• Nobody@lemmy.world
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      2 years ago

      Budget decisions that affect whether people will live or die are hindered by having to pay rent to the company that owns you and is also your landlord.

      You owned the building before they showed up with all their money and fake promises.

  • 𝕽𝖚𝖆𝖎𝖉𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖌𝖍@midwest.social
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    2 years ago

    A hedge fund bought Red Lobster.

    Sold all of the ladder (so the hedge fund no longer owns the land).

    The people the hedge fund sold the land to jacked the rents (because the hedge fund couldn’t have, since they don’t own the land).

    And since the hedge fund still owns Red Lobster, they screwed themselves over.

    Right? That’s how this reads.

    • snooggums@midwest.social
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      2 years ago

      You might think bankruptcy screws the hedge fund, but it doesn’t. Bankruptcy lets them drop a bunch of debts and obligations caused by sucking all of the money out of the rest of the changes, so they get stuff and don’t have to pay for a big chunk of it before they eventually offload it to some other company.

      The whole thing is vulture capitalism.

      • rdyoung@lemmy.world
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        2 years ago

        This is it right here and this scenario was most likely the plan from the outset, they planned on this and orchestrated it.

      • BakerBagel@midwest.social
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        2 years ago

        It’s crazy how a corporate entity can own a company, sell off everything that makes it valuable, and then not pay a dime when said company inevitably goes bankrupt.

        • snooggums@midwest.social
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          2 years ago

          Welfare, bankruptcy, and avoiding legal obligations are all apparently fine for corporations, but not people.

          • nilloc@discuss.tchncs.de
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            2 years ago

            Yet another reason corporations aren’t people. Unless you’re a fucking vulture like Romney (formerly of Bane [sic] Capital, who bankrupted Toys-R-Us).

    • degen@midwest.social
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      2 years ago

      The hedge fund could have easily sold to a “separate” entity, legally, but still have been in cahoots or direct control to fuck the company for profit. I don’t know any of the details here, but the same sort of thing happens all the time. Capitalism is full of white collar crime that is simply allowed to happen.

      • And so raised rents on themselves.

        They’re killing the company so they can feast on the carcass. I get it; it’s not like it was a thriving chain with a lot of prospects for future growth. I just think the title of the article implied something different than what’s really happening.

  • KnitWit@lemmy.world
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    2 years ago

    Ah yes, a tale as old as when this country started fucking letting companies do that in the first place.

  • xantoxis@lemmy.world
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    2 years ago

    Jesus. And chapter 11 protection means they erase debts, so this shit is free money but cheddar biscuits are sacrificed forever on this blood altar. I just want to talk to them.

  • az04@lemmy.world
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    2 years ago

    Actually, a Thai seafood producer bought Red Lobster and made it sell products like shrimp at a loss so it could move more product, allegedly. Patrick Boyle does a good dive into it: https://youtu.be/BEDFNcsC0JI

  • Spacehooks@reddthat.com
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    2 years ago

    As soon as a hedge fund buys a company it’s over. Run for the hills. I hope it doesn’t happen to anyone.

    • Delphia@lemmy.world
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      2 years ago

      Probably a gambit to remind people that Red Lobster exists and trying to pump the brand back up before offloading it or an attempt at a loss leader strategy hoping they would make up any loss on the shrimp in drinks and extras.

    • aberrate_junior_beatnik (he/him)@midwest.social
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      2 years ago

      It could actually be both; the equity group bought it, sold the land to itself (a subsidiary), used rent to extract money from the business as it was going down. Then they sold the business to a Thai company that sourced their shrimp, with Red Lobster buying at a loss. Once the financials got too bad, they had Red Lobster file chapter 11 so its debts were written off, but the equity group & Thai company get to hold on to the money they got through the process. I can’t verify this is exactly what happened, though, take what I’m saying with a grain of salt.

    • shalafi@lemmy.world
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      2 years ago

      That is indeed a major chunk of it. The Thai group said they wouldn’t change or fuck with suppliers, no worries. Then they said, nope, you have to buy all your shrimp from us. Then they said, let’s have an endless shrimp promotion.

      • Colonel Panic@lemm.ee
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        2 years ago

        1:50,000,000 lobsters are split color gynandromorphs and the GOP doesn’t like that something could be two sexes one bit so they cancelled Red Lobster.

    • ThatWeirdGuy1001@lemmy.world
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      2 years ago

      It still boggles my mind how lobster went from so bad you couldn’t even serve it to prisoners to a luxury food item.

      What the fuck is wrong with our species??

      • TurtleJoe@lemmy.world
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        2 years ago

        If you were served a slurry of rotting, partially cooked lobster and lobster shell, you would probably still think it’s gross.

        Turns out it’s better boiled, broiled, and served with tons of butter.

        • ThatWeirdGuy1001@lemmy.world
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          2 years ago

          Y’know that’s fair. I guess I didn’t really think about how it was served.

          And with the way humans have been documented on they way they treat prisoners it shouldn’t be so shocking to me.

  • stephfinitely@lemmy.world
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    2 years ago

    Hedge funds are crazy and I am not smart enough to figure out the actual legality of them, however they seem like something that should be illegal.