Borrow Credit When Cash Runs Dry

“He said, "I don't think we have the money, but I'll give you a takeout by Alleghany—can you use that on a loan?" A takeout is an agreement to buy a note on maturity; Alleghany, in other words, was lending us their credit.”

“We accepted stock in the business in lieu of rent. Meanwhile, some of the underwriters had backed off, and the company was in hock to the contractors who were building the shows. The builders and suppliers were threatening to close things down before the show even started. Freedomland still seemed like a good promotion: to get our money out, we put more in. We took forty percent of the company's stock and advanced them money to pay off a few million in due bills. This process continued: we ended up owning Freedomland.”