Allen, You can't be a little bit pregnant. If Gary Wendt DIDN'T have fruitful 'negotations' mentioned, ---
"Enter Mr. Buffett. In October, Conseco was negotiating with the insurance division of Berkshire Hathaway for $500 million in reinsurance protection, a Conseco spokesman confirmed."
--- Then the SAME "Conseco spokesman" should have issued a denial!
NOT remain silent and go along with a falsehood! By CNC remaining silent,
CNC was suggesting that the aforementioned 'negotiations' had been successful.
It is called willful blinding. Conseco is too smart NOT to know the consequences!
SHAME, Shame on the CNC executives....
----------
To: DAVID BROWN who started this subject
From: Softechie
Thursday, Dec 28, 2000 11:51 PM
Respond to 3863
Buffett bought Conseco bonds. Here's news:
Buffett, Seeing Value in Junk, Snaps Up Battered Bonds
By PAUL M. SHERER and DEVON SPURGEON
Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Billionaire Warren E. Buffett, long known for seeking out undervalued stocks, has turned his attention to the battered junk-bond market.
The value investor through his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. investment vehicle recently paid several hundred million dollars to buy the junk bonds of Finova Group Inc., a commercial lender, and has also made a similar-size bet on the debt of Conseco Inc., an insurance and finance company.
...
Conseco, in Carmel, Ind., stumbled after acquiring Green Tree Financial Corp. in 1998 for more than $6.4 billion in stock. Investors concluded the company had paid too much for the mobile-home lender, and Conseco's highflying stock began to sink. In April, Chairman and Chief Executive Stephen C. Hilbert was ousted and replaced two months later by former General Electric executive Gary C. Wendt.
Enter Mr. Buffett. In October, Conseco was negotiating with the insurance division of Berkshire Hathaway for $500 million in reinsurance protection, a Conseco spokesman confirmed. But talks ceased after A.M. Best upgraded its rating on Conseco's principal life-insurance subsidiaries on Nov. 7, ending Conseco's need to obtain the reinsurance.
But Mr. Buffett has made a different type of bet on Conseco, buying several hundred million dollars worth of the company's debt in recent months, according to people familiar with the matter.
"I would bet that their look-see at our situation has led to their interest in owning Conseco debt," said Mark Lubbers, a Conseco spokesman.
-- Joseph T. Hallinan contributed to this story.
Write to Paul M. Sherer at paul.sherer@wsj.com and Devon Spurgeon at devon.spurgeon@wsj.com |
