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Nordgold: All-In Sustaining Costs
Lipson, Marc L.Case DARDEN-C-2412-EAccounting and ControlUnderstanding the economics of gold mining had always been a challenge. Gold mines were long-lived assets that required substantial capital investments both to identify and gain access to mineral ore for future processing and to sustain output over the life of a mine. A typical investor might have looked at annual operating margins alone, ignoring these capital outlays, and set unrealistic return expectations. When firms fell short of these expec...Starting at €8.20
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Crocs, Inc.
Lipson, Marc L.; Gupta, GauravCase DARDEN-F-1589-EFinanceThis case forces students to examine the drivers of value, particularly growth and margins. It is also effective at drawing attention to the relationship between terminal value assumptions and value creation-assumptions that generate a large sensitivity of terminal value to growth rate are assumptions that imply that a great deal of value can still be created from investments after the planning horizon. The narrative features an analyst who is tr...Starting at €8.20
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Medfield Pharmaceuticals
Lipson, Marc L.; Mead, Jenny; Harris, Jared D.Case DARDEN-F-1636-EFinanceSusan Johnson, founder and CEO of Medfield Pharmaceuticals, is faced with conflicting recommendations for extending the patent life of the company’s flagship product, Fleximat, scheduled to go off patent in two years. With only three other products in Medfield’s lineup of medications, one of which has only just received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval, strategic management of the company’s product pipeline is of paramount importance. B...Starting at €8.20
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Hightrek Inc.
Lipson, Marc L.Case DARDEN-F-1748-EFinanceA small manufacturer of camping gear is considering a new product that would expand its market. The product is a portable “hoophouse” that would allow people to begin planting gardens earlier in the season by trapping heat and keeping frost at bay. It would use existing technology but would be a very different product line. The required analyses are simple net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR) calculations. However, through th...Starting at €8.20
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Crocs: On Rough Water
Fairchild, Gregory B.; Lipson, Marc L.; Loutskina, Elena; Gupta, GauravCase DARDEN-F-1811-EFinanceThis case introduces Ron Snyder, CEO of Crocs, Inc., in 2007, a few years after Crocs went public on the NASDAQ in the largest shoe offering ever. Investor excitement at the time had been palpable - the company had garnered a 48% premium above its initial offer price. Since that time, the stock had grown sixfold to its high just last month, at the end of October. Only a week ago, on November 1, the company’s stock price had plummeted, declining ...Starting at €8.20
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Akron Crane Works: The Insourcing Proposal
Lipson, Marc L.Case DARDEN-F-1839-EFinanceIn 2017, Peter Tang must prepare the economic analysis of a proposal to insource production of certain parts currently purchased by the Tower and Lattice division of Akron Crane Works, a world leader in heavy lifting machinery. The primary motivations for the proposal were rising costs due to vendor price increases and long vendor lead times.Starting at €8.20
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Milagrol Ltda.
Lipson, Marc L.Case DARDEN-F-1578-EFinanceA privately held U.S. plumbing parts manufacturer is negotiating the purchase of a Brazilian plumbing manufacturer specializing in water conservation. The case provides sufficient information to value this cross-border acquisition and includes a brief summary of valuation techniques in this context. A particularly rich discussion arises from two points: A forecast of exchange rates from a forecasting company differs from forecasts based on inflat...Starting at €8.20
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Pittinos Financial Advisers, LLC
Lipson, Marc L.; Evans, Richard B.Case DARDEN-F-1599-EFinanceThe owner of a small financial services firm is evaluating the performance of four funds to determine whether to offer them to his clients. The funds span a variety of objectives and include a recently initiated fund. The case explores issues related to the evaluation of mutual fund performance, including the selection of benchmarks and the effect of fees. The case provides a natural and compelling context in which to discuss market efficiency.Starting at €8.20
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FedEx Corp. versus United Parcel Service of America, Inc.: Who Will Deliver Returns from China?
Bruner, Robert F.; Lipson, Marc L.; Carr, SeanCase DARDEN-F-1601-EFinanceIn early 2006, the anticipated expansion of package delivery services in China provided a great opportunity for the two package delivery giants FedEx and UPS. It was unclear which of these firms would make the most of this opportunity. An analysis of financial performance suggests that UPS is the better performer. On the other hand, the FedEx stock price performance has been far stronger. This apparent conflict highlights the fact that stock pric...Starting at €8.20
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Kelly Solar
Bodily, Samuel E.; Lipson, Marc L.; Lichtendahl, Kenneth C. Jr.Case DARDEN-F-1614-EFinanceA small start-up company must make additional investments to maximize its firm value. But the company owner will not make this investment unless she can renegotiate outstanding debt claims. Solving this "debt overhang" problem through negotiation is the focus of the case. In this context, students are exposed to a variety of issues: the nature of financial claims, bargaining and negotiation fundamentals, and agency costs of debt.Starting at €8.20