個案總覽

Spreadsheet to accompany product 8B20N012.

Spreadsheet to accompany product 9B20N012.

Mindtree Limited (Mindtree) was promoted by a group of first generation entrepreneurs and had established itself as a successful digital business company. Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T), a successful conglomerate primarily in the business domains of construction and engineering, was looking to increase its footprint in information technology services. In 2019, L&T acquired more than 20 per cent stake in Mindtree and sought to increase its stake to 66 per cent by acquiring shares in the open market and making open offers to shareholders. Though Mindtree’s management and promoters were very much opposed to this takeover attempt, the company’s ability to keep a determined acquirer with deep pockets at bay would not come easy. The promoters of Mindtree, who had nurtured the company for the last two decades, faced the real threat of losing management control to L&T, the large and aggressive corporate group.

In May 2017, SoftBank announced the official launch of the Vision Fund - which promptly became the largest technology-focused investment fund in the world, with nearly $100 billion in capital under its management. Reports from a few months prior hinted that SoftBank was weighing a billion-dollar investment deal with WeWork, a commercial real estate company that specializes in shared office spaces. The official launch of the fund was proceeded by a series of multi-billion dollar investments in WeWork, eventually bringing the company's post-money valuation to $42 billion. The development of the Vision Fund had key implications for the late-stage venture capital industry. Moreover, Soft Bank's investments in WeWork raise important questions regarding investment decision-making, asset valuation, and issues surrounding corporate governance.

The case describes the structure of one of the earliest infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs) created and launched in Indian markets in 2017. IndiGrid was an InvIT created by Sterlite Power Grid Ventures Limited (SPGVL), the Sponsor. As a developer, SPGVL had been in the business of constructing and making available transmission links and assets to the grid operator on the basis of competitively bid annuity-like payments over 25 to 35 years. IndiGrid, an InvIT, acquired the transmission assets of the Sponsor to enable wider participation of investors. As the case illustrates, InvITs were allowed to act as pass-through vehicles for tax purposes in order to facilitate investors' direct participation in financing private-sector infrastructure investments. Historically, most investments made by private players in the infrastructure sectors in India relied on bank debt and risk capital brought by the developers or mobilised via equity markets.

In December 2017, Ali Asher, the second-eldest child of Aziz Asher, was conducting research for his father on the best way to restructure the family business to prepare for succession. Asher's parents and siblings all lived in Canada, while Ali had been running a start-up in India for nearly two years. The family had a real estate and construction business in Vancouver, British Columbia. Ali's older sister had special needs and lived with her parents, so any family estate plan would need to consider her ongoing care and well-being. His brother, who lived in a suite in the family residence, had a close bond with this sister, worked closely with their father, and had personally invested in one of the family's main real estate assets. The second sister lived in an apartment in Toronto, which the family had helped her purchase, and had little interest in the family business, though she wished to receive an equitable share of the overall estate. Ali believed that the family business and estate were highly vulnerable to both internal and external forces; he needed to recommend a suitable option for safeguarding the family's estate and transitioning the family business to the children in a manner that would satisfy both his father's conditions and the wishes of the other family members.

In December 2017, Ali Asher, the second-eldest child of Aziz Asher, was conducting research for his father on the best way to restructure the family business to prepare for succession. Asher’s parents and siblings all lived in Canada, while Ali had been running a start-up in India for nearly two years. The family had a real estate and construction business in Vancouver, British Columbia. Ali’s older sister had special needs and lived with her parents, so any family estate plan would need to consider her ongoing care and well-being. His brother, who lived in a suite in the family residence, had a close bond with this sister, worked closely with their father, and had personally invested in one of the family’s main real estate assets. The second sister lived in an apartment in Toronto, which the family had helped her purchase, and had little interest in the family business, though she wished to receive an equitable share of the overall estate. Ali believed that the family business and estate were highly vulnerable to both internal and external forces; he needed to recommend a suitable option for safeguarding the family’s estate and transitioning the family business to the children in a manner that would satisfy both his father’s conditions and the wishes of the other family members.

This case captures the problems concerning cash flow and working-capital management typical of small, growing businesses. At the end of 2020, Roger and Christine Barton have completed their third year of operating Nelson Nurseries, a $1-million-revenue woody-shrub nursery in central Virginia. While experiencing booming demand and improving margins, the Bartons are puzzled by their plummeting cash balance. The case highlights the difference between cash flow and accounting profits, as well as the common negative effects of growth on cash flow. It also provides a forum for instilling appreciation for the relevance of free cash flow to business owners and managers, introducing financial-ratio analysis, developing the concepts of the cash cycle and working-capital management, and motivating the use of financial models.

Spreadsheet supplement for case UV8024.

When businesses deliver a product or service, they often forego receiving immediate cash payment and allow their customers to pay later. Such payment terms are called trade credit. While trade credit fosters sales to existing and new customers, such credit is not free. The cost of trade credit to sellers is twofold: it creates repayment uncertainty and it increases the seller's financing cost. By extending trade credit, sellers effectively take on a banking role as they finance a portion of their customers' assets. This note explores and illustrates the trade-offs that businesses make regarding trade credit.

The well-known net present value (NPV) rule advocates accepting all investment projects that have a positive NPV. The NPV rule makes economic sense since positive-NPV projects are expected to create economic value. But what should a manager do if the total investment capital needed to fund the available positive-NPV projects exceeds the budgeted capital available? This note illustrates and discusses the profitability index, one tool that is used to assist managers in such constrained situations.

The chairman and managing director of Power Finance Corporation Limited (PFC) acquired REC Limited (REC), which was also engaged in the business of financing power sector projects. Both companies were in the public sector, with the Government of India holding the majority stake. The chairman and managing director must determine the next course of action for the two firms in order to achieve the maximum level of synergy.

The chairman and managing director of Power Finance Corporation Limited (PFC) acquired REC Limited (REC), which was also engaged in the business of financing power sector projects. Both companies were in the public sector, with the Government of India holding the majority stake. The chairman and managing director must determine the next course of action for the two firms in order to achieve the maximum level of synergy.

The case opens in 2019 as Raja Al Mazrouei, executive vice president of FinTech Hive (the Hive) at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the first and largest financial technology accelerator in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region, contemplates her and the Hive's option to support the fintech ecosystem in Dubai as the accelerated startups face funding challenges in the market. The case chronicles Al Mazrouei's efforts to set up the Hive in 2016 to create a fintech ecosystem in the region in line with the Kingdom's National Agenda to help financial institutions engage with technology to remain relevant to the region's evolving customer and market needs. The case provides a detailed overview of the model the Hive was based on and its growth story that led the Hive to rank as the 10th largest Global Fintech Hub and the 3rd biggest Global Islamic Fintech Hub in 2019. Having successfully "graduated" two classes of startups, in 2019 the Hive had signed partnerships with accelerators and incubators around the world and had announced a $100 million dedicated fund to support fintech companies globally. Yet, Al Mazrouei knew that she had just scratched the surface and there was a lot to be done. The investment mentality in the region was still quite conservative, and there were only a few venture capital funds and angel investors were virtually non-existent. The continued success of the startups depended on their access to funding and Al Mazrouei was concerned about the Hive's ability to support the increasing number of fintech startups the Hive had lured to Dubai. One such startup that had successfully graduated from the Hive's 2018 accelerator program was in the market raising funds. Would they succeed? Would the Hive's funds be enough to encourage VCs, financial institutions, and angel investors to join in and invest in early-stage fintech startups to keep them going?

In July 2017, a financial analyst from an Indian investment bank was assigned the task of identifying a suitable company from the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector for the bank’s portfolio. The bank wanted to expand its investment portfolio from the mobile Internet, information technology, health care, financial technology, and e-commerce sectors into the FMCG sector. After researching three significant players in the personal care segment and comparing these companies’ key ratios, the analyst determined that one of them, Bajaj Consumer Care Ltd., was a suitable candidate for valuation. Now, he had to perform a buy-side valuation of the company using the discounted cash flow technique to determine whether Bajaj Consumer Care Ltd. would be the right fit for his company’s investment plans.

Instructor spreadsheet to accompany product 8B20N009.

Student spreadsheet for product 9B20N009.

In July 2017, a financial analyst from an Indian investment bank was assigned the task of identifying a suitable company from the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector for the bank's portfolio. The bank wanted to expand its investment portfolio from the mobile Internet, information technology, health care, financial technology, and e-commerce sectors into the FMCG sector. After researching three significant players in the personal care segment and comparing these companies' key ratios, the analyst determined that one of them, Bajaj Consumer Care Ltd., was a suitable candidate for valuation. Now, he had to perform a buy-side valuation of the company using the discounted cash flow technique to determine whether Bajaj Consumer Care Ltd. would be the right fit for his company's investment plans.

Student spreadsheet to case W20181