My guess on this situation... You have a group of people sitting around the table saying, "If we do nothing, the value of the company goes to zero. We have to

My guess on this situation... You have a group of people sitting around the table saying, "If we do nothing, the value of the company goes to zero. We have to do something visible and credible." Conrad had to agree to jumping on his sword - as the largest shareholder, he has the most to lose if the company goes under. So he jumps on the sword, and lets everyone kick him while he's down, because it increases the likelihood that the company survives. I have no real information though, so for all I know he could have been stabbed in the back instead.