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

[Robert Skinner]

Have the Somalis touched a USA-flagged vessel yet?

"... to the shores of Tripoli..."

Just ask for volunteers.  Problem removed.

/Robert
---------------------------------------------------
Brad Haslett wrote:
> 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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