Negotiation Stories from Real Deals

The concession cost nothing in 2014. This summer it is worth a billion dollars.

Tina Gerbec

Published on: 17/07/2026

Fox broadcasts the 2026 World Cup for 485 million dollars. The rights are worth up to 1.5 billion. The gap was created by one concession in 2014. What the FIFA and Fox story teaches about concessions, time, and circumstance in negotiation.

negotiationconcessions in negotiationtime and circumstanceFIFA Fox World Cup rightsbroadcast rights negotiation2026 World Cupbusiness negotiation case studydeal reviewlong-term contractsnegotiation strategypower in negotiation

She did not own the recordings. She owned everything else.

Tina Gerbec

Published on: 27/06/2026

In 2019 Taylor Swift lost the negotiation for her own music. She could not win back the recordings, so she rebuilt her leverage from what was still hers. By 2025 the catalog was hers. A negotiation case study on leverage and alternatives.

Taylor Swift masters negotiationbusiness negotiation case studyleverage in negotiationBATNA and alternativesTaylor's Version re-recordingintellectual property ownershipwalk-away powerchanging your alternative

The warning came before the negotiation started

Tina Gerbec

Published on: 19/06/2026

In 2014 Microsoft bought Nokia's phone business and missed the signal hidden in one condition. A year later it wrote off 7.6 billion dollars. A negotiation case study on reading the terms the other side protects.

Microsoft Nokia acquisitionbusiness negotiation case studyNokia Here maps saleMicrosoft Nokia write-offeading signals in negotiationnegotiation conditions

The negotiation that was never about the price

Tina Gerbec

Published on: 13/06/2026

In 2006 Disney paid 7.4 billion dollars for Pixar. The price was the easy part. Bob Iger read what Steve Jobs valued, and built the deal around it. A negotiation case study on reading signals under the surface.

business negotiation case studyBob Iger Steve Jobs dealDisney Pixar acquisition 2006reading signals in negotiationtrust in negotiationnegotiation strategynegotiation behavior