8 ms·
“You’re in business for 40 years and you are telling me you can’t raise $2 billion privately? Get on a jet and fly to Kuwait like everyone else and give them co
by tqi 4y ago
“You’re in business for 40 years and you are telling me you can’t raise $2 billion privately? Get on a jet and fly to Kuwait like everyone else and give them control of one-third of the bank.”
A lot to unpack there...
- paganel 4y agoFor those wondering (like I was), the Kuwait quote is actually real, from the article itself. Maybe those "SVB insiders" should have just been better at doing their jobs.
- djaouen 4y agoI am super happy this employee lost his job lol
- tqi 4y agoTBH i think this is just saying the quiet part out loud. Everyone wants to trumpet their commitment to a higher mission and their core values and whatever else during the good times but when their backs are against the wall, none of that matters.
- hackernewds 4y agowhat's wrong with raising money from Kuwait? raising money from shady nation-states with an agenda seems to have worked out for Twitter
- s1artibartfast 4y agowhats wrong with it?
- SoftTalker 4y agoSounds like how the mob used to “help” businesses that needed cash.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- mc32 4y agoIt’s probably taking a cue from SoftBank some years ago when they sought investment from MBSs sovereign fund.
- testfoobar 4y agoWhat this person is saying is that a going concern of 40 years right in center of Silicon Valley can easily raise capital from anywhere on the planet. SVB should have raised capital in 2021.
- missedthecue 4y agoI feel like flying to Omaha might have been an option too
- pjc50 4y agoAn equity issue would absolutely have solved the problem, although $2bn for 1/3 of the bank would have been a pretty hefty discount. The surprising thing is that nobody in SV VC circles decided to raise capital to save the bank. Raising capital is literally what they do - and in many cases, they'd encouraged companies to use SVB! (Were there kickbacks for this?)