO of Repsol S.A., the large Spanish oil company, seeks to design the terms of an unsolicited tender offer to the shareholders of Argentina's largest oil company, YPF. The value to be paid per YPF share has been set. Remaining to be decided are: (a) form of payment, and (b) form of financing, if it is to be a cash deal. The task for the student is to sort through the advantages and disadvantages of three financing alternatives, using a framework such as FRICTO, and to make a recommendation. The objectives of this case are to: (1) illustrate the linkage between acquisition price, form of payment, and acquisition financing; (2) exercise analytical frameworks for comparing financing alternatives; (3) consider the important role of synergy expectations in designing financing. The case was prepared for use in an MBA elective on mergers and acquisitions, though could be easily adapted for teaching concepts of corporate financing.

AOL investor Fred Grant was surprised and disappointed by the January 10, 2000 announcement of the AOL Time Warner merger. He had been fortunate enough to buy AOL at $40 in October 1999, just prior to the stock's rapid rise to $95 in mid-December. Although just days prior to the merger announcement the stock had settled to $73, by February 2, 2000, it had suffered another decline--to $57 per share. Although many observers spoke in glowing terms of the enormous synergies between Time Warner's premier content, advertising, and cable distribution channels and AOL's Internet brand, marketing savvy, and subscriber base, analysts predicted that growth for the merged company would be in the 15%-20% range, one-half of what Grant expected for his AOL holdings. Analysts also warned of the management and execution risks associated with the enormous and unprecedented combination of Internet and traditional media businesses. Finally, Grant was concerned about the implications of AOL Time Warner's use of the purchase rather than pooling method to account for the deal. Why wouldn't the company use pooling accounting, as had other companies for large stock deals such as NationsBank-BankAmerica and Travelers-Citicorp? Would goodwill's dampening effect on earnings hurt the market valuation of the new company? As Grant watched his AOL stock slide in the days following the merger announcement, he wondered whether he should sell his shares or, as some analysts suggested, use these new lows as a buying opportunity.

Divisional management must decide whether to support a leveraged buyout by a private equity group and, if so, what percent of ownership should go to the various partners involved. The appropriateness of the financing structure and the value of the equity depend on the sustainability of the turnaround effected less than one year earlier.

Spreadsheet Supplement for case 100054

Clearnet is a rapidly growing wireless communications company in the midst of a major capital investment and marketing program. The vice-president/chief financial officer must make an immediate decision involving how much Clearnet should try to raise from the public, when, what sort of instrument, and where? Among the alternatives are equity and high yield debt issues in Canada versus U.S., and cash-pay versus discount notes. Two years after its start-up, Clearnet successfully launched its Mike network, an enhanced specialized mobile radio digital network. In addition, Clearnet was awarded a national personal communications service license and was in the midst of a major network build-out program and organizational expansion in preparation for launching personal communications services the following year to be directed at the mass consumer market.

Enron is evaluating whether to build the Escondido Power Plant, a 500 MW combined cycle natural gas plant in Douglas, Arizona, at a cost of $250 million. The plant would sell energy under a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA). Construction of the plant, expected to be completed in 18 months, would be financed with a loan from Credit Suisse First Boston (CF First Boston). During construction, interest would be capitalized. Upon completion of construction, the plant would be financed with 60% debt and 40% equity. Enron and General Electric Capital (GE) would each provide 50% of the equity. At the end of the 20-year period, the plant would be sold at book value.

This case examines the exchange-rate risk of a U.S.-based manufacturer of women's luxury shoes that has recently introduced its product in Japan. Students are asked to evaluate the extent of the firm's exposure to currency risk and whether hedging via forward contract or currency option is advisable.

The Internet investment craze was starting to catch on in Hong Kong. Tom.com Ltd., a Hong Kong-based Internet company, was planning an initial public offering at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. A portfolio manager for EuroGlobal Funds was to provide his professional opinion on the value of this investment and its appropriateness for different investors. He was aware of the difficulties in valuing Internet companies and the debate over the choice of valuation methods. Among these, one approach was to analyze the implied hyper-growth rate that Internet companies had to achieve in the next five years to justify their current valuations. He decided to apply this approach to Tom.com.