Get Your Gekko On
By BankersBall on Feb 27, 2007 in Cube Life
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Wrong movie, I know, but somehow it feels appropriate for the feeling in the air. What feeling? Well the feeling of hostile takeovers, of Scrooge McDuckian vaults of undeserved wealth, of powerful puppeteers pulling strings behind the scenes, of greed is good, and of good guys like Carl Fox versus baddies, like yourself. Oh, and of piles and piles of blow.
I’ve been seeing a lot especially out of the British press about P.E., where the debate seems to be shaping up very much as a Labor vs. PE fight. And no wonder: according to the Guardian, a mere invisible “handful of firms own businesses that employ one in every five workers in the private sector in Britain.” Does anyone know the ratio in the U.S.?
What else I learned about the shadowy world of private equity from the Guardian’s mini investigative series (scroll down to “The private equity debate” here):
Who are they? Fun facts…
They include Sir Ronald Cohen (Apax), who was born in Egypt, only to arrive in England at 11, unable to speak the Queen’s English! Jon Moulton (Alchemy), who was one of the first to come out and talk about the industry.
Are the Gekko times back?
If the incidence of Wall Street references is any indication, by golly, yes! (”‘I am not a destroyer of companies. I am a liberator of them,’ declared Gordon Gekko in the film Wall Street 20 years ago. The same response to the charge of asset-stripping can be heard today from private equity firms, and it is only convincing in part,” quotes the Guardian) On that note I think we’ll feature lesser-known quotes from Wall Street everyday this week.
Why so much PE action in Britain?
“Private equity has flourished in Britain because firms can claim tax relief on interest payments on the debt used to buy the businesses; a loophole unions want to close. The aim is to sell the business again or float it on the stock market, typically within three to five years, at a profit.” (Guardian)
P.E.ers — rapacious?
“The ultimate question is whether this behaviour becomes normalised and accepted. This is a socio-cultural change. The culture of naked self-interest among private equity managers is characteristic of the elites in third world countries.” — Karel Williams at Manchester Business School, as quoted by the Guardian.
Y’all ready for hypercapitalism?
On Feb 27, 2007, Anonymous said:
Who the hell is Carl Fox? You mean Bud Fox? Isn’t quoting the movie, then botching the character punishable by severe caning?
On Feb 27, 2007, Esquandolas said:
Who the hell is Carl Fox? You mean Bud Fox? Isn’t quoting a Wall St movie, then botching the Wall Street character on a Wall Street blog punishable by death? I think I read that somewhere.
On Feb 27, 2007, Anonymous said:
Carl Fox is Bud Fox’s dad, and botching a Wall Street reference when calling out a wall street blog for an Wall Street (the movie) error it didn’t make should be punishable by having your computer disconnected from the internet.
On Feb 27, 2007, Sloan Girl said:
The tax treatment of interest is the same in the U.S., so it doesn’t seem like a compelling reason for the plethora of firms in the U.K. compared to other countries.
On Mar 3, 2007, The guardian sucks said:
Oh please. 20% of private sector workers employed by companies owned by P.E… and 40% of ALL workers in the UK are public sector leeches. What is the insinuation here anyway? Since when was value creation a bad thing? Jesus, and getting wound up over interest payments, why don’t we just pay EVERYTHING to Scottish prick Gordon, stupid Guardian fucks, true socialists of course but I bet they’ll die rich.