CityCenter (D): Financial Crisis, Grand Opening, and a New Paradigm 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 CityCenter (D): Financial Crisis, Grand Opening, and a New Paradigm case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. CityCenter (D): Financial Crisis, Grand Opening, and a New Paradigm case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by John D. Macomber, Griffin H. James. The CityCenter (D): Financial Crisis, Grand Opening, and a New Paradigm (referred as “Citycenter Grand” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Finance & Accounting. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Financial management, Negotiations.

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 CityCenter (D): Financial Crisis, Grand Opening, and a New Paradigm Case Study

"CityCenter (D)" follows the (A), (B), and (C) cases with subsequent chronological events through CityCenter's grand opening in December 2009 and financial results through March 2010. The case includes a simple valuation exercise intended to explore CEO Jim Murren's options as he seeks to avoid an MGM MIRAGE bankruptcy. The (D) case presents Murren with the choice of selling the Borgata casino in New Jersey or receiving an ownership stake in CityCenter itself. Students will draw on EBITDA comparables and projections to complete a simple valuation analysis to take a position on which asset to sell. "CityCenter (D)" can serve as an in-class exercise or homework assignment to follow discussion of the (C) case.

Case Authors : John D. Macomber, Griffin H. James

Topic : Finance & Accounting

Related Areas : Financial management, Negotiations

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for CityCenter (D): Financial Crisis, Grand Opening, and a New Paradigm Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10028851)	-10028851	-	-
Year 1	3463643	-6565208	3463643	0.9434	3267588
Year 2	3963588	-2601620	7427231	0.89	3527579
Year 3	3968713	1367093	11395944	0.8396	3332208
Year 4	3230299	4597392	14626243	0.7921	2558699
TOTAL			14626243		12686074

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2657223

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. Profitability Index
3. Payback Period
4. Internal Rate of Return

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

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Formula and Steps to Calculate Net Present Value (NPV) of CityCenter (D): Financial Crisis, Grand Opening, and a New Paradigm

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 Finance & Accounting 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 Citycenter Grand 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 Citycenter Grand 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	(10028851)	-10028851	-	-
Year 1	3463643	-6565208	3463643	0.8696	3011863
Year 2	3963588	-2601620	7427231	0.7561	2997042
Year 3	3968713	1367093	11395944	0.6575	2609493
Year 4	3230299	4597392	14626243	0.5718	1846934
TOTAL					10465333

The Net NPV after 4 years is 436482

(10465333 - 10028851 )

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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	(10028851)	-10028851	-	-
Year 1	3463643	-6565208	3463643	0.8333	2886369
Year 2	3963588	-2601620	7427231	0.6944	2752492
Year 3	3968713	1367093	11395944	0.5787	2296709
Year 4	3230299	4597392	14626243	0.4823	1557822
TOTAL					9493391

The Net NPV after 4 years is -535460

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9493391 - 10028851 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Citycenter Grand 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 Citycenter Grand has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Citycenter Grand 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 Citycenter Grand, then the stock price of the Citycenter Grand 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 Citycenter Grand 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 –

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

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.

Understanding of risks involved in the project.

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 CityCenter (D): Financial Crisis, Grand Opening, and a New Paradigm

References & Further Readings

John D. Macomber, Griffin H. James (2018), "CityCenter (D): Financial Crisis, Grand Opening, and a New Paradigm Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.