The Takeover Dialogues: a Discussion of Hostile Takeovers

A longtime critic of hostile cash takeovers of large corporations, Edmund Kelly believed that if the organized insincerity of advisors and corporate control entrepreneurs in the tight knit takeover community was told, this alone would contribute to a decline in the acceptance of the hostile bid as an acquisition method. Copies of The Takeover Dialogues were purchased primarily in 1988 by investment and commercial banking and corporate law firms, executives and business libraries. Prominent uninvited cash takeover bids averaged 17 a year for the period 1985 - 1988. There were 6 in 1989 and 2 in 1990. For the years 1991 -1999 they averaged 1.2 a year. In these carefully reasoned dialogues, Edmund Kelly also examines the impact of corporate raids on the business community and society. Kelly believes the ideal corporation translates capital and human energy into a community service institution that is ultimately greater than the sum of its parts. This book raises important questions of public policy about issues affecting the institutions upon which we all depend for our continued prosperity. It is important reading for anyone concerned about the future of corporate business in a capitalistic society.