Clear Channel 2006

Richard S. Ruback; Leslie  Pierson

Case | HBS Case Collection | November 2007 (Revised March 2009)

Clear Channel 2006

Abstract

The Board of Directors of Clear Channel Communications, a radio broadcasting and outdoor advertising company, has to respond to a revised proposal from two private equity firms to take the company private. In November of 2006, the Board had unanimously approved an offer of $37.60 per share after going through intense negotiations with numerous firms, but institutional shareholders had indicated that they would reject this offer. In light of this recent news, the two private equity firms had come back to the Board with a revised offer. Now the Board must decide if it thinks the new proposal will satisfy the institutional shareholders, one of which is an activist hedge fund.

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Private Equity; Governing and Advisory Boards; Negotiation Offer; Privatization; Business and Shareholder Relations;

Format: Print

11 pages

Find at Harvard

Citation:

Ruback, Richard S., and Leslie Pierson. "Clear Channel 2006." Harvard Business School Case 208-083, November 2007. (Revised March 2009.)

This book is a collection of cases and notes that have been used in Private Equity Finance, an advanced corporate finance course offered in the second year of the Harvard Business School’s MBA curriculum, over several years. Our goal is to provide detailed insight into the sources of value creation as well as outline the process of deal making in the private equity industry.

Teaching Note | HBS Case Collection | May 2018 (Revised February 2019)

Greg Mazur and the Purchase of Great Eastern Premium Pet Foods

Richard S. Ruback, Royce Yudkoff and Ahron Rosenfeld

Teaching Note for HBS No. 211-085. Greg Mazur (HBS 1997) identified a small firm, Great Eastern Premium Pet Food, in December of 1998 that fit his search criteria and decided to offer the seller a cash price of $1.2 million plus an earn-out equal to 1% of revenue over the next five years. He planned to invest $500,000 of his own money in the acquisition and finance the remainder with a senior loan in a formal letter of intent.
Great Eastern Premium Pet Food was a regional distributer of pet food products that operated in a highly competitive environment, with low profit margins, and no exclusive products. Great Eastern was barely profitable in 1997 and had profits of about $140,000 in 1998. Mazur evaluated the acquisition using a financial model that assumed a sales growth rate of 12.5% per year, and a gradual improvement in profit margin from 2% to 7.5% over five years. He identified ways to grow sales through changes in the composition and structure of the sales force and to improve margins through managing costs. The case explores the rationale for the acquisition and its evaluation, including the reasonableness of the financial model and its sensitivity to alternative assumptions.

Keywords: Acquisition; Entrepreneurship; Financing and Loans; Negotiation Deal; Strategic Planning; Valuation; Analysis;

Citation:

Ruback, Richard S., Royce Yudkoff, and Ahron Rosenfeld. "Greg Mazur and the Purchase of Great Eastern Premium Pet Foods." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 218-122, May 2018. (Revised February 2019.) View Details

Cite View Details Purchase

Faculty & Research

Clear Channel 2006

Abstract

Citation:

About the Author

More from the Author