Entity Dossier
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Sir James Goldsmith

Strategic Concepts & Mechanics

Strategic PatternProcess of Bites, Not Grand Plans
Decision FrameworkCash Flow Over Earnings as Debt Survival Test
Relationship LeverageHighly Confident as Substitute for Actual Capital
Capital StrategyInterest Deductibility as Leveraged Assault Fuel
Competitive AdvantageNOL as Bidding War Nuclear Option
Signature MoveSpeed-of-Sale as Debt Survival Doctrine
Signature MoveLawyer as Deal Principal, Not Hired Gun
Signature MoveParis Apartment Discipline
Signature MoveAll Debt Disguised as Equity
Cornerstone MoveBuy the Whole, Sell Everything But the Crown Jewel
Cornerstone MoveBlind Pool Before the Target Exists
Cornerstone MoveBribe the Gatekeeper, Storm the Castle
Cornerstone MoveBankruptcy's Tax Corpse as Acquisition Weapon
Competitive AdvantageTax Arbitrage as Structural Weapon
Operating PrincipleProfessional Manager Decay Across Generations
Risk DoctrineNever Cut Back a Committed Deal
Signature MoveMilken: Four-Thirty AM Cathedral-Builder With No Office
Capital StrategyVenture Capital Masquerading as Debt
Signature MovePeltz: Spittle-on-the-Check Persistence from Near-Broke
Signature MovePerelman: Borrowed $1.9M to a Boeing 727 in Seven Years
Cornerstone MoveManufactured Credibility from Thin Air
Decision FrameworkContra-Thinking as Default Mental Operating System
Identity & CultureForced Savings as Loyalty Handcuffs
Cornerstone MoveCash Flow Over Earnings as the Only Truth
Cornerstone MoveBuy the Core, Sell the Pieces, Erase the Debt
Signature MoveKingsley: Mount Everest Desk, Twenty-Year Sounding Board
Signature MoveIcahn: Wrestling-a-Ghost Negotiation Until the Last Penny
Cornerstone MoveOwner's Equity as the Non-Negotiable Discipline
Risk DoctrineNo Cross-Pledging of Crown Jewels
Signature MoveDeals Hated, Strategy Loved
Signature MoveNever Run Out of Cheque-Writing Time
Relationship LeverageShare the Pie to Keep the Table
Strategic PatternEcho Bay Model Then Surpass It
Signature MoveKlosters Mountain as Strategic War Room
Identity & CultureRefugee Hunger as Permanent Engine
Cornerstone MoveWritten Memo Then Unanimous Sign-Off
Identity & CultureReturn to Canada Only With Success
Cornerstone MoveBuy Producing Assets at Cycle Bottom, Never Explore
Signature MoveTrust Mining Operators Then Stay Away
Operating PrincipleFocus as Compensation for Ordinary Talent
Cornerstone MoveBorrow Against the Asset to Buy the Asset
Decision FrameworkGeopolitical Disruption as Buy Signal
Strategic PatternScarcity Premium as Entry Signal
Signature MoveControl Without Majority Ownership

Primary Evidence

"T. Boone Pickens, Carl Icahn, Irwin Jacobs, Sir James Goldsmith, Oscar Wyatt, Saul Steinberg, Ivan Boesky, Carl Lindner, the Belzbergs—and lesser lights about to shine, such as Nelson Peltz, Ronald Perelman, William Farley."

Source:The Predators' Ball

"Drexel clients—in addition to Triangle Industries—would make bids for companies, all backed by Milken’s junk bonds. Mesa Petroleum, with a net worth of $ 500 million, would go for Unocal. Lorimar, with a net worth of $ 105 million, would offer $ 1 billion for Multimedia. Sir James Goldsmith would make a bid for Crown Zellerbach Corporation for $ 1.1 billion. Golden Nugget, with a net worth of $ 230 million, would go for Hilton Hotels for about $ 1.8 billion. And Farley Industries, with earnings of $ 6 million, would go for Northwest Industries, for about $ 1.4 billion. Other bids would take longer to germinate—but they would turn out to be the most fruitful of all."

Source:The Predators' Ball

"T. Boone Pickens, Carl Icahn, Irwin Jacobs, Sir James Goldsmith, Oscar Wyatt, Saul Steinberg, Ivan Boesky, Carl Lindner, the Belzbergs—and lesser lights about to shine, such as Nelson Peltz, Ronald Perelman, William Farley."

Source:Predator's Ball

"Drexel clients—in addition to Triangle Industries—would make bids for companies, all backed by Milken’s junk bonds. Mesa Petroleum, with a net worth of $500 million, would go for Unocal. Lorimar, with a net worth of $105 million, would offer $1 billion for Multimedia. Sir James Goldsmith would make a bid for Crown Zellerbach Corporation for $1.1 billion. Golden Nugget, with a net worth of $230 million, would go for Hilton Hotels for about $1.8 billion. And Farley Industries, with earnings of $6 million, would go for Northwest Industries, for about $1.4 billion. Other bids would take longer to germinate—but they would turn out to be the most fruitful of all."

Source:Predator's Ball

"In the second half of 1986, American Barrick, a newcomer that had existed for less than four years, took a run at the mighty Britishbased Consolidated Goldfields, a company that had been founded by Cecil Rhodes in the previous century and that was a member of the Financial Times 100 index. With a market capitalization of more than £2 billion, compared with American Barrick’s puny couple of hundred million dollars, Consgold was startled, to say the least, at the Canadian company’s chutzpah. Munk built a position of 4.9 percent of Consgold with purchases on the open market, but failed to consummate the takeover when the stock price took off in response to his initiative. The gutsy move, however, paid off in the long run. Not only did Barrick end up with a profit of $9.4 million when it sold its position, but the takeover bid attracted the attention of some of the biggest stock-market players in the world—people like the Oppenheimer family and Sir James Goldsmith, who became part of Munk’s network and led him to great opportunities later on."

Source:The Golden Phoenix : A Biography of Peter Munk

Appears In Volumes