Global Value Investing

[MNT]

OSX/ OGX

Somehow I am not very impressed with Batista.

From various sources, it does seem this man often stretches himself very thin to get to places. Further it is of my observation that people who boasts about wealth and their monetary goals often crash and burn. There were also talks about him securing shipping contracts with undesirable means and within his own companies which themselves have not been producing the resources after some years.

It appears that this man is purely a mega beneficiary of opaque resources auctioning in Brazil and has been historically a poor asset allocator despite him always quoting to wish to buy undervalued assets.

Among the articles read, some attached here are some of the notable quotes.

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Quotes

“It won’t be ready in 2026,” said Joao Carlos Cavalcanti, who partnered with Batista on an iron-ore business that was later subsumed into MMX. “Eike told them it had 750 million tons of ore, but it doesn’t have 150 million. They fell for Eike’s blue eyes. He’s very beguiling.”

In six years, Batista’s six publicly traded companies have made just one dividend payment -- and that because of a one-time financial gain. Still, the dearth of cash hasn’t stopped Batista from diversifying into a slew of new closely held ventures, from technology to Rio de Janeiro real estate to sports and music events-management.

Batista said he exemplified a new “Brazilian dream” of entrepreneurial success. He repeated his goal of overtaking Carlos Slim as the world’s richest man by 2015, a feat that would require him to double his wealth at the time.

He bought [ex-President] Lula’s suit in a charity auction for R$1 million and the very next day the BNDES [Brazil's state development bank] loaned him R$150 million so he could rebuild Hotel Gloria. He gets what he wants, period.





Links:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-12/batista-loses-15-billion-as-brazil-awakes-from-dream.html

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-25/batista-may-buy-1-billion-of-new-ogx-shares-through-put-option.html

http://www.economist.com/node/21555907

http://brazilianbubble.com/eikes-ex-partner-shows-no-surprise-with-ogxs-meltdown-saying-eike-never-delivered-what-he-promised-and-brazilian-analysts-know-nothing-about-oil/

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&refer=latin_america&sid=a2exSoF.ys4o

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-26/batista-spurs-ogx-rally-with-2-billion-pledge-corporate-brazil.html

http://www.economist.com/node/21560588

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-11/batista-may-win-petrobras-deal-on-ship-delays-corporate-brazil.html