Case Type: private equity, investment; growth.
Consulting Firm: Cambridge Associates final round job interview.
Industry Coverage: manufacturing; healthcare: pharmaceutical; financial services.
Case Interview Question #00433: Our client Bain Capital LLC is a global private equity firm founded in 1984 by partners from the management consulting firm Bain & Company. Originally conceived as an early-stage, growth-oriented investment fund, Bain Capital today manages approximately $65 billion in assets, and its strategies include 
private equity, venture capital, public equity, high-yield assets and mezzanine capital funds. The firm is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, United States with offices in Chicago, New York, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Mumbai.
Recently, Bain Capital thinks that there is an attractive opportunity to invest in a shaped glass manufacturer, Millville, New Jersey-based Durand Glass Manufacturing Company. Durand’s main business is to make glass bottles and drug vials for the pharmaceutical industry. After a preliminary review Bain Capital found that though the pharmaceutical industry is growing at 20%-30% per annum, Durand’s sales have been flat for the last three years. They are rather puzzled and have hired Cambridge Associates to evaluate how this company can grow so that they can make the decision whether to invest in the company or not. How would you go about the case?
Possible Answer:
Candidate: Well, before we kick off I would like to very quickly get a feel for Bain Capital’s objectives:
- What is their investment philosophy?
- What is their investment horizon?
- Do they have other investments which would be synergistic with Durand?
Also, I would like to understand a little more about Durand:
- Is it present only in the US markets or globally?
- Who are its customers?
- What are its core capabilities?
- What is its market position?
