The chief financial officer of Granite Apparel is trying to determine which of the three fundraising options is optimal for Granite Apparel to finance a projected rapid growth strategy. The three options are an initial public offering of equity, a privately placed debt issue and a private placement of preferred shares.

The managing director at a major investment bank is preparing his team for a visit to Lululemon Athletica. The investment bank has been following Lululemon's development over the past few years and has dealt with the company. It believes that there is a window of opportunity for Lululemon's founder and private equity investors to either undertake an IPO or raise debt to fund Lululemon's U.S. expansion.

An executive vice-president of Royal Trust is assessing the options available to increase Royal Trust's share of the personal deposit market. The choice of an appropriate strategy must consider the company's current customer needs and competitors' strategies.

The chief financial officer of Granite Apparel is trying to determine which of the three fundraising options is optimal for Granite Apparel to finance a projected rapid growth strategy. The three options are an initial public offering of equity, a privately placed debt issue and a private placement of preferred shares.

In August 2009, a portfolio manager for Resolute Funds Inc. is considering adding WestJet Airlines to his fund’s holdings. WestJet, a fast-growing airline based in Calgary, Alberta, has grown rapidly from a start-up to the second-largest airline in Canada. Despite its recent successes, its share price has halved from its high in December 2007, due to the economic crisis. The portfolio manager is trying to determine whether WestJet’s shares are attractive. .....more

The president of Vancouver-based CFM Attachments Ltd. (CFM) is putting together a management buyout of his company. The president, who has had experience creating and selling a company in a related industry, is trying to determine how to value a potential purchase of CFM from the company's founder. As CFM is a privately-owned company, the president is trying to place a value on the company based on historical financials, a group of comparative .....more

At the start of August 2008, Dell Inc. (Dell) seems to be at a critical juncture. Michael Dell's return a year and a half ago has brought significant change to the company, including a focus on growing market segments, a shift in the company's distribution strategy, and an emphasis on design in Dell's product lineup. Despite these changes, Dell's stock price has lost value since Michael's return. A portfolio manager is trying to .....more

Two managers attending a week-long executive education course are working on an assignment which requires them to estimate the cost of capital for EnCana Corporation, a leading North American oil and gas producer. The two managers disagree about which costs need to be taken into account to complete the assignment. They are not sure about the costs of different sources of capital, the overall cost of capital and the appropriate use of the hurdle .....more

Two MTR Corporation (MTRC) managers are participating in a week-long program in financial management. For their next class, they need to calculate the cost of capital for MTRC. First, they will review the concepts of investor expectations and cost of capital. Then, they must calculate the cost of capital by using the financial statements provided to them by the instructor. The two managers discuss their understanding of these concepts as they .....more

The chief financial officer (CFO) of TELUS Corporation (Telus) has just been informed that Moody's, a bond rating service, has downgraded the firm's credit rating to one notch below investment grade. The CFO's challenge is to determine what specific actions, if any, to recommend to the firm's audit committee. First, this case facilitates a discussion on how changes in capital structure impact a firm's earnings, stock price and .....more