Deals a-Plenty and a Happy Fourth of July!
ACE buys Chubb, the venerable insurer of rich folks homes. But...but...but...look-y here. It's Evan Greenberg, Pooh-Bah of ACE, pushing to buy Chubb. Yes, that Evan: son of Maurice (Hank) Greenberg, former Chairman/CEO of AIG.
Remember Hank? He was a favorite target of New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer (he who was later driven from the office of Governor of the State of New York after being caught philandering with high-class prostitutes) as part of Spitzer's phony, ill-conceived crusade against rich and powerful corporate types. Greenberg was the Prize.
Not that the morally flabby Spitzer wasn't familiar with the rich and powerful. He himself came from a privileged background. It's just that his type of rich doesn't pursue productive endeavors. Like various and sundry Kennedys, Spitzer opted instead to aggrandize himself by seeking political office. He pursued dreams of glory frequently at the expense of others. Spitzer and those of his ilk justify all this by doling out government largess to certain segments of society considered "underprivileged" in some way.
Hank, on the other hand, built an insurance Empire at AIG. You could argue that a good chunk of the financial services industry doesn't really do anything productive. Fair enough. But insurance - at least basic coverages intended to protect individuals and enterprises from rare but disastrous events, help to ensure the continued productivity of individuals and businesses, which does benefit society. Setting aside for the moment the more exotic activities of AIG, which eventually led to its near-death experience in 2007-2008, AIG was at one point the largest insurance company in America, if not the world. In addition to building an extraordinary business, Greenberg's mental make-up and physical constitution were impressive. Spitzer couldn't hold a candle to the man, so he naturally sought to destroy him, being the power-hungry weasel that he was. (Sorry, couldn't help that shot.)
But back to Evan, son of Hank, who may or may not have inherited some of Pop's genes but who will surely - or at least his company, ACE, buy Chubb. While he may never equal his esteemed papa's world-changing executive decision-making, he's nevertheless staked out a his own claim as a "macher." And a macher should make big deals, right? Why just look at this man's visage in the Wall Street Journal article reporting the deal, if you've any doubt this man being a real macher.
"One of the biggest": Shades of Hank, to be sure.
But besides reporting on the goings-on of Evan Greenberg, scion of Hank, this deal illustrates the continued and increasing surge in Mergers and Acquisition:
But let's not worry ourselves to death over the cavorting of those select few who rule the roost in the business world. It's a national holiday, the day before the 239th birthday of our great country. And when July 4th arrives tomorrow, the celebration of our Independence day, here are a couple of suggestions besides having a barbecue and some adult beverages.
First and foremost, if you haven't done this for a while, or even if you have, read the Declaration of Independence. Every time I read it, it never ceases to both inspire and amaze. Inspires because these few men signed their names on a document that effectively put them in jeopardy of forfeiting their lives and their property. And some did. Amazes because they not only knew they were standing up to the mightiest army and Navy on earth, but they also won.
Second, July Fourth wouldn't be the same without "America the Beautiful," and "America the Beautiful" was never the same after this gentleman's version (my favorite):
Remember Hank? He was a favorite target of New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer (he who was later driven from the office of Governor of the State of New York after being caught philandering with high-class prostitutes) as part of Spitzer's phony, ill-conceived crusade against rich and powerful corporate types. Greenberg was the Prize.
Not that the morally flabby Spitzer wasn't familiar with the rich and powerful. He himself came from a privileged background. It's just that his type of rich doesn't pursue productive endeavors. Like various and sundry Kennedys, Spitzer opted instead to aggrandize himself by seeking political office. He pursued dreams of glory frequently at the expense of others. Spitzer and those of his ilk justify all this by doling out government largess to certain segments of society considered "underprivileged" in some way.
Hank, on the other hand, built an insurance Empire at AIG. You could argue that a good chunk of the financial services industry doesn't really do anything productive. Fair enough. But insurance - at least basic coverages intended to protect individuals and enterprises from rare but disastrous events, help to ensure the continued productivity of individuals and businesses, which does benefit society. Setting aside for the moment the more exotic activities of AIG, which eventually led to its near-death experience in 2007-2008, AIG was at one point the largest insurance company in America, if not the world. In addition to building an extraordinary business, Greenberg's mental make-up and physical constitution were impressive. Spitzer couldn't hold a candle to the man, so he naturally sought to destroy him, being the power-hungry weasel that he was. (Sorry, couldn't help that shot.)
But back to Evan, son of Hank, who may or may not have inherited some of Pop's genes but who will surely - or at least his company, ACE, buy Chubb. While he may never equal his esteemed papa's world-changing executive decision-making, he's nevertheless staked out a his own claim as a "macher." And a macher should make big deals, right? Why just look at this man's visage in the Wall Street Journal article reporting the deal, if you've any doubt this man being a real macher.
Insurer ACE Ltd. agreed to buy Chubb Corp. for $28.3 billion in cash and stock, creating one of the biggest property-casualty insurance companies in the world...
"One of the biggest": Shades of Hank, to be sure.
But besides reporting on the goings-on of Evan Greenberg, scion of Hank, this deal illustrates the continued and increasing surge in Mergers and Acquisition:
Broadly, merger-and-acquisition activity has been on fire this year, driven by a range of factors including cheap debt, a relatively stable economy, cash on balance sheets, rising stock prices and a fear among executives of being left behind rivals who strike deals.Of course, the number of deals reminds us of similar activity in 2007, prior and leading up to the debacle of 2008-2009. Are we looking at a canary in the coal mine here?
But let's not worry ourselves to death over the cavorting of those select few who rule the roost in the business world. It's a national holiday, the day before the 239th birthday of our great country. And when July 4th arrives tomorrow, the celebration of our Independence day, here are a couple of suggestions besides having a barbecue and some adult beverages.
First and foremost, if you haven't done this for a while, or even if you have, read the Declaration of Independence. Every time I read it, it never ceases to both inspire and amaze. Inspires because these few men signed their names on a document that effectively put them in jeopardy of forfeiting their lives and their property. And some did. Amazes because they not only knew they were standing up to the mightiest army and Navy on earth, but they also won.
Second, July Fourth wouldn't be the same without "America the Beautiful," and "America the Beautiful" was never the same after this gentleman's version (my favorite):
Happy Fourth of July!
Comments