Theo Vermaelen

Emeritus Professor of Finance
The case covers events leading to the hostile bid for AkzoNobel by PPG in 2017, the market response that it prompted, and AkzoNobel’s takeover defenses including the divestment of a business area and large cash payout.

Published 02 May 2019

Reference 6474

Topic Economics & Finance

Industry Chemicals

Region Europe

View case
Female Health Company produces the female condom which is distributed by non-profit organisations in Africa to prevent HIV/AIDS. In February 2009 the company has to decide whether to buy back stock. This provides an opportunity to check whether the firm is fairly valued and whether it should reconsider its capital structure and payout policy.

Published 26 May 2015

Reference 5717

Topic Economics & Finance

Industry Medical Devices

Region Other Regions

View case
The case describes the valuation of various types of customers in private banking and the relationship between the value drivers. It also tries to quantify synergies between asset management and corporate finance and private banking.

Published 31 Jan 2009

Reference 5571

Topic Economics & Finance

Industry Banking

Region Europe

View case
Arcelor believes its shares are undervalued and has to decide whether to buy back stock via a repurchase tender offer or via an open market repurchase. Before doing so, it has to value the company to get an estimate of the fair value of the company. It has also to decide whether it can afford the buyback: is the increase in leverage a move to a better capital structure?

Published 31 Jan 2009

Reference 5476

Topic Economics & Finance

Industry Financial Services Mining & Metals

Region Europe

View case
The case describes the hostile bid of Mittal for Arcelor in the first half of 2006. It documents stock price behaviour around the crucial events surrounding the acquisition. It also provides estimates of synergy benefits as well as a spreadsheet that allows students to calculate directly the implications of synergies for shareholder value.

Published 30 Jan 2009

Reference 5471

Topic Economics & Finance

Industry Financial Services Mining & Metals

Region Europe

View case
The case describes the launching of the KBC buyback fund, a mutual fund that aims to exploit the buyback anomaly first documented by Ikenberry, Lakonishok and Vermaelen(1995). It summarizes the empirical results of the study which show positive long-term excess returns after open market buyback programmes.

Published 29 Oct 2007

Reference 5474

Topic Economics & Finance

Industry Banking

Region Global

View case
This case discusses the potential benefits and costs of issuing floating-priced convertibles, also referred to as "death spirals". These are convertibles where the conversion price is a discount from the market price in a look-back period. The management of Log on America is blaming investment banks and convertible investors for the stock price collapse after the convertible was issued.

Published 15 Apr 2002

Reference 5020

Topic Economics & Finance

Industry Financial Services

Region North America

View case
his case describes the acquisition of Dumez by Lyonnaise des Eaux in 1990. The case is written from the point of view of Suez, a French holding company that is also the most important shareholder of Lyonnaise. As a holding company it is supposed to verify that Lyonnaise does not pay too much for Dumez and that the acquisition makes sense.

Published 30 Jun 1995

Reference 4516

Topic Economics & Finance

Industry Environmental Services Construction

Region Europe

View case
The director of the Corporate Finance division of Bank Waal en IJssel (WIJ), the Dutch subsidiary of an international banking conglomerate, was interested in identifying synergies between the bank's financing and advisory activities.

Published 01 Sep 1994

Reference 4297

Topic Economics & Finance

Industry Investment Banking

Region Europe

View case
The case illustrates the consequences of the first share repurchase tender offer in the UK. What makes the case rather unique is that "financial innovation" is being dealt with here and that management behaved very differently from typical behaviour in the US: they massively tendered their own shares.

Published 01 Jan 1994

Reference 4259

Topic Economics & Finance

Industry Financial Services

View case
Corporate Finance, Share Repurchase, Death Spirals, IPOs, Call Option Enhanced Reverse Convertible (COERC)