ETIQUETA NEGRA: GROWTH, BRAND BUILDING AND PRIVATE EQUITY IN LATIN AMERICA 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 ETIQUETA NEGRA: GROWTH, BRAND BUILDING AND PRIVATE EQUITY IN LATIN AMERICA case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. ETIQUETA NEGRA: GROWTH, BRAND BUILDING AND PRIVATE EQUITY IN LATIN AMERICA case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Benoit Leleux, Bryony Jansen. The ETIQUETA NEGRA: GROWTH, BRAND BUILDING AND PRIVATE EQUITY IN LATIN AMERICA (referred as “Etiqueta Negra” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Leadership & Managing People. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Entrepreneurial finance, 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 ETIQUETA NEGRA: GROWTH, BRAND BUILDING AND PRIVATE EQUITY IN LATIN AMERICA Case Study

"As Luc Gerard stepped out of the plane coming from freezing cold BogotA? in October 2007, he could not help but notice the pleasant mid-summer weather in Buenos Aires. He hoped this was a good omen for the deal he was contemplating there for his young private equity company, Tribe Capital Partners (Tribeca). Strategically, Etiqueta Negra, an Argentinean fashion company, seemed a great fit for the portfolio. It was based in Latin America, Tribeca's targeted geographical playground. It fit neatly into its high-end fashion focus. The brand would also fit well alongside his recently acquired Colombia-based swimwear phenomenon OndadeMar. Between them, they could probably leverage knowledge, share activities and contacts, and obtain economies of scale. Etiqueta Negra had also proved itself to be a profitable company and a resilient brand name, and the concept was easy to scale up. However, there were still quite a few unknowns: Was this brand sufficiently differentiated? Would it sell in North America and Europe? Would the concept fly there? This was to be Tribeca's first foreign venture. Although launched with the ambition to become the first "global" Latin American private equity company, it had so far found enough great opportunities on its home market. Etiqueta Negra had built its brand on the appeal of Argentinean sport icons, such as Juan-Manuel Fangio; making it Colombian could ruffle a few nationalistic feathers. This was bound to increase the visibility of the deal, for good and bad. If it flew, it would be a flagship transaction that could help Luc source many other similar deals and put him in the big league as a cross-continental private equity investor. If it failed, it could set back his efforts for years. "Well," he thought, "we are risk investors, after all." Learning objectives: Building and managing a brand globally in the fashion industry. High-end fashion retailing. Globalization of brands. Growth financing in a global context."

Case Authors : Benoit Leleux, Bryony Jansen

Topic : Leadership & Managing People

Related Areas : Entrepreneurial finance, Mergers & acquisitions

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for ETIQUETA NEGRA: GROWTH, BRAND BUILDING AND PRIVATE EQUITY IN LATIN AMERICA Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10017923)	-10017923	-	-
Year 1	3457903	-6560020	3457903	0.9434	3262173
Year 2	3965754	-2594266	7423657	0.89	3529507
Year 3	3954475	1360209	11378132	0.8396	3320253
Year 4	3237726	4597935	14615858	0.7921	2564582
TOTAL			14615858		12676515

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2658592

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. Payback Period
2. Net Present Value
3. Profitability Index
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. Etiqueta Negra 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 Etiqueta Negra 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 ETIQUETA NEGRA: GROWTH, BRAND BUILDING AND PRIVATE EQUITY IN LATIN AMERICA

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 Leadership & Managing People 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 Etiqueta Negra 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 Etiqueta Negra 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	(10017923)	-10017923	-	-
Year 1	3457903	-6560020	3457903	0.8696	3006872
Year 2	3965754	-2594266	7423657	0.7561	2998680
Year 3	3954475	1360209	11378132	0.6575	2600132
Year 4	3237726	4597935	14615858	0.5718	1851180
TOTAL					10456864

The Net NPV after 4 years is 438941

(10456864 - 10017923 )

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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	(10017923)	-10017923	-	-
Year 1	3457903	-6560020	3457903	0.8333	2881586
Year 2	3965754	-2594266	7423657	0.6944	2753996
Year 3	3954475	1360209	11378132	0.5787	2288469
Year 4	3237726	4597935	14615858	0.4823	1561403
TOTAL					9485454

The Net NPV after 4 years is -532469

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9485454 - 10017923 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Etiqueta Negra 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 Etiqueta Negra has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Etiqueta Negra 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 Etiqueta Negra, then the stock price of the Etiqueta Negra 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 Etiqueta Negra 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.

Understanding of risks involved in the project.

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 ETIQUETA NEGRA: GROWTH, BRAND BUILDING AND PRIVATE EQUITY IN LATIN AMERICA

References & Further Readings

Benoit Leleux, Bryony Jansen (2018), "ETIQUETA NEGRA: GROWTH, BRAND BUILDING AND PRIVATE EQUITY IN LATIN AMERICA Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.