Case 10 and 11

Order Description
CASE 10
MASI TECHNOLOGY
U.S. FISH INDUSTRY
The U.S. fishing industry is a large, highly fragmented business, characterized by dwindling resources and extremely poor regulatory oversight. It is comprised of equal amounts of “finfish”1 and “shellfish,”2 with an aggregate “landed” value of approximately $8.5 billion, consisting of 19 billion lbs. of product.
The U.S. industry is comprised of a domestic component supplied by the 25,000 U.S. registered vessels operating within the 200 mile federal territory known as the EEZ, and an imported component from such locations as Mexico, Chile, Equador, South Africa, the Phillipines, and Sri Lanka, to mention a few.
It is estimated that the domestic business generates about $4 billion in income and 12 billion lbs. in landed weight. This amount is estimated to be equally divided between finfish and shellfish. About 98 percent of this total comes from within the EEZ. There are also 55,000 registered domestic sports fishing vessels that are estimated to catch somewhere in the range of 10–15 million lbs. of fish per year. Because the vast majority of this product does not move through U.S. processing/distribution facilities, it is impossible to generate reliable numbers. The imported component, which is growing due to severely “over-fished” U.S. sites, represents about $4.5 billion in retail value, but only about 7 billion in weight because the vast majority is imported in “loined” form. Approximately 20 percent is flown in as “fresh,” and 80 percent arrives by boat as “flash frozen” or frozen product. None of these figures include “farmed” product or canned tuna.
Source: This case study was prepared by Michael P. Peters with the intention of providing a basis for class discussion.
CASE 11
NEOMED TECHNOLOGIES
Marc Umeno, president and founder of NeoMed Technologies, and George Coleman, chief operating officer and vice president of business development and marketing, arrived back at NeoMed headquarters after a frustrating and disheartening meeting with venture capital investors. Now late into August of 2002, after months of revising the company strategy, continuously improving the technology and product design, and meeting with investors still not willing to commit their capital, the company had finally run out of cash. Such brutal reality made Marc and George wonder what they could possibly be doing wrong. There was no doubt in their mind[s] that NeoMed had the right people and an outstanding technology. They were convinced that NeoMed’s device had the potential for helping people in a way that other alternatives could not. This dedication has sustained the company to this point. However, despite the great commercial opportunity of its innovation, the company had walked a tight rope between technical development and business and financing issues. Though each team member is convinced that the capital that the company needs to prove the technology is available, the existing financing environment had investors becoming cautious and risk averse. In light of the present situation, NeoMed was at a decision point as to what actions to take to finally close a deal with investors and avoid dissolving the company.
Source: This case study was prepared by Amanda Holland, Nadya Tolshchikova, Jeff Glass, and Robert Hisrich, with the intention of providing a basis for class discussion.