Since CEOs typically own a lot of stock and are compensated for performance, doesn’t that seem like a strange theory? Intentionally destroying a company you run and own shares in so you can buy more shares seems like a really complicated and high risk strategy compared to just running it well, making a fortune, and getting an even bigger CEO gig.
The viability and profitability of the strategy depend critically on the ownership and control position of the CEO. Many CEOs do not have all that much stock, in percentage terms. If they have access to resources and sufficient board control they could privatize, reset the cap table, and reorganize.
If they were to reorganize first and produce a company worth as much as its competitors, they only get eg 5% of eg 30B, which after taxes makes them maybe a billionaire. Reorg and do the same thing and they could be looking at control and $10-20B.
Where tens of billions of dollars are involved, “really complicated” and “high risk” plays are basically table stakes.
Was that not a strategy successfully employed by Ford to edge out other investors?
Honestly, it would be more surprising to me if this sort of thing never happened. In politics it happens fairly regularly (entryism, agent provocateurs etc.) so why wouldn't it happen in business? It would take even less coordination, all it would take is a bit of personal loyalty between top leaders which - shock and horror! - didn't disappear when one of them changed company.
I don't think you're properly modeling a truly ambitious person whose basic needs are already fully-met for life.
Anne Wojicki is already sufficiently wealthy – net worth $150m+? – that maybe what really interests her is playing hardball for (say) $10B+ instead of just a few hundred million more? Or for the control & glory of shepherding forward some breakthrough cancer treatments that the other investors might simply treat as financial options to sell early?
And, perhaps she's got the votes & de facto IP control & legal budget to think she's got a good chance of winning, and even a loss can't cut her out?
Isn't this just bare-knuckle "founder mode"?