work to get to—”
“A lot of work,” said Menendez derisively. “I should show you what a lot of work is.”
“I think if we’ve got a range—”
“What? You got an issue?” Menendez stared at him. “We haven’t got time for this. You got a problem?”
“I haven’t got a problem.”
“You got something you want to say? You haven’t got enough work to do?”
Rob looked at Menendez’s belligerent, pop-eyed face. “No,” he said.
“Good. That’s about the smartest thing you’ve said all day.” Menendez turned back to Sammy’s computer. “Look at this crap here.” He pointed to something on Sammy’s computer screen. “Do what the Shark says. Right? Just fucking do it, Sammy.”
Sammy nodded.
“I’ll be back at eight. Make sure these guys don’t fuck everything up.” Menendez got up. He threw a glance at Rob and left.
There was silence.
Sammy sighed. “Rob, there are some things you shouldn’t question in front of Phil.”
“Like anything,” muttered Cynthia.
“You’re saying I can’t ask?” said Rob. “Sammy, if you’re telling me I can’t question anything, I think that’s an issue.”
“You can ask what you like,” said Sammy. “I’m just telling you, Phil doesn’t take kindly to it. He’s not interested in questions from analysts. I’m not saying it’s right, I’m just telling you how it is. You can accept my advice or not, it’s up to you.”
“Did we advise Leopard to go in at that price?”
“Twelve-point-five?” said Sammy. “I don’t believe so. I believe the client favored a strategy of going in high to get immediate agreement. We suggested eleven-point-seven-five, twelve if he wanted to make the deal look really sweet.”
“And he went in at twelve-point-five?”
“That was his call.”
Rob took the document back and looked at the offer page again. Twelve-point-five billion—4.2 billion in cash, the rest in stock.
“I thought we were going a quarter cash. This is a third.”
“Client’s call,” said Sammy.
Rob was silent. Stock prices could move up or down. Cash in hand was certain. More cash in a deal was like an additional bump in the price.
Sammy and Cynthia turned back to their computers.
“If we think it’s worth eleven-point-seven-five billion max, our client’s throwing away three-quarters of a billion of his shareholder’s money.”
Cynthia clicked at her keyboard.
“We’re agreeing to that.”
Sammy turned around. “It’s a valuation, Rob. We could be wrong. It could be worth thirteen. Maybe Leopard’s getting it cheap.”
“What about you, Cynthia?” said Rob. “What do you think?”
Cynthia entered a couple of numbers, scrolled down the page, entered a couple more numbers. “The offer’s crazy,” she said, eyes still on the screen. “But they want the deal, right? So they’re going high to make it irresistible.”
“They want it so much they’ll throw away almost a billion dollars?”
Cynthia shrugged. “It’s just our valuation, Rob. Who says we’re right?”
Rob shook his head. “This is crazy. This is just wrong.”
“It’s a negotiation tactic,” said Sammy.
“You don’t negotiate like this. Come on, Sammy. That’s not negotiation. That’s surrender.”
Sammy watched him.
“Don’t you think something odd’s going on here? This guy goes in at a price that’s a full three-quarters of a billion over the top of our range. Why? He’s got so much money he can’t get rid of it quick enough?”
“He wants the deal done quickly. It’s a tactic. You go in high, you get the deal.”
“Yeah, but why do a deal if you’re going to destroy three-quarters of a billion in value?”
“I told you, Rob,” said Sammy very quietly, very deliberately. “It’s just an estimate. His valuation may be better than ours.”
Rob stared at Sammy. Then he shook his head. “You don’t believe that. You saw the work I did. Hell, Sammy, you did half of it yourself. You know what went into
“A lot of work,” said Menendez derisively. “I should show you what a lot of work is.”
“I think if we’ve got a range—”
“What? You got an issue?” Menendez stared at him. “We haven’t got time for this. You got a problem?”
“I haven’t got a problem.”
“You got something you want to say? You haven’t got enough work to do?”
Rob looked at Menendez’s belligerent, pop-eyed face. “No,” he said.
“Good. That’s about the smartest thing you’ve said all day.” Menendez turned back to Sammy’s computer. “Look at this crap here.” He pointed to something on Sammy’s computer screen. “Do what the Shark says. Right? Just fucking do it, Sammy.”
Sammy nodded.
“I’ll be back at eight. Make sure these guys don’t fuck everything up.” Menendez got up. He threw a glance at Rob and left.
There was silence.
Sammy sighed. “Rob, there are some things you shouldn’t question in front of Phil.”
“Like anything,” muttered Cynthia.
“You’re saying I can’t ask?” said Rob. “Sammy, if you’re telling me I can’t question anything, I think that’s an issue.”
“You can ask what you like,” said Sammy. “I’m just telling you, Phil doesn’t take kindly to it. He’s not interested in questions from analysts. I’m not saying it’s right, I’m just telling you how it is. You can accept my advice or not, it’s up to you.”
“Did we advise Leopard to go in at that price?”
“Twelve-point-five?” said Sammy. “I don’t believe so. I believe the client favored a strategy of going in high to get immediate agreement. We suggested eleven-point-seven-five, twelve if he wanted to make the deal look really sweet.”
“And he went in at twelve-point-five?”
“That was his call.”
Rob took the document back and looked at the offer page again. Twelve-point-five billion—4.2 billion in cash, the rest in stock.
“I thought we were going a quarter cash. This is a third.”
“Client’s call,” said Sammy.
Rob was silent. Stock prices could move up or down. Cash in hand was certain. More cash in a deal was like an additional bump in the price.
Sammy and Cynthia turned back to their computers.
“If we think it’s worth eleven-point-seven-five billion max, our client’s throwing away three-quarters of a billion of his shareholder’s money.”
Cynthia clicked at her keyboard.
“We’re agreeing to that.”
Sammy turned around. “It’s a valuation, Rob. We could be wrong. It could be worth thirteen. Maybe Leopard’s getting it cheap.”
“What about you, Cynthia?” said Rob. “What do you think?”
Cynthia entered a couple of numbers, scrolled down the page, entered a couple more numbers. “The offer’s crazy,” she said, eyes still on the screen. “But they want the deal, right? So they’re going high to make it irresistible.”
“They want it so much they’ll throw away almost a billion dollars?”
Cynthia shrugged. “It’s just our valuation, Rob. Who says we’re right?”
Rob shook his head. “This is crazy. This is just wrong.”
“It’s a negotiation tactic,” said Sammy.
“You don’t negotiate like this. Come on, Sammy. That’s not negotiation. That’s surrender.”
Sammy watched him.
“Don’t you think something odd’s going on here? This guy goes in at a price that’s a full three-quarters of a billion over the top of our range. Why? He’s got so much money he can’t get rid of it quick enough?”
“He wants the deal done quickly. It’s a tactic. You go in high, you get the deal.”
“Yeah, but why do a deal if you’re going to destroy three-quarters of a billion in value?”
“I told you, Rob,” said Sammy very quietly, very deliberately. “It’s just an estimate. His valuation may be better than ours.”
Rob stared at Sammy. Then he shook his head. “You don’t believe that. You saw the work I did. Hell, Sammy, you did half of it yourself. You know what went into
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