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Eight months has passed since Barker first invested in Beechwood Spouts, and the company's situation has deteriorated. The problems appear to be resolved. Barker must now decide whether to participate in a crucial bridge financing round, without which the company will go bankrupt.

RogersCasey Alternative Investments faces the challenge of managing distributions of stock by the private equity investors in which their clients have invested. These distributed shares appear to behave in complex ways, apparently at odds with market efficiency. A variety of strategies to capitalize on this behavior are considered.

Chemfree has the rights to distribute a line of environmentally friendly pest control products in Canada and abroad. Under the leadership of the president and controlling shareholder, the firm has experienced significant growth since its formation a few years ago and is poised for even more rapid growth in the future. The firm requires a substantial amount of money to finance this growth as well as its seasonal funding needs. Four alternative means of financing are being considered including two venture capital firms and two corporations. All of the alternatives involve a dilution in the president's equity interest and he must choose which alternative is most appropriate.

Addresses the challenges faced by Ben Rosen and the company board of directors as continuing problems force it to make a decision about the ongoing governance of the firm. The issues are complicated by the current CEO and founder, Rod Canion, who has had, until recently, a very successful track record and is very highly regarded within the company and the industry.

The manager of equity derivatives at ScotiaMcLeod is deciding whether to replace a software system that enables investment dealers to trade electronically on Canada's major stock exchanges. The new system allows access to institutional clients, which presents opportunities as well as threats to the traditional role of investment dealers. The case's primary objective is to introduce students to the concepts of financial markets and trading and to show the importance of information technology in the evolution of stock trading.

In September 2003, Mason Sexton, a young, inexperienced developer, was making plans to replace a rooming house he had inherited next to the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville with a new 14-unit, 5-story apartment house. His attempts to assemble the information, approvals, and resources necessary to point out the steps and risks inherent in the development process. Using the example of a small-scale residential project, this case illustrates development lessons applicable to projects of any scale. A rewritten version of an earlier case.

Spreadsheet Supplement for case 396001

The purpose of this note is to introduce the reader to the topic of intellectual property in the mid 1990s. Key aspects discussed include an overview of the law of intellectual property, how intellectual property is valued and the enforcement of intellectual property rights.

In May 1995, Jonathan Schneider, the president of the Schneider Co., is faced with several related problems. First, he needs to find a new facility that can accommodate his expanding business. Second, he needs to decide whether to lease or purchase this new facility. And third, he needs to decide what to do about the existing facility, which he leases from his father.

This note addresses four key issues of interest to the potential franchisor: 1. assessing the viability of the franchise concept; 2. financing the franchisor and franchisee; 3. designing the franchise agreement; and 4. the legal implications of the franchise agreement.

Spreadsheet Supplement for case 296011

The head of a bank's asset and liability committee has to approve an unexpectedly large overnight currency exposure or require at great cost that the exposure be reduced.

Scott Hall, vice-president of finance and chief financial officer of Champion Road Machinery Limited, was preparing a presentation on the company's proposed dividend policy for a board of directors' meeting scheduled for the middle of August. It had been only three months since the company completed its initial public offering, at which time the prospectus stated that: The company does not anticipate paying cash dividends on the common shares in the foreseeable future, but intends to retain future earnings for reinvestment in the business. However, earnings were well ahead of those projected in the prospectus and the company had succeeded in managing cash better than anticipated.

The vice-president of operations must submit a valuation and recommendation to expand his plant to handle a doubling of sales over the next three years. Students will have to understand the process review for capital allocation in this large corporation in order to make their recommendation, as well as complete a discounted cash flow.

Set in July 1995, this case invites students to assess the financial performance of Federal Express and United Parcel Service, two close competitors in the U.S. overnight express package-delivery industry. Although the case requires no numerical computations, it does ask students to interpret results and reflect on the implications. The contrasting financial records of the two firms afford a platform for exploring several important issues, including (1) the definition and use of "economic value added" (EVA) as a measure of corporate performance; (2) a comparison of EVA with other classic approaches of historical performance analysis; (3) the exercise of skills in business-segment analysis; (4) the exploration of the financial implications of intense competition and corporate transformation; and (5) the definition of "excellence" from a corporate-finance point of view.

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange needs to decide how to design, and whether and when to introduce, a futures contract on the Mexican peso.

In March 1990, Baring Capital Investors faced a decision about whether and how much to bid for Acova Radiateurs, a subsidiary of Source Perrier. Source Perrier had decided to sell Acova, and Baring Capital Investors thought it might make a good leveraged buyout candidate.

Spreadsheet Supplement for case 295150

Spreadsheet Supplement for case 295121

Spreadsheet supplement for case 295155.