[Rhodes22-list] Breaking News : Somali Pirates in Discussions to Acquire Citigroup

[Brad Haslett]

Bill,

Let's give the pirates a shot, they couldn't do any worse.  What's
that German word for "things will improve once we elect 'The One"?  Oh
yeah, 'hopenchangen'.  Attached is what the Germans have in mind.

Brad

-------------


11/25/2008 04:56 PM
A NEW WAR ON PIRACY?
Germany to Deploy Up to 1,400 to Fight Pirates

The uproar over pirates off the Gulf of Aden has led the German
government to contribute a naval frigate to an EU mission along the
Somali coast. More soldiers may be on the way. In the meantime German
helicopters have defended a pair of merchant ships from pirate
speedboats.

As European enthusiasm for the American-led "War on Terror" continues
to wane, Europe is assembling a substantial military force to send to
the Gulf of Aden. Call it the "War on Piracy" -- and Germany, this
time, has not been shy.

Although the German Defense Ministry refuses to confirm the number, a
report on Tuesday in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung says that the
government is considering deploying up to 1400 troops to combat Somali
piracy. By way of comparison, Berlin currently contributes about 3,500
troops to the war in Afghanistan.

The government has already announced its intention to send a frigate
to region as part of the EU mission "Operation Atalanta," which is set
to deploy sometime in mid-December. First, however, Germany's
parliament may have to expand the country's legal mandate for the use
of force, which some believe does not currently allow for an
aggressive anti-pirate mission.

In addition to the 500 sailors who would staff the frigate, the
government may also send troops to serve as security forces on German
trade vessels.

According to the East African Seafarers' Assistance Program, Somali
pirates hijacked yet another ship over the weekend, this time a Yemeni
freighter called the Amani.

And on Sunday afternoon, the German navy received emergency calls from
a pair of German merchant ships indicating they were being attacked by
pirates in speedboats. In response, the German frigate
Mecklenberg-Vorpommern sent naval helicopters to scene, after which
the pirates reportedly fled.

Somali pirates are thought to be in possession of a dozen ships and
over two hundred captured sailors. Among the captured vessels is a
Saudi Arabian tanker called the Sirius Star, which the pirates are
trying to ransom to the tune of $15 million (€11.6 million). This
represents a discount from their original demand of $25 million.

cpg -- with wire reports

URL:

    * http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,592647,00.html



On Sat, Nov 29, 2008 at 7:40 AM, Bill Effros <bill at effros.com> wrote:
> Breaking News : Somali Pirates in Discussions to Acquire Citigroup
> By Andreas Hippin
>
>   November 28 (Bloomberg) -- Somali Pirates, renegade Somalis known for
> hijacking ships for ransom in the Gulf of Aden, are negotiating the
> purchase of Citigroup.
>
>  The pirates would buy Citigroup with new debt and their existing cash
> stockpiles, earned most recently from hijacking numerous ships,
> including a $200 million Saudi Arabian oil tanker. The Somali pirates
> are offering up to $0.10 per share for Citigroup, pirate spokesman
> Sugule Ali said earlier today. The negotiations have entered the final
> stage, Ali said.  ``You may not like our price, but we are not in the
> business of paying for things. Be happy we are in the mood to offer the
> shareholders anything."
>
>   The pirates will finance part of the purchase by selling new Pirate
> Ransom Backed Securities.  The PRBS's are backed by the cash flows from
> future ransom payments from hijackings in the Gulf of Aden.  Moody's and
> S&P have already issued their top investment grade ratings for the PRBS's.
>
>    Head pirate, Ubu Kalid Shandu , said "we need a bank so that we have
> a place to keep our ransom money.  Thankfully, the dislocations in the
> capital markets has allowed us to purchase Citigroup at an attractive
> valuation and to take advantage of TARP capital to grow the business at
> an even faster rate."
>
> Shandu added, "We don't call ourselves pirates. We are coastguards and
> this will just allow us to guard our coasts better."
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