The LBO Method

摘要

In 1999 John castle toyed with invest-ing $25 million of his clients' money to take a railroad-construction outfit private. The company boasted solid earnings growth and a "strong buy" rating from Deutsche Bank, but was short of capital for more acquisitions. After spending months (and a few hundred grand in accounting fees) poring over 30 of the firm's contracts, Castle begged off. The business, he concluded, wasn't as strong as the figures in public filings suggested. That was a wise move: The company filed for Chapter 11 a year later.