Comment by austhrow743 3 days ago
My take on their comment was that it should be worth many billions if it was being run effectively but that it's not.
That doesn't mean the market is wrong, it means the market thinks it will continue to be run ineffectively.
if that is the case, isnt paying stockholders 20% over value a pretty good deal, and not a ripoff?
It seems like there are contradictory facts being claimed: that the price to go private is a lowball, and that the current price is accurate.
If the one offering 20% over listed price is the one causing the listed price to be far more than 20% below what the company could be worth if they were running it properly, most people would consider that to be a ripoff.
That seems like conspiracy thinking. The stockholders own part of the company with current management, not some hypothetical alternative.
If they sell, they are selling a stake in the real company as it exists, not the alternate reality one.
Think of a more relatable example. . A rental house with crazy tenants sells for less than a vacant one.
If you buy or own a stake in a business that is controlled by poor managers, you are lucky to sell for a 20% premium.
That would completely be fraud, but seems pretty far fetched.
They have been (miss)managing the company about the same for 18 years, so it would have to be one of the most epic cons of all time.
On the other hand, partial owners and management take companies private all the time. It is an extremely common occurrence. It and PE buyout are probably the two most common ways.
I had a more charitable read of the parent post where they weren't assuming fraud, but just confused
If someone wants to delist and have equity/executive control -- there is little minority shareholders can do to prevent it in practice
The controlling interest can just hire incompetent ops heads and side-line competent ones for a few quarters ... slowwalk any events that could increase value
The board resigning likely helps the plan
Fair chance future offers will get worse the longer it goes on