A Mouse that Roared
A small-time CEO launched a proxy war with $17.32 in his company's brokerage account. Now he's going to prison.
“I think the very best attitude for anyone investing in the stock market is to make up his mind to lose money.” – The Duchess Gloriana XII in the 1955 novel, “The Mouse that Roared” by Leonard Wimberly
Don’t try this at home. Leave hostile takeovers to the professionals like Nelson Peltz, Henry Kravis and Carl Icahn.
Experienced corporate raiders know the basics, like:
You can’t win a proxy battle against a company whose affiliates control 95% of its shares. You won’t be able to score enough stock to scare anyone.
You can’t menace a board of directors if you’re a one-man investment firm with a crappy website. They’ll just think you’re a punk.
You have to have more than $17.32 in your company’s brokerage account to threaten a multibillion-dollar takeover. It takes money to make money.
Robert Scott Murray, 61, of Mashpee, Mass., apparently did not know any of this when he launched his $4 billion takeover of Getty Images last year. On Tuesday, a federal judge sentenced him to prison for 10 months with two years of supervised release and ordered $227,543 in restitution.
The only smart thing Murray did was cop a plea in June to only one count of securities fraud. He got off easy considering the audacity and stupidity of his bogus bid.
Murray did, however, prove that almost any idiot can open an account at PR Newswire, issue idle threats with baseless press releases, and inflate a stock price.
Who is this guy?
Don’t write off Murray, entirely. He had at least some street cred, having served as a chief executive officer of some has-been tech companies, Stream Global Services and 3Com, both of which were publicly traded.
He also had a personal brokerage account with a balance of about $13 million, according to a civil complaint that the Securities and Exchange Commission filed against him.
He spent $2.6 million buying shares and options in Getty, a well-known media company that distributes photos you’ll find attached to many news stories.
He founded Trillium Capital in Boston, which bills itelf as “a new kind of venture investment company” on its website. Yes, remarkably, Trillium still has a website. Here’s what it says:
“We are a dedicated group of proven industry executives who have partnered to identify, invest and advise innovative companies and their management teams. Our team have almost 30 years each of operating experience as CEO’s and C-suite executives in software, tech services, technology, digital and retail environments.”
But it’s really only Murray … and a PR Newswire account.
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