5 ms·
> drive fear at Twitter Auditing what you just bought is about as smart as taking the used car you just bought to the shop to get everything checked over and t
by aliqot 4y ago
> drive fear at Twitter
Auditing what you just bought is about as smart as taking the used car you just bought to the shop to get everything checked over and tightened and lubricated.
- manuelabeledo 4y agoRight. But smart people would take a mechanic with them before buying the car. A meaningful audit at Twitter would take months. This is but a stunt.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- aliswe 4y agoWould you really show your source code before purchase?
- Moto7451 4y agoThat’s precisely how acquisitions at my current and past company worked. Everyone signs NDAs, there’s a fee paid by the purchaser for the time should they decline the deal, and the audit commences. I’ve been asked to do the evaluation a few times and it’s pretty straightforward. Even if you think the code is of poor quality, it may still make sense to complete the purchase because of the business case.
- dmak 4y agoNot necessarily. It depends on the company acquiring. I've seen M&As focus solely on the relationships (ex, customers), so the tech DD was just checkboxes without deep dives.
- Moto7451 4y agoNot necessarily… what? This is my actual professional experience. I’m sure people just buy things without any due diligence somewhere but I have never seen it. In one case my judgement was that the customer list was all that there was of value. They opted to not buy that company.
- dmak 4y agoI didn't say they skipped DD.
- shaburn 4y agoWere these companies more public and independently well capitalized or cash fires with little bargaining leverage for asset sales?
- Moto7451 4y agoA mix of everything. The deals are always worth millions of dollars.
- manuelabeledo 4y agoIt’s a pretty standard procedure, so yeah. It’s worth mentioning that Musk waived his right to do so.
- mayankkaizen 4y agoI once read about an acquisition attempt by Google which eventually failed because Google found codebase less than impressive. So I guess this is normal to review codebase before a buyout.
- alistairSH 4y agoYes, that’s normal. At least when a PE from is buying. NDAs signed, automated scanners run, consultants sent in, etc.
- hodgesrm 4y agoInspecting the source code is a condition of all deals I've been involved with. Most sensible people want to see what they buying, unless they are under pressure to close fast due to competition. It's a lot like buying a house.
- dastbe 4y agoyes. would you buy a company without reviewing and inspecting its assets? remember you have to tell us if you’re elon musk.
- caminante 4y agoGetting/giving access to the actual code/backend (especially as a competitor!) is a heavily negotiated diligence request. The seller can simply refuse without even giving a reason. ITT: People are throwing around the phrase "audit" liberally. Audit will have a defined (and likely limited) scope and is typically more about compliance, e.g., Do you have the correct number of Microsoft Office licenses per accounting records?
- shaburn 4y agoThis is systematic purge bringing in trusted, independent professionals. He just spared McKinsey ETC fees.
- pessimizer 4y agoYou have to remember that he didn't want to buy the car at all.
- benj111 4y agoHe did want to buy the car, signed a contract to buy the car that decided that he didn't want to buy it because it had a head gasket leak. Even though that was the whole reason he was buying the car, and he doesn't have any evidence for said leak anyway.
- manuelabeledo 4y agoHe went through all the paperwork, got the money, then he didn’t want to buy it.
- hoseja 4y ago... got the money, then found out the previous owner was a chainsmoker and a cadaver is decomposing in the trunk, then for some mysterious reason didn't want to buy it.
- manuelabeledo 4y agoMaybe he should just have opened the door before committing to buy it. He could have, he was in his right, but refused.
- freejazz 4y agoI have to remember? Or does Elon have to remember?
- nemothekid 4y ago>You have to remember that he didn't want to buy the car at all. Huh? Then how did he end up purchasing it?
- Macacity 4y agoHe was almost ordered by a court and decided to do it before the judgement
- smrtinsert 4y agoIt's not the right people so it's not an audit