And now another gem from TMV’s favorite artist of verse, Michael Silverstein, aka Wall Street Poet:
These days the stock market resonates with takeovers and possible takeovers/deals that for reasons both economic and linguistic, might not be a great idea. Except, of course, for the firms that make a bundle putting such deals together…
The M&A Name Game
If Microsoft proceeds with plans
The Google realm to gobble,
Would either party better thrive
From this huge chancy cobble?
And when name changing time comes’‘round
Might changers come to rue,
An entity they’ve brought to life
That folks call ‘microgoo’?
And what of Newscorp and Dow Jones
Its own new market tag,
If Murdoch lands the Bancroft gem
Might ‘murd bank’ make them gag?
Good deals these? Good names? Who cares?
The question just distracts;
What really matters are big fees
For firms like Goldman Sachs.
©2007 Michael Silverstein
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.