[AT] kill a tractor company and get a pardon

[Stephen Offiler]

Current politics aside, here is a direct cut-n-paste out of Wikipedia on
the Conrad Black/MF relationship.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massey_Ferguson

Conrad Black take-over:
On 16 August 1978, Conrad Black, whose family had obtained control of an
investor of Massey Ferguson's, Argus Corporation, became active in Massey
Ferguson's management.[20] The previous year, chairman Albert A.
Thornbrough received a $471,000 salary, the highest executive salary in
Canada at the time.[21] During the 50 years between 1929 and 1979, the firm
made more than 4% on its sales only five times. Under Black's leadership,
Massey Ferguson instituted significant cost-cutting programmes that
returned it to profitability. During the late 1970s, production was
relocated to a new large facility in Brantford, Ontario. In 1978 Massey
Ferguson was the first to introduce an electronic control system for the
three-point hitch on a tractor.[citation needed] However, a worldwide
decline in the agricultural equipment market combined with high inflation,
high domestic interest rates and a major recession, caused Massey Ferguson
to slip into a loss once again. On 31 October 1979, VW AG made an informal
offer for 51% of the firm, but was rebuffed by Black.[22] On 23 May 1980,
Black resigned as chairman. In a subsequent series of detailed and lengthy
letters to Herb Gray, then the Canadian Minister of Industry under the
government of Pierre Elliot Trudeau, he remarked on the challenges faced by
the firm, and outlined his solution, which would have seen the Canadian and
Ontario governments as well as Argus Corporation refloat the ailing firm.
Black failed to obtain a suitable response, and resolved to cut his
losses.[23]

On Fri, May 17, 2019 at 4:21 PM Cecil Bearden <crbearden at copper.net> wrote:

> I would not object to an explanation as to how he caused the demise of MF,
> but I don't want to get a discussion over his pardon nor the politics of
> such started.  I worked my butt off trying to go to work for MF when I
> graduated college with a B.S. in Agricultural Engineering.  They
> interviewed me twice in the spring of 1975, but never would return my
> letters or phone calls after graduation...
>
> Cecil
> On 5/17/2019 8:56 AM, Stephen Offiler wrote:
>
> I predict that any further discussion will devolve rapidly into politics
> and force Spencer into action.
>
> SO
>
> On Fri, May 17, 2019 at 9:38 AM James Peck <jamesgpeck at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Donald pardoned Conrad Black, the scoundrel that heled put Massey
>> Ferguson out of business, a few days ago. Not a good decision IMO.
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