Case Study: Dancing with Venture Capitalists: Evaluating the Feasibility of an Expansion Project

A pressing issue facing Mr. Ziad Dukar, the owner and manager of the Zanobia Dance & Theater Inc., is the decision to renovate and expand the Old Downtown Theater which Zanobia Inc. leases from the Syrian government. He wants to know if expansion is economically feasible. In addition, he wants to select a financer in accordance with a special type of mezzanine financing scheme – called Mudarabah – that is similar to venture capital investment. This case study focuses on the process of assessing the feasibility and worthiness of an expansion project. Specifically, students learn the process of selecting, evaluating, extrapolating, and interpreting financial data, along with other pertinent information, in order to formulate an assessment of the proposed venture. Students are particularly exposed to special cases in finance such as: venture capital investments, non-conventional finance vehicles, and incremental cash flow rationale and techniques.