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CBI - Chicago Bridge & Iron


Aberhound

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For what it's worth I closed out my position at a nice loss.  One would have thought it'd be pretty tough to trip covenants after cleaning up the biggest overhangs but they sure managed to outdo themselves yet again.

 

Wouldn't you wanna wait until you see the sale of the technology division and the cost cutting initiatives? Unless the management is flat out lying, Cameroon will be net neutral. Don't think the new CEO will take that credibility hit right away.

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Just too much thesis drift for me.  Small changes in the sale value of the technology division will have a big impact on the remaining stub value and I don't think they have much fat to cut.  If they could take their time to shop the technology division then I'd maybe feel better about it but still I think there are easier returns elsewhere.

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Same as Ben. I knew management were dumb as fuck but liked the odds. Unfortunately they surprised me to the downside. What I most regret is not dumping the toad when they moved their earnings release. It smelled fishy (conflicting schedule... Hrmmm... Only creditors come before equity holders...), but I didn't act. I've generally been sucking my thump at the wrong time and hitting sell at the absolute worst time. It seems we've been handed a helping hand from a hurricane, but hopefully that's now a recurring theme. Tech biz was always downside protection, but I sure didn't expect them to trip their covenants, and now the clock is ticking. PE shops are loaded with cash at the moment, but CBI put themselves in a bad spot, and buyers know that. The recent sale doesn't exactly instill confidence in their shrewdness. Plus, we're left with an EPC business post a transaction - not exactly a biz that makes one drool if management is useless.o

 

(So why am I holding? I think the tech biz should fetch a nice price, and if they still have preferential access to the tech it should be worth more than where it's trading at. The unknowns are the cost overruns, and that's the thing that's making be nervous since I don't trust management. I'd expect a new leadership to kitchen sink, but perhaps it was difficult due to pressure from creditors).

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  • 3 months later...

this is painful lesson for me. i had my read of the flags of issues since shaw acquisition, but Berkshire purchase blind me of all the issues. although i has been out of this name for a while now, the wound is just as fresh. since then i have been really careful about coattailing...

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this is painful lesson for me. i had my read of the flags of issues since shaw acquisition, but Berkshire purchase blind me of all the issues. although i has been out of this name for a while now, the wound is just as fresh. since then i have been really careful about coattailing...

 

We all learn lessons. Hopefully this painful lesson helped you avoid VRX

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  • 1 year later...

After MDR gobbled up CBI, it looks the Shaw acquisition has now bankrupted 2 entire companies... unsecured trading for 20's.  Wild.  I can't recall my exact trading history, but whatever it was, it was good to escape this pit of death...

 

CBI is a good reminder what can happen if a company spends negative working capital from customers as if it’s theirs.

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