FIRST BRANDS GROUP files for bankruptcy

tester (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to Tom1200 :

[Sarcasm] Leverage isn’t risky, keep the debt and invest the difference, make the spread,… [/Sarcasm] This guy took that philosophy to the nth degree. 
 

The worst part is that a lot of good folks will probably lose jobs, benefits, etc because of this guys hubris and greed. 

You'd be shocked at how many casinos have done this over the years; and I'm not even talking about mobsters.

We are talking really big names; got caught up in the expand at all costs mentality.

Mr_Asa said:

spitfirebill said:

Keith Tanner said:

This is why Bill Cardell worked so hard to make sure Flyin' Miata ended up in the hands of his employees. 

I wish more companies did that.  

Most employees and customers probably agree with you 

It’s the high effort answer, and our coop structure is such that nobody is going to get rich unless we all agree to sell the company to someone else. There’s a reason coops like ours aren’t common in the US. Great for the company, great for the employees, great for the customers - not necessarily great for the owners.

But if it weren’t for the coop, we’d have a very different corporate culture and probably would have been broken up for parts by this point. I’m good with that. 

Tom1200 said:
You'd be shocked at how many casinos have done this over the years; and I'm not even talking about mobsters.

We are talking really big names; got caught up in the expand at all costs mentality.

I am not shocked at all. This philosophy is taught in almost every business school. 

So, Fram and a few others have banded together to sue the pants off the founder of First Brands

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-11-04/first-brands-sues-founder-patrick-james-for-fraudulent-transfers?srnd=phx-industries-transportation&embedded-checkout=true

Reportedly $700 Million, to a billion dollars got funneled out of the companies and to him and his family.

Lawyers for the company — now run by restructuring consultants at Alvarez & Marsal — alleged that James borrowed funds on fraudulent terms, only then to “routinely and regularly” divert cash for himself and his family, according to a Southern District of Texas filing dated Nov. 3. More than $700 million was funneled from First Brands directly to James and his affiliated entities from 2018 to 2025, they claimed.

In reply to Mr_Asa :

Big OOOF. 

spitfirebill said:

Keith Tanner said:

This is why Bill Cardell worked so hard to make sure Flyin' Miata ended up in the hands of his employees. 

I wish more companies did that.  

Publix does this. They also raked in $4bn in profits last year while also being in bed with developers buying up land with hopes that urban sprawl gets to a location where they can clear cut land, build a Publix and a developer can build cookie cutter neighborhoods around it. 

Great for everyone except for conservationists. 

The part where that article says "That dream has been shattered" as if this asssshat's ways aren't about to screw a bunch of people out of jobs and make their lives difficult. 

DirtyBird222 said:

 developers buying up land with hopes that urban sprawl gets to a location where they can clear cut land, build a Publix and a developer can build cookie cutter neighborhoods around it. 

Great for everyone except for conservationists. 

Some forget that the house they live in was once Forrest or rolling meadows. . . .

Masher_Mfg said:

DirtyBird222 said:

 developers buying up land with hopes that urban sprawl gets to a location where they can clear cut land, build a Publix and a developer can build cookie cutter neighborhoods around it. 

Great for everyone except for conservationists. 

Some forget that the house they live in was once Forrest or rolling meadows. . . .

Yea you're right. We should keep overdeveloping and clear cutting land. 

This is starting to affect me, now.  Raybestos brakes and Phillips light bulbs are becoming scarce here, and I've had great luck with their MGD series of pads on domestic cars for 20 years or so.

E36 M3.

DirtyBird222 said:

Masher_Mfg said:

DirtyBird222 said:

 developers buying up land with hopes that urban sprawl gets to a location where they can clear cut land, build a Publix and a developer can build cookie cutter neighborhoods around it. 

Great for everyone except for conservationists. 

Some forget that the house they live in was once Forrest or rolling meadows. . . .

Yea you're right. We should keep overdeveloping and clear cutting land. 

The alternative would be Soviet style apartment buildings. Or The Tavy Bridge Centre in Thamesmead South, England ( used as the apartment building in the movie A Clockwork Orange.  )