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And, there's a reason they're called raiders. They don't usually "improve" anything except for their wallet. Yes, because populist journalists and working folk
by ryanwaggoner 16y ago
And, there's a reason they're called raiders. They don't usually "improve" anything except for their wallet.
Yes, because populist journalists and working folks who lose their jobs because a poorly-performing company gets shut down and sold off piecemeal are great, unbiased sources of truth in such matters.
Sometimes the best thing that can happen to a company is for it to die. If we'd had the balls to let some of our airlines and auto companies and banks die the painful death they deserve, we probably wouldn't have to face the prospect of repeatedly bailing out underperforming companies in those (now heavily-regulated) industries.
- btilly 16y agoI don't particularly mind having poorly performing companies which are worth less than their book value be broken up and sold off for a profit. What I have a lot more trouble with is a stable company being bought in a transaction designed to load it with debt for the tax benefit, deliberately run into the ground, and then flipped around for profit. To name a random example, Sealy and Serta used to make good mattresses before they got bought and destroyed by private equity. And a lot of people's local community hospitals used to be decent and are now crap because private equity saw a profit opportunity.