> I worked at one of the largest IT companies here in Norway when it got sold to some international corporation. They drove it into the ground in less than 6 mo

> I worked at one of the largest IT companies here in Norway when it got sold to some international corporation. They drove it into the ground in less than 6 months, selling the tattered remains for scraps to our largest competitor. That's intentional, corporate raiding (or by its legal name, leveraged buyouts and similar strategies). Load the purchased company up with debt to finance its own acquisition, take everything that's valuable (e.g. a specific contract, IP, "rockstar" employees - aka acquihire), sell off the husk to the highest bidder or send it off to bankruptcy. All you need is someone braindead (or desperate) enough to lend you money. When all you're looking at is one single thing of (relatively) stellar value, you don't need to invest in the rest.