Torstar = ChernobylHi All
,
Perhaps my last posting on this site before Paulie Walnuts and Fredo assume control of what remains of Torstar. I have come to conclude anyone smart enough to acquire Torstar with the intentions to do something good and noble with the company will have been scared off by the unbroken list of dreadfully bungled decisions that has characterized the company for the past 20+ years.
I still firmly maintain that underneath the unbroken string of failures there still exists a salvageable enterprise with great possibilities for the future. In previous postings, I have enumerated the extensive list of failures under the Voting Trust, and more specifically, under the erratic and irrational “leadership” of Herr Honderich.
Any prospective purchaser after any exposure to Honderich, Boynton and DeMarchi would conclude this company has the same prospects as redeveloping the Chernobyl nuclear site for luxury condominiums. Their complete lack of competence, credibility and coherence would discourage anyone except the above-noted vulture capitalists from trying to accomplish anything beyond stripping and dumping the carcass.
It did not have to end this way. It is unfortunate that only the Thall clan rejected selling the company for less than the cash on the balance sheet. This does not confer any special intelligence upon the Thalls as they could have sold their interests years ago when they saw the institutional insanity unfolding before their eyes.
A company that once enjoyed a market capitalization in excess $2.4 billion being sold for less than $52 million speaks to the incredible mismanagement and shareholder abuse. This is Leonard Asper and Drew Craig level gross incompetence.
There is also a special place in hell reserved for directors who sit back and watch this avoidable massive value destruction without either resigning or blowing the whistle on the gross incompetence. It is a Board of lightweights, but the fact that none of them resigned on principle suggest they were willing parties to this legacy of ineptitude. Shame on all of them.
Finally, it would truly take a visionary with resources to see beyond the clown show that has become Torstar. The first order of business would be to clean out the executive suite and install leadership that would inspire employees and clients to once again believe in the important role played by the Toronto Star and the numerous other media properties they own in southern Ontario. Building an organization that isn’t powered by hubris, ego and insanity would go a long way to creating a sustainable and profitable company. It can be done but won’t happen with Paulie and Fredo who have hatched a plan to strip it and throw away the keys at the end of the charade.
It will be a very sad day for Canadians and Torstar employees when this deal is consummated. Honderich is passing the torch standing in a smouldering wreck of a company. He was responsible for burning it to the ground and that will be his legacy to wear. Joseph Atkinson would take no pride in this outcome and Beland Honderich would be embarrassed by this ignominious conclusion created by his son's arrogance and irresponsible stewardship.
MW