Case Studies

This case describes the challenges encountered by Nathaniel Rothschild after making a US$3 billion investment in 2010 in a family-owned business group in Asia. Scion of the Rothschild banking dynasty and private equity fund manager, Rothschild and his business associates created a LSE-listed shell company, Bumi PLC, which acquired PT Bumi Resources and Berau Coal. These were among Indonesia's largest coal mines and the largest coal exporters in the world, and were controlled by the Bakries, a powerful Indonesian family whose patriarch was a candidate for the presidency in 2014. After losing at least 70% of his investment in three years, Rothschild eventually requisitioned an extraordinary general meeting in February 2013, attempting to remove the Bakries and their associates from Bumi's management team. Despite western-style corporate governance manoeuvres, the PE investors found it challenging to control the politically connected family in Indonesia.

A vice-president of a hedge fund must determine whether his fund will take a 5 per cent equity stake in Premier Foods Plc (Premier). At the time of the case, Premier, a publicly listed U.K. food and beverage company, was heavily indebted following a period of aggressive acquisition growth. Moreover, Premier had issued interest rate swaps on the majority of its debt. As the financial crisis unraveled, interest rates dramatically declined, and Premier's interest rate swaps appeared to be further draining the firm. Against this backdrop, the case sets its ultimate objective, which is to simulate the vice-president's analysis of the firm's debt, interest rate swaps, caps and floors before deciding whether to invest in Premier. For NUS Business School: (Faculty only) To obtain a free copy of the case, please contact Ms Kwok Siew Geok (bizksg@nus.edu.sg)

This is a case of an ambitious techno-preneur with ideas that were at the forefront of technology. The business was successful initially but was soon swamped with challenges. The initial business model needed major changes in order to make sense in the fast changing environment. At the same time, the company was facing a lawsuit with a major client that could severely affect its survival. To make matters worse, the company did not have a strong and unified leadership necessary to pull it out of the difficulty it was in. For NUS Business School: (Faculty only) To obtain a free copy of the case, please contact Ms Kwok Siew Geok (bizksg@nus.edu.sg)

Lan-Ray in Singapore attempted to break into the prepaid cash card (PCC) business in China. Equity funds were sourced to acquire Protection Communications Network (PCN), a payment intermediary in Quanzhou, China, with a vast payment network, which could be instrumental to the success of the PCC business. However, PCN would need to demonstrate profitability before they could obtain the licence to run the PCC business. Together, Lan-Ray and PCN ventured into the mobile phone campus e-card business, which was initially assessed to be able to help PCN achieve profitability in the short run. However, the campus e-card business did not prove to be as profitable as expected. At the same time, the acquisition of PCN by Lan-Ray hit a road block as PCN was unwilling to transfer shares to Lan-Ray. For NUS Business School: (Faculty only) To obtain a free copy of the case, please contact Ms Kwok Siew Geok (bizksg@nus.edu.sg)