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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For those working on such a deal, expect tons of information to be provided to you, and most of this could be outdated.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 useful. I have to make some senses out of all these craps in less than ten working days! The information does not come all at one time; but flow like the little stream in the rubber plantation.

Then the acquirer's project lead expects you to provide also "tons of information" and to be "as accurate as possible". This is truly moronic. Haven't we heard of this wise saying of "garbage in, garbage out"? It appears that the new "wisdom" is "garbage in, porsche out". When did recycling ever taken such a transformation of technology? Put in "crabs" and out come "Birds Nest Soup"?

Have you heard of this old story, of "The Emperor with No Clothes"? If you understand the story, you understand the meaning. Need I say more?

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