Why do you insist on repeating the same lie. Caterair did not go "belly-up" and GWB did not manage it.
GW already has experience at Carlyle when they financed his Caterair firm, a company that went belly-up under GW's pisspoor (mis)management.
You already know the actual facts about Caterair because I have posted them to you several times. They come from Dan Briody's "The Iron Triangle," a book you claim to have read. Is that another lie?
Once again:
If you are going to connect GWB to the Carlyle Group and insinuate that Bush had any significant responsibilities with the Caterair, it might be more intellectually honest for you to provide all of the details.
Caterair, originally owned by Marriott Corp. and named Marriott In-Flite Services, was purchased by its employees in 1989 for $650 million in what may have been the last significant LBO of the 1980’s. Carlyle had a stake in the new company and received a fee for serving as the investment banker on the deal.
Three of the founders of Carlyle (Frederic Malek, Stephen Norris and Dan D’Aniello) were former employees of Marriott and had worked with Dan Altobello, the Marriott executive who ran the In-Flite Services division and headed up the LBO. At the same time that he was putting together the Caterair deal, Malek was working with Al Checchi on the $3.65 billion LBO of Northwest Airlines. Checchi, a prominent California Democrat, later ran against Gray Davis in the 1996 California Gubernatorial primary. I would suggest that the Carlyle principles had some significant familiarity with the operations of the entity.
GWB joined the Caterair board in 1990. Dan Briody, hardly a friend of GWB and the author of “The Iron Triangle: Inside the Secret World of the Carlyle Group”, states “Bush’s involvement in the day-to-day activities of Caterair was nominal at best.” Briody quotes one board member as saying, “He was really smart but not really engaged in Caterair’s business.”
Shortly after the LBO, Caterair had to contend with an airline industry devastated by Gulf War I, higher oil prices, and a nationwide recession. The major airlines cut food costs by 8% in 1993.
Bush left the board in 1994 when he ran for Governor of Texas. His Caterair experience was a big issue for Ann Richards. It was certainly part of his resume in 1993.
Caterair was sold to Onex Foods Services in 1995 for $500 million, a loss of $150 million. Given the global and economic issues that the company had to deal with in the early 90’s and the number of LBO’s that cratered, this deal does not meet my definition for a disaster.
An aside: Back in the mid-80’s, I audited an airline caterer. I know from experience that it is a low margin, cutthroat business. |
