Good Deal: The purchase of Manhattan from the Canarsee Indians (1626)
The Dutch, for a relatively nominal sum, reached an accommodation with the Canarsee Indians for Manhattan and avoided much of the strife and bloodshed associated with European conquest of Indian-occupied territories in the Western Hemisphere.
posted: Tuesday May 15th - 1:00pm
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Bad Deal: LTV’s Acquisition of Jones & Laughlin Steel (1968)
The purchase of Jones & Laughlin Steel plunged the company into the problematic and cyclical steel business, about which it knew nothing.
posted: Tuesday May 8th - 5:40pm
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Good Deal: Ray Kroc's agreement to franchise McDonald's (1955)
The real financial genius behind McDonald's displayed itself after McDonald's got its franchise system off the ground.
posted: Tuesday May 1st - 2:33pm
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Good Deal: Hanson Trust's acquisition of SCM Corp. (1986)
Even with the worthless 40-percent ownership in Smith Corona, this deal ranks as one of the savviest bust-ups of the era.
posted: Thursday April 26th - 11:19am
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Good Deal: Nelson Peltz and Peter May’s sale of Triangle Industries to Pechinew (1988)
Peltz and May were regarded as pawns or bust-up artists, but they had skills and knew how to use them.
posted: Wednesday April 25th - 8:45am
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Good Deal: Berkshire Hathaways's purchase of Coca-Cola (1988)
In a lifetime of successful investing, this was Warren Buffett's most profitable investment.
posted: Wednesday April 18th - 10:44am
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Bad Deal: IBM’s Acquisition of Rolm (1984)
IBM was so anxious to expand into the telephone business that it ignored Rolm’s weaknesses.
posted: Wednesday April 18th - 8:45am
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Ron Perelman's acquisition of Technicolor, Inc. (1982)
Perelman discovered a company loaded with unprofitable assets that could be sold, leaving the core of profitable company that Perelman acquired at almost no cost.
posted: Wednesday April 11th - 4:05pm
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Bad Deal: Conseco's Acquisition of Green Tree Financial (1998)
From 1987 to 1997, Conseco provided a greater return to shareholders than any other Fortune 500 company. Despite this stellar record, Green Tree Financial took advantage the Conseco, costing the company more than 80 percent of its market value.
posted: Wednesday April 11th - 10:34am
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Bad Deal: Ronald Reagan’s Negotiation of Residuals for the Screen Actors Guild (1960)
Before he became President, Reagen perpetuated “The Great Giveaway" - giving up the residual rights to pre-1960 films, in perpetuity, for a $2,625,000 payment to establish the Guild’s pension.
posted: Wednesday April 4th - 9:39am
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Good Deal: Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.'s acquisition of Duracell (1988)
Although the brand name was more valuable than analysts thought, KKR's secret weapon was management participation.
posted: Wednesday April 4th - 8:49am
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Good Deal: Gordon Cain's acquisition of Cain Chemical (1987)
Petrochemical legend Gordon Cain had a shrewd sense of timing. He bought seven chemicals businesses at the bottom of the economic cycle, and profited by selling as the cycle turned up. But he also knew how to improve the businesses by cutting costs dramatically.
posted: Wednesday March 28th - 2:50pm
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Bad Deal: Merv Griffin's Acquisition of Resorts International (1988)
Every father teaches his son three things: Don't play golf for money with someone who carries a one iron; don't get into a public argument with someone who buys ink by the barrel; and don't negotiate with your betters.
posted: Wednesday March 28th - 10:33am
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Bad Deal: Wesray's Sale of Simmons Mattress Co. to an ESOP (1989)
Although Wesray had used an ESOP mechanism both to its benefit and the benefit of the employees in other deals, it overreached loading Simmons with debt it could not service.
posted: Wednesday March 21st - 1:38pm
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Good Deal: Sabheer Bhatia's and Jack Smith's Sale of Hotmail to Microsoft (1997)
Many people disparaged the original success of Hotmail, saying that the the idea could have been devised by anyone. Hotmail's creators later sold their brainchild to Microsoft for $400M.
posted: Wednesday March 21st - 11:13am
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Bad Deal: The Reichmanns' attempt to build Canary Wharf (1987)
Paul Reichmann's arrogance in dealing with bankers came back to haunt him when the family overextended itself in 1992.
posted: Monday March 19th - 1:08pm
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Bad Deal: Sony's Acquisition of Columbia Pictures (1989)
Even the most adept deal makers are not immune from lapses of judgment.
posted: Wednesday March 14th - 10:06am
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Good Deal: Michael Robertson's Purchase of the Domain Name MP3.com (1997)
Though the vagaries of the after-market for Internet stocks have not been kind to Michael Robertson, his vision put him in the right place at the right time.
posted: Wednesday March 7th - 10:40am
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Good Deal: Priscilla Presley’s Control of the Elvis Estate (1982)
When Lisa Marie inherited the Elvis estate was worth a paltry $4.9 million. Today, thanks to her mom's shrewd business decisions, the younger Presley is worth up to $600 million.
posted: Wednesday February 28th - 7:32am
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