Too Big to Fail - Andrew Ross Sorkin [307]
he sang a song called “Leopard in Mt. Kilimanjaro”: Kim Yeon-hee, “KDB’s CEO: A Leopard on the Hunt for Lehman,” Reuters, September 5, 2008.
“Korea situation sounds promising”: Goldfarb’s e-mail, sent May 26, 2008, was made available from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s investigation on the “Causes and Effects of the Lehman Brothers Bankruptcy.” See “Lehman Brothers Email Regarding Punishing Short Seller,” http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID =2208.
set off for Korea: According to flight records obtained by the Wall Street Journal. See Craig, “Lehman Struggles to Shore Up Confidence,” Wall Street Journal, September 11, 2008.
The Shilla: http://www.shilla.net/en/seoul/.
Hana Financial was also considering an investment: Hana Financial Group was one of several top South Korean banks (Shinhan, Woori) reportedly contemplating a Lehman bid. The company, however, publicly “denied any interest in joining a consortium bidding for Lehman Shares.” Kim Yeon-hee, “KDB Confirms Lehman Talks; Korea Bank Shares Fall,” Reuters, September 1, 2008.
bringing on $3.9 billion in revenue: Lehman’s Investment Banking net revenues rose from $3.2 billion in 2006 to $3.9 billion in 2007, a 24 percent increase, according to the company’s 10-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 29, 2008.
Over at Neuberger Berman: Lehman sealed its $2.6 billion purchase of Neuberger Berman on October 31, 2003.
demanding that top Lehman managers forgo bonuses: Vale, Walker, and Fuld’s e-mail string available under “Lehman Brothers Email Regarding Suspending Executive Compensation,” House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s investigation, http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=2208.
Few seemed to flaunt their personal wealth as much as he did: Michael Shnayerson, “Profiles in Panic,” Vanity Fair, January 2009; Christina S. N. Lewis, “Hot Words in Finance: ‘For Sale,’” Wall Street Journal, January 16, 2009.
He gave generously to charities: Shnayerson, “Profiles in Panic,” Vanity Fair; “Spelman Receives $10 Million Gift,” Jet, November 19, 2007.
he used it to ram through deals much more quickly: About Walsh, Aby Rosen told the New York Times: “He was fast…. He doesn’t try to kill you or retrade. To be honest, there are very few people in the industry you can say that about.” See Devin Leonard, “How Lehman Brothers Got Its Real Estate Fix,” New York Times, May 3, 2009; Dana Rubinstein, “Mark Walsh, Lehman’s Unluckiest Gambler,” New York Observer, October 1, 2008.
her input was virtually nil: See Nick Mathiason, Heather Connon, and Richard Wachman, “Banking’s Big Question: Why Didn’t Anyone Stop Them?” Observer (London), February 15, 2009.
Lehman buying Grange Securities for $100 million: Chris Wright, “Can Lehman Build on Grange?” Euromoney, July 2007.
Had there been a sound reason for acquiring Eagle Energy: In 2006, Lehman purchased one third of Eagle Energy and agreed to buy the remaining two thirds a year later. “Lehman Buys Rest of Energy Marketing Co. Eagle Energy,” Reuters, May 9, 2007.
deals that did concern him were the ones that Lehman failed to get: Leonard, “How Lehman Brothers Got Its Real Estate Fix,” New York Times.
“I am very disappointed”: On the morning of June 9, Fuld said: “I am very disappointed in this quarter’s results. Notwithstanding the solid underlying performance of our client franchise, we had our first-ever quarterly loss as a public company. However, with our strengthened balance sheet and the improvement in the financial markets since March, we are well-positioned to serve our clients and execute our strategy.” See “Lehman Brothers Announces Expected Second Quarter Results,” Reuters, June 9, 2008.
Lehman’s second-quarter earnings: Susanne Craig and Tom Lauricella, “Big Loss At Lehman Intensifies