個案總覽

The United Nations' Millennium Development Goals represented a global commitment to cut in half the population living in extreme poverty, and improve the lives of women and children worldwide. In Brazil, the population living in the extreme poverty represented about 16 million people in 2012. Several very successful initiatives during the Lula administration radically improved the lot of the poor in Brazil. Casa Transitoria is a charity located in the Valley of Paraíba, state of São Paulo, whose central goal is to provide extended comprehensive assistance to expectant mothers. Urbanization, migration, and social dislocations have led to the creation of slums around large Brazilian cities. Casa Transitoria is one of the nonprofit institutions committed to alleviating the problems of these families and transforming their economic and social prospects. The charity has been recognized as one of the best-managed nonprofit organizations in the country. After 40 years of service under the leadership of its original team, the organization must confront the difficult process of succession, while, at the same time, adjusting to a new set of circumstances, both at the level of the populations served and its volunteer work force.

In 2013, Mohamed Hage, founder of the rooftop farming business called Lufa Farms, thought his company had reached a level of maturity where scaling the business model was the next logical step. With two greenhouses already in Canada, he was looking into other locations in the U.S. Though Lufa Farms' advanced cultivation technologies made the company stand out in its sector, the industry was still young and investors were not fully comfortable putting their resources into rooftop farms. This case explores the intricacies of a rooftop farming business, how it built a successful brand, and presents the challenges that might lie ahead for the company as the founder thinks about expansion.

The case profiles the protagonist, Vineet Rai, managing partner of Aavishkaar Venture Management Services (an Indian, early stage VC firm with a focus on rural, underserved regions and sectors), as he initially formulates the concept for the Aavishkaar, and seeks to initially capitalize the fund. The case follows Rai through his ongoing struggles and perseverance for capital, after which it discusses the thesis, structure, and nuances of the fund. It then shines the light on a prospective investment by the fund in an Indian dairy company, Milk Mantra, and deliberates whether the specific investment is a prudent one at that moment in the fund's life. It is recommended that this case be taught in conjunction with the GSB's "Note on Angel Investing and Venture Capital in India.

Cathay Capital Private Equity (Cathay) was started by Mingpo Cai and Edouard Moinet in 2007, at the brink of the global financial crisis. The firm initially opened offices in Shanghai and Paris, aiming to invest in fast-growing small and medium enterprises, either French companies looking to expand in China or Chinese companies seeking to move up the global supply chain in France. By the end of 2012, Cathay closed a EUR350 million second fund, and, planned to move beyond France and China, by looking at other European countries and the United States for potential deals. With the growing competition of local private equity (PE) firms in China and the ongoing European debt crises, was the firm ready to replicate its business model in other geographical markets in the near future? What did the firm have to do to ensure success in the long run?

LOLC Microcredit, a microfinance company within the LOLC group in Sri Lanka, has been serving the financial needs of the base of the pyramid through micro-leasing and group lending. The question now is whether to grow the exisiting business, use diversification to increase impact or prioritize its expansion into Myanmar.

In October 2006, Ms. Suzanne Blanchet, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cascades Tissue Group (CTG), was pondering how much weight should be given to products sold under the CTG brand compared to those sold under distributors' or retailers' private labels. The fourth largest tissue paper producer in North America, CTG was one of the four divisions of Cascades Inc.: a giant in the Canadian pulp and paper industry. The distributor and retailer private label market offered an attractive prospect for growth, but at the expense of CTG's own brands, which were more economically viable. However, developing a brand required sustained resources and investments, especially in marketing, which CTG's plant managers were still reluctant to support. Furthermore, her decision had to take into account the opportunities and threats related to the arrival of producers from emerging countries.

Dr. David Keith, President of Carbon Engineering, a company based in Calgary, Alberta, is commercializing a technology to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. The company plans to market the captured CO2 to produce low carbon transportation fuels in markets such as California where regulation, derived from a state law designed to manage climate change, restricts the maximum carbon intensity of transportation fuel.

Nearly 27,000 people depended on Ilva Steel Taranto, the largest steel-making plant in Europe, for their livelihoods, but the plant's pollution fouled the environment and increased the incidence of tumors, respiratory illnesses and deaths. In July 2012, faced with a court-ordered partial shut-down and a possibly unaffordable remediation plan, the company's newly appointed head must decide what to do next.

This case provides the setting to evaluate the capital raising and management strategies taken by Genting International/Singapore to build Resorts World Sentosa. The case introduces the Singapore Integrated Resorts concept which is a distinct new business model in the global gaming business. This is followed by a review of the parent company behind Resort World Sentosa, Genting Berhad and Genting International which was subsequently renamed Genting Singapore. The case then discusses the several capital raising initiatives and management strategies taken by Genting International/Singapore for the development of Resort World Sentosa.

On February 21, 2013, TELUS announced a proposal to convert the firm's non-voting shares into voting shares on a one-to-one basis, thereby eliminating the firm's dual class structure. Shareholders were scheduled to vote on the proposal at the firm's annual general meeting (AGM) on May 9, 2013. Despite strong support from management, the board, two proxy advisory firms, and several large shareholders, the proposal was opposed by Mason Capital Management, a New York-based hedge fund. Mason, which controlled almost 20% of the voting shares and a large short position in the non-voting shares, had filed a dissident proxy circular recommending that shareholders vote against the proposal based on both procedural and substantive grounds. With the success of the vote in doubt, the board had to decide what to do. Should they proceed with the vote as planned, postpone the vote with the intention of re-introducing the proposal at some point in the future, or cancel the proposal for good? And what should they do with Mason, which management viewed as an "empty voter" in this matter?

In spring 2007, Alcoa CEO Alain Belda was concerned about the company's market position in light of increased competition from developing markets. China's recent entry into the aluminum market was affecting both supply and demand. Furthermore, downstream and upstream product was coming on-line from other parts of the world, including Russia. As a result, Alcoa had lost its historical market dominance and stock premium. Belda was convinced that for Alcoa to regain its leadership position, the company would have to increase efficiencies by expanding its scale, diversification and reach. The acquisition of a large competitor presented the best opportunity to achieve this goal and, as a result, he was particularly intrigued by Canadian rival, Alcan because its assets would complement Alcoa's portfolio and enhance its reach. Further, Alcan had sold off non-aluminum assets, essentially making it a pure play in aluminum. That and its access to relatively cheap Canadian hydro power made it an even more intriguing acquisition opportunity for Alcoa. However, another major competitor, Rio Tinto, was also interested in Alcan; the company was in play.

The morning of October 9, 2012 found the portfolio manager for the Thackery Real Estate Fund (TREF) lost in thought. TREF was a large investment fund that specialized in commercial and industrial real estate. While TREF had a number of investors, there was one large institutional investor, and it had asked for an update on the fund by week's end. Weighing on the portfolio manager's mind was a particular industrial park in Montreal, Quebec known as the Centre Corporate Abbott. He was focused specifically on a proposed investment that required $20 million to purchase a completed, tenanted building known as Building A. In 2008, the portfolio manager had bought two other adjacent properties for $17 million from the same developer. In making his decision, he knew that the economic news across the globe was not rosy. In Canada and Quebec, the manufacturing sector had still not overcome the challenges of 2008's Great Recession. For Quebec in particular, it also looked like the voters might be leaning towards another separatist government and news of corruption in the construction sector had become daily fodder. The portfolio manager wondered whether he should follow through with the investment and, if he did, how he would explain his recommendation to his investors as early as Friday.

GOJO Industries, a U.S.-based hand hygiene company, plans to use sustainability as a business strategy in its big hairy audacious goal of reaching one billion people every day by 2020. It has developed a six level framework to embed sustainability throughout every aspect of the company internally and to assess its successes in the following areas: mitigating risk; reducing energy, waste and materials; differentiation; entering new markets; protecting and enhancing brand; and influencing industry standards. The company has a long history of using sustainability to drive innovation and facilitate expansion into new markets and sees sustainability as a key differentiator from its competitors to achieve its goal. In order to so, the company must also consider the importance of employee engagement in order to further embed sustainability and increase the number of people it reaches with its products.

The U.S. government responded to a surge of tire imports from China using Section 421 of the 1974 Trade Act. This allowed the U.S. government to impose a large increase in tariffs on imports of tires from China over a three-year period. Explanations for President Obama's decision to do this ranged from domestic political explanations-specifically, that he was caving into pressure from the USWA union-to arguments that he was defending the larger national interests.

JetBlue Airways is only five days away from entering the Boston market by establishing a presence at Logan International Airport. The VP of strategy for JetBlue considers the range of potential competitive responses that he might expect from such established airlines as American Airlines, so he can anticipate and prepare. As the largest major carrier operating out of Logan, American had more at risk than the other major carriers and had not yet decided how best to compete with the LCCs. How would American respond?

Amazon.com had purchased Zappos in 2009 and was making significant investments in warehouse infrastructure. By early summer 2012, Zappos, a dominant player in the crowded online retail apparel and footwear arena must decide whether to retain its warehouse complex in Kentucky, which it had maintained since 2002, or turn over the operations to Amazon. Should Zappos continue to operate as an entity external to its parent company? Or would advancements and changes in the market be disruptive enough to force Zappos to change in order to remain competitive?

CapitaLand was Singapore's leading property developer. It was formed in 2000 though a merger between DBS Land (the property unit of Singapore's leading bank, DBS) and Pidemco Land, a Singapore government linked company. The Singapore government through Temasek Holdings (one of its sovereign wealth funds) held an equity stake of 40% at end-2011. Liew Mun Leong was the firm's first CEO from 2000 to 2012. CapitaLand decided to expand internationally because it felt that the Singapore market was saturated with limited growth opportunities. CapitaLand's initial focus was on a number of gateway cities, where it aimed to achieve critical mass. This strategy changed quickly with the new focus being on three core markets - Singapore, China and Australia. In expanding into new markets, CapitaLand began by sending out a high quality executive, who understood the firm and the way it operated, from headquarters to start the new unit up. The firm's objective was to transfer operational responsibility to local executives when this was possible. While it had made some progress in this regard, most senior executives - corporate officers and senior executives of business units - were still Singapore nationals.

This case explores the opportunity to purchase the condominium management business of a distressed real estate developer by Advantage Partners, a leading Japanese private equity firm. The case explores investment structuring, bidding strategy, and the ability of private equity firms to add value. The role of private equity in Japan is also explored and allows students to compare the Japanese merger and acquisition market to the U.S. and Europe.