http://www.ft.com/comment/columnists/linasaigolhttp://www.ft.com/rss/comment/columnists/linasaigolFT.com - Lina Saigolen© Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2009. "FT" and "Financial Times" are trademarks of the Financial Times. See http://www.ft.com/servicestools/help/terms#legal1 for the terms and conditions of reuse.client.support@ft.com (Client Support)Sun, 22 Nov 2009 17:05:16 +0000Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:10:42 +0000Newspapers60http://news.ft.com/cms/d1f3ce1a-6bbe-11da-bb53-0000779e2340.gifhttp://www.ft.com/comment/columnists/linasaigol(PICS-1.1 "http://www.classify.org/safesurf/" L gen true for "http://www.ft.com/" r (SS~~000 1))http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/0/fbf0e246-d787-11de-b578-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fcomment%2Fcolumnists%2Flinasaigolhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/fbf0e246-d787-11de-b578-00144feabdc0.htmlM&A bankers are spending a lot of time watching shadows, and the reality is that most chief executives  would rather hang on to their cash than throw it at shadowsSun, 22 Nov 2009 17:05:16 +0000http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/0/d4dc683a-d20d-11de-a0f0-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fcomment%2Fcolumnists%2Flinasaigolhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d4dc683a-d20d-11de-a0f0-00144feabdc0.htmlOver the next few months buy-out groups are expected to dump as many highly leveraged companies as they can on the stock market. Trouble is, mature companies coming to market with their cost structure finely tuned leave little room in the after-market for growthSun, 15 Nov 2009 18:05:34 +0000http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/0/bef09c48-cccd-11de-8e30-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fcomment%2Fcolumnists%2Flinasaigolhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/bef09c48-cccd-11de-8e30-00144feabdc0.htmlA reading from the book of Robert E Diamond III:Chapter One; Verse One: In the beginning there was BobMon, 9 Nov 2009 02:00:00 +0000http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/0/d33d653c-c18d-11de-b86b-00144feab49a.html?o=%2Frss%2Fcomment%2Fcolumnists%2Flinasaigolhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d33d653c-c18d-11de-b86b-00144feab49a.htmlIn a market where sellers do not want to offload assets for a low price and buyers are reluctant to pay top dollar, offering a deferred payment consideration can keep both sides happySun, 25 Oct 2009 18:17:03 +0000http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/0/f8b3b5c2-bbee-11de-9426-00144feab49a.html?o=%2Frss%2Fcomment%2Fcolumnists%2Flinasaigolhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f8b3b5c2-bbee-11de-9426-00144feab49a.htmlIt's the due diligence, stupid! That's the familiar cry from CVC almost every time it launches a high-profile bid only to walk awaySun, 18 Oct 2009 15:06:38 +0100http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/0/93570848-b683-11de-8a28-00144feab49a.html?o=%2Frss%2Fcomment%2Fcolumnists%2Flinasaigolhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/93570848-b683-11de-8a28-00144feab49a.htmlThe old-fashioned bear hug – whereby a bidder publishes an open letter outlining a takeover proposal to pressure the target board into negotiating – is in vogue againSun, 11 Oct 2009 17:49:10 +0100http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/0/6f39e380-b0fd-11de-b06b-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fcomment%2Fcolumnists%2Flinasaigolhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6f39e380-b0fd-11de-b06b-00144feabdc0.htmlIt's a buyers market and cash is king, right? That's what you would expect, given all the banker talk of cash-rich companies preparing to splash their hoard on bargain assetsSun, 4 Oct 2009 16:51:31 +0100http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/0/4d13ab38-ab85-11de-9be4-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fcomment%2Fcolumnists%2Flinasaigolhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4d13ab38-ab85-11de-9be4-00144feabdc0.htmlThe bold strategists who engineered the deals that trasnformed the corporate landscape have been replaced by executors with little more than balance sheetsSun, 27 Sep 2009 17:50:27 +0100http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/0/952c4e1a-a5fa-11de-8c92-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fcomment%2Fcolumnists%2Flinasaigolhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/952c4e1a-a5fa-11de-8c92-00144feabdc0.htmlThe 'put up or shut up' order is one of the best weapons available to a British company under siege, but knowing when to use it calls for skill and sound judgmentSun, 20 Sep 2009 17:12:17 +0100http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/0/f9381fb0-a078-11de-b9ef-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fcomment%2Fcolumnists%2Flinasaigolhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f9381fb0-a078-11de-b9ef-00144feabdc0.htmlThe US company seems to have painted itself into a corner over its mooted acquisition of Cadbury, but it is hard to choose the best M&A tactic when you really want an assetSun, 13 Sep 2009 22:19:43 +0100http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/0/3a27c69e-9bf9-11de-b214-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fcomment%2Fcolumnists%2Flinasaigolhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3a27c69e-9bf9-11de-b214-00144feabdc0.htmlKraft's approach for Cadbury and a potential deal involving France Telecom's Orange UK and Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile UK have raised hopes of a rebound in global dealmakingMon, 7 Sep 2009 23:21:35 +0100http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/0/55adb430-9b0b-11de-a3a1-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fcomment%2Fcolumnists%2Flinasaigolhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/55adb430-9b0b-11de-a3a1-00144feabdc0.htmlDeutsche Telekom is in talks with competitors including Vodafone and Telefónica to sell the UK's fourth-biggest mobile operator. A smarter solution would be to knock on France Telecom's door and suggest a mergerSun, 6 Sep 2009 19:33:29 +0100http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/0/5e52961c-957c-11de-90e0-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fcomment%2Fcolumnists%2Flinasaigolhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5e52961c-957c-11de-90e0-00144feabdc0.htmlFree markets should be kryptonite for cartels but the high fee structure Wall Street developed for selling investment banking services seems curiously immuneSun, 30 Aug 2009 19:48:36 +0100http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/0/f712a172-7a05-11de-b86f-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fcomment%2Fcolumnists%2Flinasaigolhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f712a172-7a05-11de-b86f-00144feabdc0.htmlPrivate equity and trade bidders must make sure they have a watertight deal spelling out which partner has control over deciding when to sell and at what priceMon, 27 Jul 2009 00:46:50 +0100http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/0/ecf8118c-7496-11de-8ad5-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fcomment%2Fcolumnists%2Flinasaigolhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ecf8118c-7496-11de-8ad5-00144feabdc0.htmlMerger arbitrageurs who bet on cheap talk now could be making the most expensive mistake of their careersSun, 19 Jul 2009 21:35:39 +0100