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Student spreadsheet for case UV7587.

The A case in this series takes the viewpoint of a senior portfolio manager who has to decide how to vote the shares held by Wells Fargo Asset Management: she can vote for the current board members of Imation Corp. (IMN) or for the nominees put forward by an activist hedge fund. The hedge fund sent an open letter to IMN shareholders seeking support to replace the key members of IMN's board, as the first step in pushing through sweeping changes in compensation and strategy at IMN. The case illustrates the power of an activist investor to change the governance and strategy of a company. The B case reveals that the activist's nominees were elected, and a series of decisions ensued that dismantled IMN. The case presents students with ethical questions regarding the treatment of IMN shareholders; it also highlights the influence of proxy advisers in a proxy vote. The case has been taught in an MBA corporate finance elective as the second class in activism, following another activist case, "Genzyme and Relational Investors: Science and Business Collide?" (UVA-F-1660). It can be taught to all undergraduate and graduate levels of business students, as well as seasoned executives.

This case is a setting to discuss "loan to own" investment strategy that is often pursued by distressed investors. The aftermath of the 2007 financial crisis left many companies with poor liquidity and limited ability to obtain credit. One of these companies was Pierre Foods, a producer and distributor of processed and precooked protein products that had experienced several years of promising sales growth and held a leading market position. Despite this, 2007 saw Pierre foods adversely affected by a spike in production costs and unsustainably high leverage. This made Pierre Foods an attractive opportunity for Oaktree Capital Management, allowing them to employ its strategy of investing in distressed debt securities with the goal of leading a restructuring during which their debt investment would be converted into a controlling equity stake. The challenge of executing "loan to own" strategy is being able to identify ahead of the restructuring the debt layer that stands to becoming equity (the so called "fulcrum security"). Overall, this case can be used to understand unique elements of a representative distressed investment. It can also be used as a platform for discussing sources of value and risks associated with distressed investing.

In February 2013, John Carroll and Alexander Whittemore, both managing directors at Summit Partners (Summit), are considering an investment in RoboSoft, LLC (RoboSoft), a provider of data-center automation, business intelligence, and security software solutions, primarily for the IBM i operating system. Summit had previously invested in RoboSoft, and did well when it exited the company in 2007. Over the ensuing years, Summit had followed RoboSoft and was considering a second investment in the company when it was put up for sale again in late 2012. This time, Summit planned to invest $103.6 million from its growth equity fund and $43.9 million from its subordinated debt fund to buy out the company. This case is designed to introduce students to mezzanine investments. Because the deal involves both an equity and a subordinated debt investment, students can compare the investment considerations and return expectations of both types of investors. The case contains the actual deal team's investment memorandum summarizing the merits of the RoboSoft investment. The students are asked to qualitatively evaluate the potential benefits and risks of the investment from the perspective of a debt investor and an equity investor, and to quantitatively calculate the internal rate of returns (IRRs) and cash-on-cash returns (CoCs) of Summit's equity and subordinated debt fund investments. This case is appropriate for classes that survey private equity investments, or for corporate financing classes that wish to compare the risk and return of equity and debt investments. It is assumed that students have taken valuation courses and understand residual equity cash flow valuation methods. There are Excel files-one for students, one for instructors-to support analysis of this case.

Instructor spreadsheet for case UV7574.

This note replaces "Valuation of Late-Stage Companies and Buyouts" (UVA-F-1639). This note focuses on the valuation of late-stage companies with a particular emphasis on leveraged buyouts (LBOs). In contrast to venture capital, where firms are typically at an early stage of development, late-stage investments involve more-established businesses that have an ability to take on higher levels of debt to augment investor returns. The note provides a description of LBOs, an overview of the commonly used sources of financing and the metrics used to assess LBO capital structures, a discussion of the value drivers of buyouts, and a step-by-step example of an LBO analysis. This note takes the perspective of private equity (PE) investors and assumes some basic familiarity with the structure of PE investing. Their approach is compared to other discounted cash flow valuation methods based on the weighted-average cost of capital or adjusted present value.

The case describes China's bicycle-sharing industry at a time of unrest. Following a period of potentially unsustainable, rapid expansion, the industry began to receive a lot of media and public scrutiny. Bluegogo first drew attention to the so-called 'bike-sharing bubble' in late 2017, when news broke of the firm's financial difficulties. A few months later, Didi Chuxing, the ride-hailing giant, acquired part of Bluegogo's assets. Then in spring 2018, Meituan Dianping bought Mobike, for a sizeable USD 2.7billion. As industry leaders, ofo and Mobike need to find ways to assure stakeholders that Bluegogo's difficulties will not go on to infect the entire, nascent industry. Meituan Dianping needs to be able to justify having paid the USD 2.7billion for Mobike to its own stakeholders. Using China's bike sharing industry as an example, this case can be used to explore the valuation of companies that constitute the emergent, global sharing economy

Supplement to case 217054.

Instructor Spreadsheet for product 8B16N059.

Student spreadsheet for case UV7549.

Spreadsheet to accompany product 9B18N009.

In late 2003, the managing directors of Quantum Investors Inc., a private equity firm that specialized in distressed investing, needed to decide whether their firm should take action in the restructuring of Stelco Inc., a Canadian steel company on the verge of bankruptcy. Stelco had been unable to adapt to the changing dynamics of the steel industry, due to its high cost structure and low efficiency. Its share values had declined sharply and it had a deteriorating cash position. The managing directors of the private equity firm needed to decide on a potential approach to restructuring, including which securities to purchase, and a strategy for dealing with stakeholders to ensure a successful outcome for its investment.

In March 2018, the new business development manager of the international trade department of M/S Padhy Leather Ltd. was trying to find a way to balance her key responsibilities. The manufacturing start-up, located in New Town, India, was in the business of exporting leather garments and was promoted by two young, first generation entrepreneurs. The company had started its export business with a few clients in the United States. The manager’s key responsibilities were exploring new markets and clients. Her immediate target was the United States, after which she would expand the business into Canada. She was concerned with how to minimize the commercial risks (non-payment risks such as transport and country risk) from new and untested clients while developing business and improving profitability.

This case follows Enfoca, Peru's largest local private equity firm and its portfolio company Maestro, a leading player in Peru's hardware retail market. Peru's GDP growth between 2008 and 2014 was the highest of any Latin American country. Growth of Peruvian middle class led to a wide array of investment opportunities, particularly in industries such as housing, construction, and home improvement. While the post-recession years were very good for Maestro, due to the market's small size, Enfoca could not escape some of the longstanding specificities of the Peruvian private capital market, namely, limited exit and new investment opportunities. As Enfoca faced an aging fund, its leadership team began considering alternatives to the traditional private equity fund model. This case presents an example of a local private equity firm operating in a small emerging market with relatively low market capitalization. It also evaluates the costs and benefits of the traditional finite-life fund structure and introduces the concept of a secondary transaction as a means to transition fund shares between existing and new limited partners while maintaining the original fund investments.

Nathalie Parizat and her husband, Hugo, were contemplating a new real estate investment. For two years they had been frustrated by and lamenting their situation of paying high rents to third parties while the couple had idle cash in the bank. They also were convinced that Brooklyn's rising rents and property prices were showing no signs of abating. The couple had $100,000 in savings, which they intended to combine with mortgage financing to purchase a residential income-producing building. Nathalie focused her search on Brooklyn, narrowing it down to Williamsburg, where she thought there was better potential to make a good return on their investment. She had quit her full-time job and was planning on managing the building and the renovation-should it be needed-herself. Was she ready to take on this challenge or was she in over her head?

Spreadsheet supplement to case 218077.

John Law had fled to safety in Brussels, Belgium, in December 1720. His furtive exit from France confirmed for many people that he was a criminal. Yet only months before, he had been hailed as a financial genius and the second most powerful person in France. In four years, he had managed to refinance the nearly bankrupt government of France and in the process created new markets, institutions, and securities. Then a bubble and crash in France's markets turned public opinion against him. In advance of petitioning for a return to Paris, Law needed to prepare a defense. To sustain a return, he would need to assert that the collapse of the Mississippi Company bubble was a matter of external circumstances and bad luck rather than mismanagement or fraud. On what circumstances could he pin the rehabilitation of his reputation?

Student spreadsheet for cases UV7544 and UV7548.