Supplement | HBS Case Collection | 2012 (Revised from original 2010 version)
by Jay W. Lorsch and Melissa Barton
The global economy entered a crippling recession in the fourth quarter of 2008 and Dow lost its primary source of funding for its planned acquisition of Rohm and Haas.
Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Financial Crisis; Financing and Loans; Chemical Industry;
Citation:
Lorsch, Jay W., and Melissa Barton. "The Dow Acquisition of Rohm and Haas (C)." Harvard Business School Supplement 411-003, March 2012. (Revised from original August 2010 version.)
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Case | HBS Case Collection | 2013
Hess Corporation
Jay W. Lorsch and Kathleen Durante
Keywords: takeover attempt; board; Hess; North and Central America;
Procter & Gamble
On July 12, 2012, Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management announced publicly that it had purchased about $2 billion of Procter and Gamble (P&G) stock. Shares in the company closed up 3.75% the day the disclosure was made public. Ackman told the New York Times that Pershing would be a major P&G shareholder. "We think it's an underrated stock," he said. "We think there is a lot of great opportunity there."
During the next several months there was little or no public discussion of the matter although people familiar with the situation reported that Ackman held conversations with P&G directors individually. Then, on April 24, 2013, P&G announced that its 3rd quarter earnings had risen 6%. However its 4th quarter forecast fell short of Wall Street's expectations. Shares fell 5% based on this outlook. P&G results were lagging its peers by 4% in 2012 and 2% in the first quarter of 2013.
Then, abruptly in late May, CEO Robert A. McDonald, who was 59, resigned. The board selected A.J. Lafley, (65) who had been McDonald's predecessor to return to lead the company. There was speculation about how long Lafley would stay and in what direction he would take the company. On June 6th, P&G announced that Lafley had appointed four senior executives to lead the company's major businesses, reporting directly to him.
Keywords: Ackman; P＆G; Pershing Square Capital Managment; Consumer Products Industry;
McKinsey & Company
Keywords: CONSULTING firms; McKinsey; professional service firm; Marvin Bower; Strategy; Governance; Consulting Industry;