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To: marc chatman who wrote (42054)	4/11/1999 10:21:00 PM
From: Aggie	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 95453

marc, good evening. Right. I didn't mean to suggest a possible suitor would bring cash to the wedding. Whatever potential buyer appears must have a substantial dowry, though, to sort out the difficulties associated with the merger - which would probably cost around, what? $50MM?(swag) - and to then pay down debt. In terms of market cap, RIG is FLC's big brother while DO is approximately 2.5 times FLC's size. So DO, with their wad of cash (from not going down the "newbuild" road) would be better positioned to pony up to the altar. But, as you say, and as I meant to imply, there is a wide disparity in operating philosophy and hence company culture. Would there be meaningful synergies arising from a DO/FLC merger which would lead to reductions in operating costs, hence greater profit margins? None are readily apparent to me. Would DO therefore be willing to swallow FLC's company culture ? A bitter pill without the financial incentive. Just curious: you mention a company with a better balance sheet being able to secure better credit terms. What kind of improvement did you have in mind over the current junk bond financing interest rate, which I am guessing is in the region of +/- 10%? And don't you think that by the time a suitor has a better balance sheet, FLC will also (although perhaps not as good as someone like DO)? Regards and good luck, Aggie