Quote:
Originally Posted by FIRE
The German bribary case.
|
Mr E is a man of his times; an old fashioned wheeler-dealer, who is typical of men from that period. I knew many in the motor trade back in the sixties, and he would have been quite happy in their company.
As for the German case, my own view on it is that the real truth probably lies somewhere between the stories of the two men; the banker who knew some facts that would have been expensive to deal with if they became public, and an Arthur Daley type character that didn't want the truth known. To be charitable, I would rather call it a gift to the banker, and I don't for one moment believe that it was given to facilitate the sale of FOM to CVC. Far too many people who were involved in the sale have all agreed that CVC paid over the valuation placed on FOM, and that there was no other genuine buyer in competition with CVC. The American hedge fund never put forward a formal proposal, and that is why the court case that they brought, failed.