In 2010, ACTIS embarked on an ambitious project to build a pan-Middle East and Africa (MEA) payments platform. It had purchased Mediterranean Smart Cards Company (MSCC), a bankcard issuer with operations across Africa, and had identified a follow-on target, Visa Jordan Card Services (VJCS) as part of its buy-and-build strategy, and another potential acquisition in South Africa.

Careem, a Dubai-based ride-hailing company, was founded in 2012 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by two ex-McKinsey consultants who saw a gap in the transport market.

In May 2012, private equity firm KKR is considering the buyout of WMF group (WMF), a diversified kitchenware and professional coffee machine manufacturer headquartered in Geislingen, Germany. The deal seems a potentially compelling investment opportunity, with various options for value creation – expanding WMF’s well-established brand to other geographies as well as reducing costs.

The case focuses on AccorHotels’ ambitious digital transformation, aiming to put the customer back at the center of its strategy and operations.

Read a related Knowledge article "Lessons in Digital Transformation from the Hotel Industry" by David Dubois.

In September 2014, the Indiana Toll Road (ITR) in the US Mid-west, privatized as a 75-year concession at an impressive price of US$3.8 billion only nine years earlier, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy , having chalked up US$6.3 billion of debt. In the subsequent sell-off the ITR managed to attract an even bigger bid than before - of US$5.72 billion.

The case describes the problem faced by Jebsen & Jessen, South East Asia (J&J SEA), when a long-time supplier from Europe decides to take back the distribution rights for the region and distribute their products directly to their customers. J&J therefore needs to look for other suppliers of forklift trucks.

It was out of the interest of Ratan Tata, Tata Group chairman, in the problem of water in India that the Swach (meaning “clean” in Hindi) was born. It was Tata’s bet that the private sector could offer a better, consumer-based solution than the state to the provision of safe drinking water in a country where 75% of the rural population lack access to potable water.

In 2013, the long-delayed IPO of the Bangkok Mass Transit System Public Co. Ltd. (BTSC) took place, but in an unusually complex form. Instead of selling the shares of the company that owned the elevated railway concession, what was offered were investment units in Thailand’s first publicly listed infrastructure mutual fund: the BTS Rail Mass Transit Growth Infrastructure Fund (BTSGIF).

The case discusses the public-private partnership to build the New Royal Adelaide Hospital (NRAH) (replacing the outdated Royal Adelaide Hospital) at a cost of A$1.7 billion in 2009.