I was reading this earlier today. Interesting to learn that Lebara's name is based by the 3 Sri Lankan brothers who founded the business, LE from Leon, BA from Baskaran and RA from Ratheesan.
They sold the business to a questionable Swiss couple, who financed the acquisition with a bond in Norway that they couldn't pay, so the bondholders took control of Lebara. It makes sense that they are looking for a way to cash out now with the growth Lebara has had!
Author
Interesting how the name was derived
Knowing how PE and other investors operate, it wont be long before we will see price rises and withdrawal of good services, to pay for a heavily geared takeover. They will have to service the debt and seek ROI.
They would have no interest in running the company long term, nor do they have the knowledge and inclination to do so. A quick Hit & Run type of venture (in Wall Street Parlance).
Takeover a company, strip it of assets, load it with debt, reccover your initial investments and scoot.
Recent examples, Morrisons and Asda.
Difference is that (with Morrisons especially) they had a large number of assets such as freeholds, supply chain, warehousing. What assets do Lebara have? The main thing is their customer base, but as they have such a price sensitive one, they would be unlikely to have much loyalty.
17 Comments
sorted byThey sold the business to a questionable Swiss couple, who financed the acquisition with a bond in Norway that they couldn't pay, so the bondholders took control of Lebara. It makes sense that they are looking for a way to cash out now with the growth Lebara has had!
They would have no interest in running the company long term, nor do they have the knowledge and inclination to do so. A quick Hit & Run type of venture (in Wall Street Parlance).
Takeover a company, strip it of assets, load it with debt, reccover your initial investments and scoot.
Recent examples, Morrisons and Asda.