Do you think that the German Social Democrats made a blunder by calling US hedge funds and financial institutions "locusts" (Heuschrecken)? Then consider the case of Celanese AG, where the US firm Blackstone Group made $3.1 billion (s0 far) in just nine months on an original investment of just $650 million. Forbes has the background in a story entitled Bad Chemistry (free registration required):
That angers some German investors and U.S.
hedge fund Paulson & Co. Paulson contends Blackstone got Celanese
on the cheap because of a cozy relationship with Celanese’s advisers at
Goldman Sachs. It argues Blackstone should have paid more than double
the price Goldman endorsed–€32.50 ($2 billion). The ensuing spat comes
at a time when Blackstone hopes to expand in Europe and just as the
ruling Social Democrats have called for a crackdown on foreignprivate
equity shops and hedge funds, likening them to "locusts" and blaming
them for destroying jobs.
Bloackstone won the deal based on a bogus valuation performed by Goldman Sachs – which – surprise! – also earned $$ millions in arranging the floatation of Celanese shares. The whole deal smells fishy, and even the arch-capitalists at Forbes express outrage at the greed and subterfuge of the principals here.
So what is the fate of Celanese? Thanks to Blackstone and Goldman Sachs the company has more than $3 billion in debt it must now service. The results are predictable:
Der aus der Hoechst AG hervorgegangene
Chemiekonzern Celanese ist im ersten Quartal des laufenden Jahres wegen
hoher außerordentlicher Aufwendungen in die Verlustzone geraten. Nach
eigenen Angaben schloß der Konzern mit einem Fehlbetrag von 10
Millionen Dollar. Im gleichen Vorjahreszeitraum hatte Celanese noch
einen Nettogewinn von 78 Millionen Dollar erwirtschaftet. Ins Auge
fällt, daß der Verlust durch einige Posten entstanden ist, die mit der
Übernahme durch den amerikanischen Finanzinvestor Blackstone in
Verbindung stehen. Blackstone – eine der Private-Equity-Gesellschaften,
die im Zuge der "Heuschrecken-Debatte" in die öffentliche
Aufmerksamkeit geraten sind – hatte Celanese 2004 für 3,1 Milliarden
Euro übernommen.
How to cope with the losses? The management should bring in McKinsey & Co. immediately to determine how much of the workforce needs to be cut or outsourced to China. After all, European companies need to restructure in order to be competitive in a globalized economy. Blackstone, Goldman and McKinsey will show the way forward.
