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Spreadsheet supplement for case 297050.

This note discusses several ways in which venture-backed firms can be valued, including comparables, net present value, decision-tree analysis, and the "venture capital method."

A pension fund manager was examining Bank of Montreal's recent financial performance in comparison with other large Canadian bank stocks, and large U.S. bank stocks as well, to determine what factors appeared to be driving the stock's performance. He then needed to consider whether to change the fund's investment in the stock. This case examines the usefulness of financial performance measures and examines what drives stock values.

The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board, Canada's largest pension fund with over $40 billion in assets, had just listened to a presentation addressing a method for identifying and controlling the pension fund's exposure to market risks known as Value At Risk. The Board needed to understand what Value At Risk represented, what assumptions went into the risk management systems and how it might impact on policy decisions. This case introduces students to the risk management of investment portfolios, highlighting benefits and limitations.

Provides an overview of a module that focuses on how private equity funds are raised and structured.

Provides an overview of a module that focuses on the interaction between private equity investors and the firms they finance.

Provides an overview of a module that focuses on existing venture capital and other private equity investments.

Provides an overview of a module that focuses on the adaptation of the private equity model to corporate and nonprofit settings.

Provides an overview of the Venture Capital and Private Equity modules.

This technical note covers alternative methods for issuing securities in the U.S. public markets. It focuses on the basic institutional requirements of an underwritten security offering and the role of investment bankers. Two regulatory reforms of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Rules 415 and 144a, are also discussed.

Set in August 1995, enables students to assess Berkshire Hathaway's bid for the 49.6% of GEICO Corporation that it does not already own. Students perform a simple valuation of GEICO shares and consider the reasonableness of the 26% acquisition premium. There are no obvious synergies, and Berkshire Hathaway has announced that it will run GEICO with no changes. Student analysis can include the investment philosophy and remarkable record of Berkshire's CEO, Warren E. Buffett.

Schroder Ventures is considering launching a pan-European fund in response to investor demand. This will lead to changes in the interactions between the parent organization and the national affiliates. A related question is the extent to which the private equity model can be transplanted across national boundaries.

The owner of a rapidly growing retail lumber company is considering the financial implications of continued rapid growth. The magnitude of the company's future financing requirements must be assessed in the context of the company's access to bank finance and/or equity finance. A rewritten version of an earlier case.

GO faces a crisis in March 1991 when Microsoft announces the introduction of a competing operating system for pen-based computers. GO's managers must work with its venture financers, Kleiner Perkins, to redesign its financing, alliance, and product development strategies.

A large Mexican conglomerate, active in tourism, real estate, and steel, is faced with difficult macroeconomic conditions beginning with the Peso crisis of December 1994. The conglomerate had extensive dollar-indexed liabilities and was caught in a crunch when the Mexian Peso lost half its value against the dollar in late 1994. Even though a large portion of its revenues were also dollar-indexed, thus ostensibly providing a foreign exchange hedge, most of the conglomerate's customers were Mexican nationals. With the ensuing recession in 1995, the revenue base dried up, but the dollar liabilities were still outstanding. The case covers the period from late 1994 to February 1995 and deals with the financial and operational decision that Sidek had to face at that time.

Supplements the (A) case. Designed to be handed out midway through class.

Spreadsheet Supplement for case 297022

This note describes the links between inflation, exchange rates, and interest rates in an international setting. Students are introduced to the basic ideas, which are illustrated with data from four countries. The note emphasizes the managerial implications of these links and their relevance to forecasting exchange rates. It is useful as both background reading to supplement cases and as part of preparation for a lecture on the topic.

Set in 1994, this case concerns a subsidiary of Westmoreland Coal that is considering whether to proceed alone as the international partner and developer of a coal-fired electric power plant in Zhangze, China. The domestic partner, the government's electric power agency, has proposed a build-operate-transfer (BOT) project financing in which Westmoreland Energy (WEI) would receive returns over 20 years and then exit. The internal rate of return on the project appears to exceed the CEO's target rate, though the project developer, Dorothy Hampton, is concerned about a variety of risks and the appropriateness of the target hurdle rate. The tasks for the student are to evaluate the risks, estimate a target rate of return, exercise the valuation model (which is given in the case), and recommend any changes in the deal structure that can help WEI achieve its goals. The objectives of the case are to (1) exercise students' capabilities in analyzing a complex investment-financing transaction from the standpoints of various project participants (the key tasks are risk analysis and valuation), (2) illustrate the financial effects of debt leverage and equity leverage (the focus of attention is on the creation of value and its sources, risk shifting, and wealth transfers), and (3) assess the characteristics and challenges of project financings and development projects in emerging economies.

Spreadsheet Supplement for case 197010