"Bruce Holland Rogers - An Eye For Acquisitions" - читать интересную книгу автора (Rogers Bruce Holland)

United States Senator."
"Oh, I know that," Moscarón said. "I know exactly what it takes." He took a small box from his vest
pocket and opened it. The inside of the lid read, WWWSS. "Would you care for a chocolate?"
"A product of your company?"
"A sideline. As I said, we're diversified."
"I'm allergic to chocolate."
"Pity," said Moscarón.
In the receiving line after the dinner and speech, Vriner noticed that the Senator addressed his
contributors by first name, and he glanced into their eyes barely long enough to convey sincerity before
he passed on to the next person. "Andy, good to see you. How's business, Leonard? Delighted to have
your support. Hi, David, Sheila. Good to see you." But when Moscarón came by, the Senator looked
him in the eye long and hard. "Mr. Moscarón," he said soberly. "Good evening, sir. I hope every little
thing is satisfactory." And Moscarón just smiled.
Maybe Moscarón did own the Senator, and that would suggest that his company had a very healthy
cash flow indeed, or else some other attractive leverage that would make the company worth owning.
Vriner called his investment banker that night. "Listen," he said, "I think I've found a Saturday Night
Special."
"No way," Siegel told him. "There hasn't been an overnight takeover since dinosaurs roamed the earth.
What's your supposed target?"
"WWW Service and Supply."
"Never heard of them," Siegel said. "But I'll take a look. I'll call you soon."
"Call me sooner than soon. I've got a feeling."
In the morning, Siegel paced Vriner's office and said, "Their numbers look sharp, Leonard. But they
can't be as unprotected as you say."
"Wide open," Vriner said. "I have it from the head man himself. Now tell me why someone else hasn't
gone after them."
Siegel shrugged. "Couple of reasons, I guess. One, maybe no one has seen them. It's a low-profile
stock, very thinly traded. Weeks go by and no one buys or sells a share. The other thing is that, well,
even from their annual report, it's hard to tell exactly what they do. I mean, they trade commodities I can't
imagine anyone would want to buy. Cactus spines and live owls. Dried roots and herbs you never heard
of."
"And do they do this profitably?"
"They're healthy."
"Let me see."
Vriner flipped through Siegel's report, then passed it back to him. "I wouldn't care if they were
cannibals trading in human skulls, Aaron. I like these numbers. Buy me a quiet five percent, and let's go
hunting."
Siegel spread the stock trades out over several weeks. Even so, the shares weren't easy to come by.
He had to bid the price up to shake loose sellers. "I don't know," he told Vriner. "This is turning into an
expensive stake. Maybe they've got wind of you. Making a tender might not be worthwhile."
"I want the deal," Vriner said. "I want to play the game."
"So we go anyway?"
"We go. On Friday, we go."
"It's late, and I'm rather busy," Moscarón said irritably when Vriner called and insisted on an
immediate meeting. "Can't this wait until Monday?"
"I think you'd rather talk to me now," Vriner said. "In any case, you have a fiduciary responsibility to
hear what I have to say. After all, I have a five percent stake in your company. I believe that makes me
one of your largest shareholders, if not the largest."
Moscarón sighed. "All right, all right. I'll meet you in my office. You'll have to show yourselves up. My
staff is already gone for the day. Do you know how to get here?"