Hindalco's Acquisition of Novelis: The Making of a Giant Net Present Value (NPV) / MBA Resources

Introduction to Net Present Value (NPV) - What is Net Present Value (NPV) ? How it impacts financial decisions regarding project management?

NPV solution for Hindalco's Acquisition of Novelis: The Making of a Giant case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. Hindalco's Acquisition of Novelis: The Making of a Giant case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Aastha Sachdeva, Madhur Deep, R. Srinivasan. The Hindalco's Acquisition of Novelis: The Making of a Giant (referred as “Novelis Hindalco” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Strategy & Execution. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Mergers & acquisitions.

The net present value (NPV) of an investment proposal is the present value of the proposal’s net cash flows less the proposal’s initial cash outflow. If a project’s NPV is greater than or equal to zero, the project should be accepted.

NPV = Present Value of Future Cash Flows LESS Project’s Initial Investment

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Case Description of Hindalco's Acquisition of Novelis: The Making of a Giant Case Study

On May 16, 2007, India-based Hindalco Industries, a subsidiary of AV Birla Group of companies acquired the US-Canadian aluminum giant Novelis. The acquisition was the result of an agreement arrived at between Hindalco and Novelis on February 10, 2007. Hindalco was to buy Novelis for US $6 billion in cash, making it the second biggest acquisition by an Indian company till then. The acquisition resulted in formation of a Fortune 500 company -- the world's largest producer of aluminum -- and expected to be the industry cost leader with a presence over the entire aluminum value chain from mining to final aluminum products. The case provides a general introduction to the aluminum industry including different products, players, and processes. Also there is indirect analysis of the industry and a mentioning of the critical success factors for the industry. The case covers the growth strategies of Hindalco and Novelis and briefly covers their competition as well. It also talks in detail about the various synergies of the deal and ends with the description of the situation post-deal, with Novelis turning black owing to a variety of reasons.

Case Authors : Aastha Sachdeva, Madhur Deep, R. Srinivasan

Topic : Strategy & Execution

Related Areas : Mergers & acquisitions

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for Hindalco's Acquisition of Novelis: The Making of a Giant Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10003709)	-10003709	-	-
Year 1	3466140	-6537569	3466140	0.9434	3269943
Year 2	3975953	-2561616	7442093	0.89	3538584
Year 3	3945306	1383690	11387399	0.8396	3312555
Year 4	3237656	4621346	14625055	0.7921	2564527
TOTAL			14625055		12685609

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2681900

In isolation the NPV number doesn't mean much but put in right context then it is one of the best method to evaluate project returns. In this article we will cover -

Different methods of capital budgeting

What is NPV & Formula of NPV,
How it is calculated,
How to use NPV number for project evaluation, and
Scenario Planning given risks and management priorities.

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Capital Budgeting Approaches

Methods of Capital Budgeting

There are four types of capital budgeting techniques that are widely used in the corporate world –

1. Net Present Value
2. Internal Rate of Return
3. Payback Period
4. Profitability Index

Apart from the Payback period method which is an additive method, rest of the methods are based on Discounted Cash Flow technique. Even though cash flow can be calculated based on the nature of the project, for the simplicity of the article we are assuming that all the expected cash flows are realized at the end of the year.

Discounted Cash Flow approaches provide a more objective basis for evaluating and selecting investment projects. They take into consideration both –

1. Timing of the expected cash flows – stockholders of Novelis Hindalco have higher preference for cash returns over 4-5 years rather than 10-15 years given the nature of the volatility in the industry.
2. Magnitude of both incoming and outgoing cash flows – Projects can be capital intensive, time intensive, or both. Novelis Hindalco shareholders have preference for diversified projects investment rather than prospective high income from a single capital intensive project.

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Formula and Steps to Calculate Net Present Value (NPV) of Hindalco's Acquisition of Novelis: The Making of a Giant

NPV = Net Cash In Flowt1 / (1+r)t1 + Net Cash In Flowt2 / (1+r)t2 + … Net Cash In Flowtn / (1+r)tn
Less Net Cash Out Flowt0 / (1+r)t0

Where t = time period, in this case year 1, year 2 and so on.
r = discount rate or return that could be earned using other safe proposition such as fixed deposit or treasury bond rate. Net Cash In Flow – What the firm will get each year.
Net Cash Out Flow – What the firm needs to invest initially in the project.

Step 1 – Understand the nature of the project and calculate cash flow for each year.
Step 2 – Discount those cash flow based on the discount rate.
Step 3 – Add all the discounted cash flow.
Step 4 – Selection of the project

Why Strategy & Execution Managers need to know Financial Tools such as Net Present Value (NPV)?

In our daily workplace we often come across people and colleagues who are just focused on their core competency and targets they have to deliver. For example marketing managers at Novelis Hindalco often design programs whose objective is to drive brand awareness and customer reach. But how that 30 point increase in brand awareness or 10 point increase in customer touch points will result into shareholders’ value is not specified.

To overcome such scenarios managers at Novelis Hindalco needs to not only know the financial aspect of project management but also needs to have tools to integrate them into part of the project development and monitoring plan.

Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 15%

After working through various assumptions we reached a conclusion that risk is far higher than 6%. In a reasonably stable industry with weak competition - 15% discount rate can be a good benchmark.

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 15 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10003709)	-10003709	-	-
Year 1	3466140	-6537569	3466140	0.8696	3014035
Year 2	3975953	-2561616	7442093	0.7561	3006392
Year 3	3945306	1383690	11387399	0.6575	2594103
Year 4	3237656	4621346	14625055	0.5718	1851140
TOTAL					10465670

The Net NPV after 4 years is 461961

(10465670 - 10003709 )

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 20%

If the risk component is high in the industry then we should go for a higher hurdle rate / discount rate of 20%.

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 20 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10003709)	-10003709	-	-
Year 1	3466140	-6537569	3466140	0.8333	2888450
Year 2	3975953	-2561616	7442093	0.6944	2761078
Year 3	3945306	1383690	11387399	0.5787	2283163
Year 4	3237656	4621346	14625055	0.4823	1561370
TOTAL					9494061

The Net NPV after 4 years is -509648

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9494061 - 10003709 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Novelis Hindalco to discount cash flow at lower discount rates such as 15%.

Acceptance Criteria of a Project based on NPV

Simplest Approach – If the investment project of Novelis Hindalco has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Novelis Hindalco can ACCEPT the project, otherwise they can reject the project. This means that project will deliver higher returns over the period of time than any alternate investment strategy.

In theory if the required rate of return or discount rate is chosen correctly by finance managers at Novelis Hindalco, then the stock price of the Novelis Hindalco should change by same amount of the NPV. In real world we know that share price also reflects various other factors that can be related to both macro and micro environment.

In the same vein – accepting the project with zero NPV should result in stagnant share price. Finance managers use discount rates as a measure of risk components in the project execution process.

Sensitivity Analysis

Project selection is often a far more complex decision than just choosing it based on the NPV number. Finance managers at Novelis Hindalco should conduct a sensitivity analysis to better understand not only the inherent risk of the projects but also how those risks can be either factored in or mitigated during the project execution. Sensitivity analysis helps in –

Understanding of risks involved in the project.

What are the key aspects of the projects that need to be monitored, refined, and retuned for continuous delivery of projected cash flows.

What can impact the cash flow of the project.

What are the uncertainties surrounding the project Initial Cash Outlay (ICO’s). ICO’s often have several different components such as land, machinery, building, and other equipment.

What will be a multi year spillover effect of various taxation regulations.

Some of the assumptions while using the Discounted Cash Flow Methods –

Projects are assumed to be Mutually Exclusive – This is seldom the came in modern day giant organizations where projects are often inter-related and rejecting a project solely based on NPV can result in sunk cost from a related project.

Independent projects have independent cash flows – As explained in the marketing project – though the project may look independent but in reality it is not as the brand awareness project can be closely associated with the spending on sales promotions and product specific advertising.

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Negotiation Strategy of Hindalco's Acquisition of Novelis: The Making of a Giant

References & Further Readings

Aastha Sachdeva, Madhur Deep, R. Srinivasan (2018), "Hindalco's Acquisition of Novelis: The Making of a Giant Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.