Alexander, its is absolutely impossible for size to overcome poor management.
Look at Kodak, look at Apple, look at Johns Manville, look at Penn Central. All of these are companies that were huge and got crushed due to the inadequacies of their managment team. Over time, management is the ONLY thing that really makes a difference. Michael Eisner, Bill Gates, Andy Grove, and the late CEO of Coca-Cola (I can't spell the name off the top of my head) have turned their companies into world-dominating megoliths in industries that have cutthroat competiton. How? Through incredible managment.
Good management will filter through every layer of a company. It is reflected in the product, in the service, in the response to competition. If Bill Gates were to start a new business tomorrow, I would at least consider investing in it sight-unseen. Same with Jack Welch, Herb Kelleher and a select group of others.
So, in the end, size will be no savior to ESA. If management doesn't improve, improve dramatically, and improve soon, their size will be whittled into nothing. Remember, Atari used to be a huge company!
So, unless there is a major mgmt shake-up at ESA, I won't even look at them -- to paraphrase Warren Buffett, "there is no price too low for a business that is poorly run".
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