EA was down the path of being awful, long before that. But yeah...

I was guessing that it was going to be leveraged as a propaganda outlet given the Kushner and Saudi connections, but it does seem more likely that it'll just be hollowed out and thrown away.

My first thought as well. Of companies to lose to further "investor" shittery, I can't say I'll lose much sleep over EA if that turns out to be the case.

If EA gets bled dry by private equity, it'll probably be the biggest company to go down that way ever.

I don't really know if that's the same kind of animal though. The Saudi royal family is trying desperately hard to diversify. Into as many different revenue streams as they can. You know to Stave off the coming disaster. So I think maybe they're actually in it for real with EA, though why you bank on a video game company being a long-term investment I'm not 100% sure. Point is they have so much money now I doubt it's for a quick profit. They have so many projects right now that are so risky they're basically burning cash.

What’s crazy is that the Catholic hospitals are becoming your best bet.

So you’re kinda right!

I have no idea and it seems insane to me.

I was looking for the same thing in my country, UK, thinking we can’t be as bad as America, but nope many of the companies that have died during my life have been due to LBOs. The world is insane and I don’t see how we can change it.

In the UK I learnt that Asda one of our largest supermarkets is in a similar place due to two brothers doing an LBO to buy it. Now it’s saddled with debt meaning it won’t be able to innovate like Tesco or Sainsbury’s and thus will likely just bleed customers. Makes me wonder why these two brothers with more money than God would want to carry on, like I literally can’t comprehend wanting more than you need. Perhaps I have different motivations as I see time as my most precious asset and will earn less money than I could just for the easier life of being able to chill more and do the things I like.

Because bankers buy politicians and if people complain they buy news coverage to call the naysayers socialists

the primary shareholders of a company can usually do whatever they please (as they should in the case of some proprietorship) as such can sell whatever assets for whatever price.

I'm kind of financially illiterate

what part of the firm's actions were fraudulent? if they make an offer and toys r us accepts, there's nothing predatory going on is there?

So the Equity Holders (The Private Equity firms) were largely shielded from risk as they had taken out billions in dividends and they had a small equity state relative to the debt meaning their downside was limited.

The creditors (large banks) were left holding the bag, but they’d had years of interest payments so they wrote off the rest and likely still made some profit.

Employees, suppliers, and landlords. Employees lose their jobs, suppliers get pennies on the dollar for what they’re owed and landlords might have got some money but still not all.

So in short it was the banks, but don’t forget they had years of interest payments and after all they took the risk.

Most debts are owned by the banks and the banks eat it. Then they have to make up the money somewhere else, so the costs go to the next round of borrowers, who then have to charge higher prices, so in the end we the consumer end up paying for it.

Alot of debt gets bundled into bonds or other investment vehicles and sold. So small retail investors, retirement funds, etc end up holding the bag. Sometimes the banks lose, but they can take tax write offs and if the loses are too great, they can often get bailed out by the government.

Impossible! Mitt Romney is one of the good conservatives!

/s because tens of millions of liberals actually believe that it's true.

Just saw this after making my comment. I believe it was.

Bain Capital

Not technically, it was years after he left Bain.

It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning.

Truer now than when Henry Ford said it like a hundred years go.

The SEC exists to shelter Self Regulating Organizations from any threats of democratic governance or law enforcement. Oh ya and to keep up the legalese charade that there literally is no such thing as counterfeit stock (because the Secret Service has purview over counterfeiting for some strange reason)

Fuck the stock market 🖕

Sadly we live in crazy town.

Wait until you hear about using shorts to drive a company out of business or stock buy backs.

Yes, that was one of them.

From OP

Basically, the company had to pay for its own buyout when private equity firms KKL, Vornado, and Bain bought the company for $6.6 billion, mostly with loans.

The hypersane smart get called crazy by conformists.

He died before Epstein Island was a thing, presumably.

Whatever he didn't got fucked by Clinton.

Your mom.

You will not build a new financial system without structures of power. The best we can do is to understand the structures of power and how to combat them.

I couldn't possible know what you mean, but that sounds delicious.