Ivey Business School (Canada)
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Blackstone Group: Dry Powder in an LBO Drought (B)
Mark SimonsonCase IVEY-9B20N019-EFinanceSupplement for product 9B20N018.Starting at €5.74
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A “Compelling and Pre-emptive Offer for the Valspar Corporation
Mark SimonsonCase IVEY-9B16N063-EFinanceIn May 2015, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Valspar Corporation (Valspar) contacted the CEO of an industry competitor to discuss a potential strategic combination of the two companies. As discussions continued, Valspar’s board and senior management realized that an alternative strategic collaboration might be more beneficial, so Valspar then contacted the CEO of the second-largest comparable firm in the industry, Sherwin-Williams, which...Starting at €8.20
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Margaret Jefferson: Performance Issue at a Performing Arts Company (A)
Lyn Purdy; James O'BrienCase IVEY-9B12C024-ELeadership and People Management, StrategyThis case series describes a general manager’s decision of whether to fire an employee at a performing arts company. The scope of the case includes the organization of the company, the decision to hire the employee, his performance, and the decision to end the employment relationship. The general manager’s selection practices are described, and two role-playing exercises are included.Starting at €8.20
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The Mentorship of John Cooper (A)
Lyn Purdy; Nick KuzykCase IVEY-9B12C007-ELeadership and People ManagementJohn Cooper had spent the last five years working for Standard Holdings, an early-stage business development and private equity arm of the Standard Group of Companies (Standard). The job was one he took immediately after graduating from business school, and he took the position of business analyst to capitalize on the chance to work with Alan Kirkpatrick, an accomplished and well-respected entrepreneur and founder of Standard. During his years at...Starting at €8.20
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World Championship Wrestling — A Crisis of Leadership (B)
Lyn Purdy; Jason RavesiCase IVEY-9B12M015-ELeadership and People Management, StrategyThis case is a supplement to World Championship Wrestling — A Crisis of Leadership (A).Starting at €5.74
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Betting on DraftKings
Mark SimonsonCase IVEY-W27949-EAccounting and Control, FinanceARK Investment Management LLC (ARK)’s Next Generation Internet ETF (exchange traded fund) accumulated over 5 per cent of the outstanding shares of DraftKings Inc. (DraftKings), which held 24 per cent of the emerging US online sports betting market. Following the legalization of sports betting in May 2018, DraftKings faced escalating competition as competitors spent heavily on advertising and promotions to attract customers. This spending led to i...Starting at €8.20
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Insider Trading Without Cooling Off
Mark SimonsonCase IVEY-W33791-EFinance, StrategyIn May 2021, the majority shareholder and chief executive officer of Ontrak Inc., a US health care services company, established two 10b5-1 trading plans to sell approximately one million shares of stock he acquired by exercising expiring warrants. Before he began the process to execute the first 10b5-1 plan, Ontrak Inc. had just lost its largest client. Three days into the process for the second 10b5-1 trading plan, the company announced that it...Starting at €8.20
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Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc.: Sum of the Parts
Mark SimonsonCase IVEY-W25118-EAccounting and Control, FinanceIn 2016, US firm Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. (Aerojet) had been developing and manufacturing propulsion systems for rockets and armaments for long-range weapons systems for over 70 years. It also owned 4,634 hectares of land and an investment portfoStarting at €8.20
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Blackstone Group: Dry Powder in an LBO Drought (A)
Mark SimonsonCase IVEY-9B20N018-EFinanceIn late 2016, it had been three years since Blackstone Group Inc. (Blackstone) had completed its last public-to-private leveraged buyout (LBO), and it had US$45 billion of capital available for investment, called “dry powder.” Blackstone’s head of privateStarting at €8.20
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Square, Inc.: Financing a Unicorn
Mark SimonsonCase IVEY-9B17N021-EEntrepreneurship, FinanceIn 2014, mobile payment company Square, Inc., based in San Francisco, California, was one of an increasing number of venture capital financed firms with valuations above US$1 billion, which had become known as unicorns. By September 2014, the company had raised $371 million over five rounds of venture capital financing. Since the first funding round had been almost five years previous, it was possible that venture funding investors would be pushi...Starting at €8.20