RE:RE:ROLL UP THE "_" TO WIN @notwrong: "If that asset is that great, why would not the selling company keep it for itself instead of selling it to the acquirer" ... because that is what investment companies do - buy low, build up or break apart and sell at good price. Payback time depends on the financing terms and the cash generating ability of the acquirer. CXR generates much more cash than the costs to carry the loans and hence will use that cash to lower the debt burden. Another buyer may not have been that able.