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Showing posts from November, 2009

More is Certain

I had been working on an acquisition over the last three weeks and it was the most tiresome experience ever. The target being a public listed company means that any news leakage will drive up the share price. The purchase price of a public listed company will carry a premium on the share price. In Asia, I noted that the premium given is about 10~15% but in the USA, it is between 20~40%! Just imagine, if you spotted a target and you buy into it, and you hit the bull's eye! You could make quite a bundle. Of course, your guess could be wrong, and if so, expect that share price to go down, when the news is announced. For those working on such a deal, expect tons of information to be provided to you, and most of this could be outdated. However the bank (usually) engaged to do the job wants to impress you with documents. After all, more means "we are doing something" compared to "less but quality stuff". So, I have to keep sieving lousy information, to get out what is

A Long Journey to Nowhere

I have been with the company for twenty three (23) years. I have seen four (4) CEOs and seen the management scenes changing like a fast forward motion picture. I have seen its best and perhaps now seeing its worst. In the past where loyalty to the company was toasted by a show of the years with the company; today anything longer than five (5) seems way too much! It is viewed with lack of experience and exposure to continue to be of value. The company culture has changed because of leadership or perhaps a better description could be powershift. The power vested in the CEO when pushed strongly down creates a generation of zoombies who will start off each conversation with the following; "the CEO said..." even though they are paid millions of dollars and supposed to know how to think. They do not think anymore. If if they did, they are not showing. My journey of 23 years is almost ending, and the destination is barren land, where all the respect and pride are stripped off. It st