Rug Burn Junky on 5/11/2006 at 16:50

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As someone who actually works as a wall street lawyer, can I just say that you are spectacularly wrong.

One: He is clearly not a lawyer. While I have not seen that movie in a long time, I believe it's pretty obvious that he is an investment banker effecting a hostile takeover. And it's not just "undiligent owners," hell, you make it sound like he's just walking around pickpocketing people. It's about taking companies which are underperforming but have valuable assets, and buying them using high interest bonds (backed by the credit of the takeover target), and selling them off, usually piece-by-piece, in an attempt to maximize those assets (and paying off the high interest debt). Does it necessarily put people out of work? No. Does it deprive the owners of the company of the value of their equity interest? No. What it does do, usually, is either force the incompetent fuck-offs who are in charge out of any power, allowing new blood to come in and make decisions, or force the incompetent fuck-offs to do even more fucked things to the company, to make owning it financially unappealling to the takeover bidder. If you would like to get a better understanding of this, I suggest that you read "Barbarians at the Gate," which details the takeover bid of RJR Tobacco in the late 80's by, among others, Henry Kravis, using the same junk-bond leveraging techniques.

Two: What the fuck is a white raider? Did you just make that up? There IS a term in M&A known as a "White Knight," which is an alternate investor brought in to purchase the equity in a company and prevent a takeover bid. However "White raider" and "black raider" aren't even terms used in the M&A industry, but rather by two-bit dillettantes sitting behind a keyboard jabbering on INTERNET.

Three: Lawyers do not bounce to 50-cent, and anyone who tells you otherwise is a complete doodoohead.

Para?noid on 5/11/2006 at 17:33

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what the fuck? he quite clearly says to julia roberts after their first night together that he is a banker. he takes people's money and spends it on property and takeovers and shit

secondly

how you could think that a comment that showed more than a passing interest in the film "pretty woman" (1990, richard gere, julia roberts) was serious rather than funny? it's the worst fucking movie ever just chill out you dumb dong

you make it seem like maintaining an image is a bad thing

trust me if i wanted real life with real people i wouldn't be all caught up in the shit-flinging fest that is community chat. who the fuck are you anyway

Secretary on 5/11/2006 at 20:05

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Thank you for a very interesting reading, Rug Burn Junky. Unfortunately I can't afford to form such a clear picture of mergers and acquisitions as you have done due to my poor English.

Let me explain the oddities you marked.
First, 'undiligent owner'. Let's examine a perfect variant. We have an ineffective enterprise which has solid assets (like real estate for instance) and lack of management and control. This enterprise belongs to one owner. He has 100% of shares. He lives like a rentier, no control, no anti-raider measures. He is undiligent. And then come raiders and after a good preparation make an attack. If everything goes alright raiders get control over his shares. Then generally there are two variants: (1) they sell real estate through a chain of buyers and sellers, at the end we have a bona fide purchaser, (2) they make him buy his own shares, but at the speculative price.
I understand that this is a very crude scheme, but i hope you understand why i use word 'undiligent'.

Second, 'white' and 'black' raiders. In Russia these are usual terms. You see our market hasn't stabilized yet so has the system of mergers and acquisitions. There is too much criminal inside it. That's why such terms as 'white knight', 'poison pills' and 'golden parachute' are rare yet. 'White' raider is the one who uses western M&A industry techonliges to take your property and 'doesn't hold a gun pointing at your head'. 'Black' raider is the one who uses crude force and primitive techonlogies. Still effective though.
Of course it is not that simple. You can say that white raider is the one who doesn't use criminal force in his actions, or uses it undercover, or black raider is the one who is caught and impriosned.

M&A in Russia is not in chaos, it is a system with its own rules and traditions, which is hard to understand if you are a western man. I hope that situation will change and become more civilized and clear.

As for Richard Gere i don't dispute whether he is a lawyer or not, for me he played an image of a successful man. I saw him as a lawyer. Maybe i was wrong, but it's only the image that had formed in my head. I just try to apply russian experience to the western reality i saw in the film.

p.s. to Para?noid: I'm just a secretary.

Strangeblue on 6/11/2006 at 03:27

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yes, but he's cuter.

Kolya on 6/11/2006 at 05:37

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You thought I would miss that, eh? Thought you could just slip it by by posting it on another board!
Underestimating my sentiments was your last mistake!

*takes off his rubber suit and reveals an angora pullover*