Case Studies Archives

Tears ‘R’ Us: The World’s Biggest Toy Store Didn’t Have to Die

An object lesson in financial mismanagement and miscalculation from the fallen Toys “R” Us.

Content: Case Study | Authors: Eliza Ronalds-Hannon, Lauren Coleman-Lochner, Matthew Townsend, Susan Berfield | Source: Bloomberg.com | Subject: Finance | Company: Toys “R” Us

Is This Any Way to Run a Railroad?

You think you’ve got problems? Amtrak’s got an overpaid workforce. Its trains and tracks are falling apart. Worse, the carrier’s balance sheet is a flat-out mess.

Kremed!

The rise and fall of Krispy Kreme is a cautionary tale of ambition, greed, and inexperience.

Content: Case Study | Author: Kate O’Sullivan | Source: CFO Publishing | Subject: Finance | Company: Krispy Kreme

Keeping Secrets

How five CFOs cooked the books at HealthSouth.

Content: Case Study | Author: Alix Nyberg Stuart | Source: CFO Publishing | Subject: Finance | Company: HealthSouth

How going global compromised Parmalat

The Italian giant Parmalat imploded during a financial crisis, resulting in a police investigation, a suicide, a series of arrests and shockwaves throughout the international financial community. The role of corporate governance, auditors and the regulators all came under scrutiny. This is an excerpt from a full case study on the company available from the European Case Clearing House.

Content: Case Study | Author: Stewart Hamilton | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subjects: Corporate Governance, Finance | Company: Parmalat

Enron unravelled

This is an edited version of a new case study written primarily for classroom discussion. In this shortened form, supplemented by a commentary on the corporate governance implications by Matthew Allen, it provides insights for EBF readers into – among other things – financial engineering as a means of supporting the share price, the reporting of financial exposure, and the need for independent audit oversight … [ Read more ]

Content: Case Study | Author: Stewart Hamilton | Sources: European Business Forum (EBF), IMD | Subjects: Corporate Governance, Finance | Company: Enron

Cadbury Schweppes (A): The Strategic Dilemma of Trebor Bassett; Cadbury Schweppes (B): Managing for Value; Cadbury Schweppes

Value Based Management is often thought of from strictly a financial perspective. In this Case Study series about a VBM initiative at Cadbury Schweppes, the authors show that managing for value is 80% about people and only 20% about numbers.

The series traces the origins of the initiative starting in 1996 and follows its progression through to 2002, showing the benefits, limitations, time frames, and … [ Read more ]

Content: Case Study | Authors: Fares Boulos, Marjolein Bloemhof, Philippe Haspeslagh, Regine Slagmulder, Tomo Nodo | Source: INSEAD | Subjects: Finance, Organizational Behavior | Industry: Food Products/Service | Company: Cadbury Schweppes

Interbrew’s IPO

In January 2001 the CEO of Interbrew received what was likely the worst news of his career. With the ink on the company’s Initial Public Offering still wet, the British Government announced it was rescinding Interbrew’s €3.68 billion takeover of Bass Brewers, a deal it had affected just four months prior and which served as a selling point in its recent IPO. FranÃ§ois de Breteuil … [ Read more ]

Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products, NV: Financing from Start-up through IPO

In 1995, Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products (L&H) was poised for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the NASDAQ, home to industry heavyweights like Microsoft and Intel. If the IPO were to be successful, L&H would be the first Belgian company ever to list on the venerable stock exchange. For L&H, the IPO was a key milestone in its remarkable history. Since … [ Read more ]

Content: Case Study | Authors: Benoit Leleux, Danny Lein, Herwig Langohr | Source: INSEAD | Subjects: Entrepreneurship, Finance | Company: Lernout & Hauspie

Great Eastern Toys (D) Case

Great Eastern Toys dolled up its management plan in 1996, to focus on expanding sales. Its plan, however, didn’t face up to the potential problem of working with other currencies, which is was forced to do in 1998. Its banker pointed out that the depreciation of the European currencies during the previous two years had resulted in substantial lost income. Although this is a ficticious … [ Read more ]

Content: Case Study | Authors: Gabriel Hawawini, Lee Remmers | Source: INSEAD | Subjects: Finance, International | Company: Great Eastern Toys

DCF Versus Real Options, How Best to Value Online Financial Companies (with an Application to Egg)

How do you value an Internet company? With stormy weather now rocking the Internet world, dot-com investments are no longer the watertight bets they used to be. It now makes sense to forecast the value of the company you are thinking of investing in. Jean Dermine, INSEAD Professor of Banking and Finance and INSEAD MBA alumni K. Wildberger and H. Georgeson use this case study … [ Read more ]

Log On America

In this case study, Professors Pierre Hillion and Theo Vermaelen use Log On America’s decision to issue a floating-price convertible preferred stock to discuss optimal capital structure. You are asked to compare this financial innovation with alternatives such as equity financing, debt financing and convertibles with a fixed conversion price. Then you’re asked to support (or undermine) the legal case of LOA against the banks … [ Read more ]