In 2011 Katrina Lake launched a new type of online retailing, Stitch Fix, a personal styling service based on a mix of human creativity and artificial intelligence, and grew it into a $3.6B company. Like many other successful retail businesses, it rapidly caught Jeff Bezos’s eye. And nothing good comes when Jeff Bezos notices you and decides to compete.

In 2017 the Port of Antwerp is capacity constrained. Capacity will improve dramatically in 2028 with the construction of a new terminal. However, in the meantime, a variety of issues make the problem acute and critical for the competitiveness of the port, as otherwise clients migrate to other ports and use other means to reach inland Europe.

This fictional case introduces an M&A deal structuring exercise. Two strategy consulting companies, East Coast Strategy Consultants Inc. (EAST) and West Coast Strategic Management Advisory Corp. (WEST), are contemplating acquiring a company in the accounting and advisory services sector, either Ocean & Whistle Accounting (OW) or LeDosh (LD).

QuiToque is a foodtech start-up that delivers baskets filled with meal ingredients, aiming to serve and develop a growing market segment. QuiToque’s approach is placed in the broader context of rapidly evolving food preparation and meal delivery sectors in France, which comprise start-ups pursuing alternative approaches that may disrupt established players.