Editor’s Comment: My good friend, Ron DeMattia of Corporate Value Partners sent me this article. It’s more data for the series of discussions he and I have had about the M&A business done right and done wrong. The wrong way (in our view) is adding debt to dividend shareholders; a few people gain and many people lose. Staples owners are cited here but the highest profile case of such concerns currently is Eddie Lambert and his long ride as Sears/Kmart owner. The courts and others are currently hounding Lambert to discern how much his hedge fund (ESL) gained while tens of thousands lose their jobs and their retirement savings (stock as well as pensions). Sycamore and Sears are just two of dozens of cases Ron and I wonder about.
