should i be bother, page-7

chrisec,

Gr is competent. He is a good operator. And obviously a good salesman. He sold New Plan to Centro....at top dollar. He has staved off the bankers.

Centro needs an "administrator". Lothe am I to use that word. But it does. Unfortunately this is a very different skill set. And regarding your comment:

"If the US sale went through would your thoughts have been any different?"

That's exactly the point. The sales fell through. We (you and I) were all observers. Even the red hearts who analysed the crap out of every permutation and scenario.

We all have imperfect information....Except GR & Jones Land La Salle. They knew exactly who was offering what and how much. They had all the cards and all the offers. In this respect GR blew it.

At the end of the day these "negotiations" were just that. In any negotiation you must do two things to ensure a win-win.

1.) Be reasonable
2. )Sell the benefits
3.) Come at your negotiation partner from a position of RELATIVE strength (where possible).

I am sure GR was reasonable. I am not so sure he came to the table from a position of RELATIVE strength.

I posted once before about this aspect. Why would an organisation with the capacity to pay 1.1 billion for a portfolio of property not have the means to operate them? Name them! Westfield, GPT, Macquarie Goodman, Valad, Stockland. They are ALL good operators. Thankfully Centro is a good operator but in this Centro is not unique.

This was the "strength" that GR would have played at when selling the benefits. But it's not a RELATIVE strength.

Chrisec, appreciate your comments....that was the long-winded version of my rationale.

There is also a concept which I encourage you all to research. It's called BATNA. Best Alternative To A Negotiated Agreement. There is material on this available from Harvard University Academics.

What is Centro's BATNA? I know what I would do and/or prefer as a shareholder. But as a Company and an entity in it's own right what was the best (or any) alternative?


Cheers.