Forum Archive Index - December 2001

["tennyson@caverock.net.nz" <tennyson@caverock.net.nz>]

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On 6th November 2001, majority shareholder "Edison Mission Energy" 
made a takeover offer for all the shares in "Contact Energy Limited" 
that they did not already own.  The independent directors, including 
chairman Phil Pryke, who had been forced for two annual meetings in a 
row to back down from proposed increases in directors fees; and had 
approved the final salary package payout to Paul Anthony (former 
CEO)- the highest one year payout ever seen to a New Zealand 
employed executive at the time -  now had the job of evaluating the 
offer.


----------------------------------------------------

The doors of the saloon swung open and the deputy
delivered the news.

"It's the Mission boys Phil, they won't budge, they want
the whole town."

Sheriff Phil Pryke was still off duty, but the skin on
his face tightened, and the hairs on the back of his neck
stiffened.  He sat upright on the bar stool as he took in
the news.

"Whisky" he said 

The bartender sent a glass sliding down the bar surface. 
It was snapped up by Sheriff Phil's parched fingertips. 
His hands were leathery and battle weary like that of a
rancher who had fought and tamed a wild mustang, but his
eyes were steely grey like that of a big town banker.  He
picked up the glass and downed the contents as easily as
a penny slides into a china piggy-bank.

"The Mission Boys", he repeated with parrot like
precision, but there was nothing bird brained in the
train of thought that followed.  The Mission Boys owned
half the town already.  "The Mission Boys"- sounded
placid!  But you would never find them anywhere near a
choir stall, and the toughest of them all was "Big Ed."

Yep, "Big Ed Mission" had turned the lights out in
Southern California after a showdown with the State
Governor.  big Ed had lost big on the other side of the
Atlantic with the coal project.  Big Ed was tough and
pugnacious, but fresh from a fiscal battering.  Perhaps a
desperate man?    Sheriff Phil had always felt uneasy
with Big Ed in close company.   Sheriff Phil's job was to
keep the balance in the town.  But when the scales of
justice were teetering it was usually a wink from Big Ed
that would decide which way the scales ultimately fell. 
Hell, if it wasn't for the support of Big Ed, Sheriff
Phil wouldn't be where he was, but now he was going to
have to pass judgement on the Mission Boys offer.  It was
a tough call!

It is at times like this that a law man has to rely on
more than gut instinct.  It was Sheriff Phil's canine
companion,  Grant, a Samualoid, that had the job of
sniffing around these Mission men.  If Grant could sniff
around "the Mission Boys" without bearing any teeth 
 that was good enough for Sheriff Phil.   There was no
 barking, but 
Grant did show the white's of a fang, so what was Sheriff
Phil to do? If he recommended the full takeover by big
Ed, he knew that he'd have to leave town himself.   He
imagined Big Ed would give him some sort of pay off. 
Possibly $4million in gold bullion would do the trick. 
Would Big Ed stretch that far?  Yeah, of course he would!
 $4million would be the minimum payoff for a world class
Sheriff such as himself!   He chuckled. 

The deputy stood in the saloon doorway and all this time
had never taken his eyes off Sheriff Phil.  The deputy
knew that the townspeople  had turned down Sheriff Phil's
last pay rise.   Would they still have confidence in him
at the time of trial?  Could the townspeople rely on
Sheriff Phil to recommend the right thing?

"Big Ed will meet you at the jail house, on February 3rd
2002" "I suggest you call a rally of the townspeople
then, and we'll have a final vote on it."

Sheriff Phil knew the score.  He'd be Okay either way,
but would the townspeople trade their sovereignty and
possibly their future prosperity for a pay off from Big
Ed?   He couldn't tell them to turn Big Ed down.  But
secretly he kind of wished they would make the right
decision.   Or did he?   Like the rest of the
townspeople, the deputy just couldn't read those poker
faced grey eyes.

SNOOPY


--------------------------------
Note:  The LTI (Learning to Invest) series is a concept by Gerry 
Stolwyk.  This post is at his invitation
-----------------------------------



---------------------------------
Message sent by Snoopy 
e-mail  tennyson@caverock.net.nz
on Pegasus Mail version 2.55
----------------------------------
"Dogs have big tongues, so you can bet they don't 
bite them by accident"

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