Business Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco

Incredibly insightful book detailing the LBO of RJR Nabisco. Very rarely do you come across a business book which has such a detailed blow by blow encounter of what took place during a deal. Though the accuracy of a few events in this book are disputed, nevertheless its a brilliant effort at putting everything together and making it so interesting even though its a long read (530+ pages). Saw the movie by the same title and was drawn to the book. The book i would say is more interesting and detailed and is a fabulous read for business students/ professionals as it deals with subjects like negotiation, finance, ethics, business. Definitely a must read!

This book, written in 1990, tells the detailed story of one of the largest Wall Street deals of all time - the leveraged buyout of the RJR Nabisco Corporation. The authors, Bryan Burrough and John Helyar, are former Wall Street Journal reporters. They spent many hours interviewing the players involved, and, in so, have come up with a very thorough (and presumably accurate) description of the events that took place. Ross Johnson, CEO of RJR Nabisco, decided to take the company private. Officially, his reason was to improve shareholder value, since the RJR Nabisco stock was undervalued (and Johnson's attempts to boost it have failed). His other reasons may have included money and the constant urge to change things up. He teamed up with Shearson Lehman Hutton to make a bid to the board. In their shortsightedness, this "management group" did not expect anyone else to compete - due to the sheer size of the deal. However, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. made a tender offer, which started off a bidding war between the two groups (and a few third party bidders). This book describes everything in detail - starting with how Johnson got to Nabisco - and finishing off with a gripping climax of Shearson and KKR's final bid war. It is a long narrative, over 500 pages long. The authors take a lot of side tangents to describe many personal biographies. I found those of major players (like Ross Johnson and Henry Kravis) very interesting, and those of lesser-involved people somewhat excessive. Nevertheless, I was never tempted to skip over paragraphs or pages, as I sometimes am in lengthy books with lots of characters. The authors clearly have done a lot of research. I liked that they included footnotes when stories from different people didn't match up. I also like the photographs included in the book - they put faces on the people described so thoroughly. The "Players" section in the beginning of the book is also very helpful - it lists the names of almost everyone involved in the deal. The narrative is great. The story is gripping, with many twists and surprises. We learn about the multiple final bids submitted by KKR and the management group, the backstabbing plots, and the emotions and broken spirits behind the closed doors. It's as if we are there amidst the board meetings - kudos to the authors for their great writing. However, as some reviewers before me mentioned, it would have been nice to see more financial details - and more on what actually transpired after the takeover (the epilogue provides some details, but not nearly enough). Check out John Helyar's article in Fortune (October 13, 2003) - it describes what happened to RJR after the LBO. KKR took 60% of the company public in 1991 and then finally got rid of it in 1995. In the end, KKR had very disappointing returns on its LBO and drove RJR into the ground with poor leadership. In conclusion, it's a great read for anyone interested in business or history. It works as both a fun thriller and a good historical account of the events that took place. However, I am a bit skeptical of why this book is a recommended read for many MBA curriculums. Other than describing the corporate culture and Wall Street in the late '80s, it doesn't really provide the financial details from which the readers could learn something practical. Pros: + great narrative - gripping story with twists + many details on personal lives of the people involved + fantastic insight into the corporate world of the '80s Cons: - not enough financial details to learn from - for some readers, can feel lengthy with lots of tangents

الورق سيء جودته رديئة جدًا والكتاب نفسه فيه ريحة سيئة شكلهم استخدموا ورق مرحاض (مستعمل)

Un des meilleurs livres de Business, palpitant, très bien écrit et documenté, sans point de vue partisant. Comme très peu de livres le sont dans ce domaine.

Received an old, worn-out, yellowed copy. Probably second-hand. Buyers beware