Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco
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My recommendation: 6/10
→ Read or listen on Scribd.com (2 months free with this link) or use a direct link! (without 2 free months)
Summary of notes and ideas
It was written in the 1989 and has since been update. It’s being considered a business classic in the USA. The book describes briefly the merger between RJR and Nabisco, two separate companies at the time and then goes into the detail about the levered buyout that happened around 1987.
I listened to the audiobook on Scribd. I did not find the time to make more detailed notes but I would say this about the book. The main reason I listened to the book was to understand such business dealings in more detail. To understand the back and forth between the parties involved, the management on one side and external potential buyers on the outside. Furthermore, it allows you to see fear and greed in action - these emotional behaviours that happen each and every time on any type of deal or trade where people are involved.
In regard to such business deals that happen on a daily basis, unless your directly involved, one hardly ever gets exposed to the inside perspective.
Bottom line: It was an entertaining listen, though, I would only recommend the book to anyone who likes to understand the inner workings of such deals.
→ Read or listen on Scribd.com (2 months free with this link) or use a direct link! (without 2 free months)