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  • November 2014
  • Case
  • HBS Case Collection

Oasys Water: Balancing Strategic Partnerships & Financing Decisions

By: Ramana Nanda, William A. Sahlman and Sid Misra
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:22
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Abstract

Oasys Water had developed a proprietary water treatment technology based on an innovative forward osmosis process that could remove dissolved solids from water more effectively and efficiently than existing technologies. As Oasys looked to scale, it was exploring partnerships with various incumbent firms—the most serious were with a set of international oil and gas production companies (IOCs); a global oil and gas (O&G) services provider called National Oilwell Varco (NOV); and Woteer, a Chinese EPC company specializing in industrial water and wastewater systems.
Woteer had expressed an interest in gaining exclusive access to Oasys' forward osmosis technology for water treatment applications in China in exchange for an equity investment. Jim Matheson, President and CEO, did not have the luxury of choosing a partner solely on the merits of its strategic value to Oasys. He was forced to evaluate the strategic benefit alongside the likelihood of actually closing a deal, the specific terms of each deal, and especially the speed with which a deal could be closed, given Oasys' pressing financing needs. Should he do a deal with Woteer, and if so, on what terms?

Keywords

Entrepreneurial Finance; Finance; Strategy; Entrepreneurship; China

Citation

Nanda, Ramana, William A. Sahlman, and Sid Misra. "Oasys Water: Balancing Strategic Partnerships & Financing Decisions." Harvard Business School Case 815-076, November 2014.
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About The Authors

Ramana Nanda

Entrepreneurial Management
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William A. Sahlman

Entrepreneurial Management
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  • Grand Rounds By: William A. Sahlman and Lauren Barley
  • Priors, Experiments, Learning and Persuasion in (Bayesian) Entrepreneurial Finance By: Ramana Nanda
  • Founder-CEO Compensation and Selection into Venture Capital-Backed Entrepreneurship By: Michael Ewens, Ramana Nanda and Christopher Stanton
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