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• Case | HBS Case Collection | January 2011 (Revised July 2019)

  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

  Stuart C. Gilson and Sarah L. Abbott

  One of the leading publishers of textbooks and other educational materials for the U.S. K-12 educational instruction market has suffered a dramatic decline in sales and profits in the wake of the 2008-2009 financial market crisis and economic recession, and is now overburdened with debt. To regain its competitiveness the company has to significantly reduce its debt, by billions of dollars. Company management is trying to decide which of several options is best for achieving this goal, including filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, restructuring its debt out-of-court, or filing a “pre-packaged” Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

  Keywords: Restructuring; Capital Structure; Financial Crisis; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Publishing Industry; Massachusetts;

  Citation:

  Gilson, Stuart C., and Sarah L. Abbott. "Houghton Mifflin Harcourt." Harvard Business School Case 211-027, January 2011. (Revised July 2019.)  View Details

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• Supplement | HBS Case Collection | February 2011 (Revised July 2019)

  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

  Stuart C. Gilson and Sarah Abbott

  One of the leading publishers of textbooks and other educational materials for the U.S. K-12 educational instruction market has suffered a dramatic decline in sales and profits in the wake of the 2008-2009 financial market crisis and economic recession, and it now overburdened with debt. To regain its competitiveness, the company has to significantly reduce its debt, by billions of dollars. Company management is trying to decide which of several options is best for achieving this goal, including filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, restructuring its debt out-of-court, or filing a "pre-packaged" Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

  Keywords: Restructuring; Decisions; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Borrowing and Debt; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Profit; Crisis Management; Goals and Objectives; Sales; Competition; Publishing Industry; United States;

  Citation:

  Gilson, Stuart C., and Sarah Abbott. "Houghton Mifflin Harcourt." Harvard Business School Spreadsheet Supplement 211-708, February 2011. (Revised July 2019.)  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | April 2018 (Revised April 2019)

  Sabine Oil & Gas Corporation

  Stuart C. Gilson, Kristin Mugford and Sarah L. Abbott

  In 2016, a trial began to determine the future of Sabine Oil & Gas Corporation’s $3 billion chapter 11 reorganization plan. The plan called for first- and second-lien-secured creditors to receive new claims representing approximately 98% of the reorganized company’s enterprise value, leaving unsecured creditors, owed $1.4 billion, to recover less than two cents on the dollar. The plan had the support of the secured creditors, but unsecured creditors were strongly opposed. At the heart of the unsecured creditors’ objections to the plan was a dramatically different view on valuation. How much were Sabine's oil and gas reserves worth today? How much were they worth at the time Sabine filed for chapter 11? And, based on these valuations, what was a fair recovery for Sabine's creditors?

  Keywords: corporate reorganization; chapter 11; oil ＆ gas; bankruptcy; bankruptcy reorganization; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Energy; Restructuring; Valuation; United States;

  Citation:

  Gilson, Stuart C., Kristin Mugford, and Sarah L. Abbott. "Sabine Oil & Gas Corporation." Harvard Business School Case 218-004, April 2018. (Revised April 2019.)  View Details

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