IBM gorges on cheap debt for share buybacks, acquisitions IBM sometimes behaves like a bank, and sometimes like a private equity firm. Sometimes it even behaves like an IT vendor. This week, in selling $1bn in debt for doing acquisitions, Big Blue is behaving like a private equity firm. The debt is being sold between Monday and Thursday this week and pays out 2 percent on 30 November …
Far be it from me to apologies for the self-destruction of the once-great company and its reverse take over by the vacuous powerpointers of the consultant profession. But IBM has already paid its employees for their work. Whether or not its doing the right thing for its long term shareholders is another thing, but then we've learned just how little respect Big Blue has for the idea of pensions.
Its all good though, as long as Fat Sam keeps pumping the EPS and shareprice, ready for the big pop when he announces his departure.
Right now many firms that sell the general public "investments" have the problem that they need to buy a billion dollars worth of stuff every week and are obligated by law to do so. The problem is there isn't a billion dollars worth of good deals out there in any given week so the leaders keep getting their price kicked up and up and till will keep doing so until that cash comes out when its owners start to retire.
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