Page 11 of Nailing the Billionaire

He checked his phone. “Can I buy today? Or am I locked out?”

That was probably the one question Ihadn’texpected. Today nobody seemed to want our stock. “Not with what I’m about to tell you. Why?”

“The company’s on sale; I just thought I’d add a few shares. When hamburger goes on sale, everybody stocks up. People just don’t react rationally to a stock going on sale.”

“Yeah, well, I hope to take it off sale, so given what I’m about to tell you, you’re locked out.”

His impulse had been a good one. Baron Rothschild had become immensely wealthy buying when fear was prevalent, and his belief that “the time to buy is when there is blood in the streets” was still taught in business schools today. The MBA weenies, however, never took it to heart. They all followed the crowd down the path of panic, which only amplified the fear.

When the previous two Sigurd articles had come out, I’d taken the opportunities to buy a significant chunk of company stock and come out way ahead so far. Hamburger had been on sale those days. The difference today was that I had a counterattack, and knowing that, I couldn’t take advantage of the situation and buy.

Bob settled in, and I gave him a quick overview of my plan.

A wide smile grew on his face. This was going to be a good day for him.

Jay walked in a minute later.

Larry was the last. He looked askance at Bob. The two had never seen much use for the other.

“I have Citibank calling in a half hour,” Larry announced. “Can’t this wait, whatever it is?” He didn’t bother to move past the doorway.

I pointed at the empty chair. “Have a seat, and close the door.” I looked between them. “Ever heard the saying, you can’t make lemonade more sour, but you can make it sweeter?”

All I got were blank stares and shaking heads. Apparently, we were all from the wrong generation.

“Well, we’re going to add sugar to today’s lemonade.” I turned to Jay. “What are the projection ranges for the brake division spin-off to our net?”

Jay rubbed his chin. “You mean to our bottom line?”

I nodded. “Exactly.”

He shifted in his seat, apparently unsure if I was setting him up. “They’re not final, but twenty-two to thirty-cents positive.”

“Good. We’re announcing the spin-off today.”

Bob smiled, the other two went slack jawed.

“But we’re not ready,” Jay complained. “The plans Bob and I put together are only preliminary.”

“They’re final now,” I told him. “Larry, we’re announcing the spin-off, and use thirty cents as the projected effect.”

Larry’s face went from confusion to elation as he absorbed this new ammunition to counter the article’s negativity. “When can I use this?”

Jay was the only unhappy one of the group. “We should always go with a middle-of-the-road projection, and thirty cents is an optimistic upper limit.”

I shrugged. “Then you and Bob need to figure out how to make it happen.”

Bob was all smiles. “We’ll make it happen.”

He would be going with the spin-off and have his own show to run for a change. It was a serious step up for his career. I could count on Bob to push this through in record time.

Jay was the one with hard work to do based on my pronouncement, and his furrowed brow showed his apprehension. “This is awfully short notice.”

“That’s it,” I told them. “Let’s get cracking.”

The other two left, but Jay dawdled. He shut the door. “Can we talk about this a minute?”

“Sure.”

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