Publications
Publications
- December 1998 (Revised March 1999)
- HBS Case Collection
Guangdong Nowada Group, The
By: Ray A. Goldberg, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Anthony St. George
Abstract
In late 1998, 38-year-old He Boquan, CEO of the Guangdong Nowada Group, a health beverage producer, needs to decide how to fund his company's growth and ambition to become China's number one domestic health beverage producer by 2002. A consultants study revealed that foreign competition in China was likely to accelerate within the next three years, and that, without improved management skills and additional capital, Nowada risked going from being a leader to being marginalized. The consulting firm therefore identified potential investors (including the investment arm of a European family conglomerate, an international direct investment firm, and a food and beverage multinational). In late 1998, several rounds of negotiations gave He and his team three options: accept a majority investment by the multinational, accept a 25% capital injection with a risky repayment put option, or "go it alone."
Keywords
Forecasting and Prediction; Capital; Foreign Direct Investment; Growth and Development; Leadership Style; Management Skills; Negotiation Offer; Competitive Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; China
Citation
Goldberg, Ray A., Carin-Isabel Knoop, and Anthony St. George. "Guangdong Nowada Group, The." Harvard Business School Case 599-064, December 1998. (Revised March 1999.)