Owen Books

Autopsy of a Merger (subtitled, Trans Union: The Deal That Rocked the Corporate World) is the inside story of one of the most controversial mergers in corporate history.

This case study of a megamerger in the age of mergermania should be read by everyone interested in mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, corporate governance, directors' and officers' liability, the social trauma of takeovers, and the impact of the media on major corporate transactions.

The subject is the 1981 acquisition of Trans Union Corporation by the billionaire Pritzker family of Chicago. Trans Union, then a New York Stock Exchange listed company that last ranked no. 278 of the Fortune 500, was a billion-dollar company with a hundred-year history.

The deal was struck shortly before a gala opening night party commemorating the 26th season of Chicago's Lyric Opera. What followed was an opera of another sort -- a montage of drama, intrigue, tragedy, comedy, hope, despair, broken dreams and new opportunities with a real-life cast of characters more captivating than one would find on any ordinary state. It was, some would say later, stranger than fiction.

Four years later, in a landmark 1985 decision that shocked the corporate world, a bitterly-divided Supreme Court of Delaware held that the former Trans Union board of directors had been "grossly negligent in that it failed to act with informed reasonable deliberation in agreeing to the Pritzker merger." The Court's astounding 3-2 decision, which is included in an appendix to the book, would transform the ground rules for corporate takeovers.

In thirty exciting chapters, the book takes the reader through every step of an extraordinary corporate takeover, from the opening night at the opera to the Court's history-making decision.

Autopsy of a Merger cuts the deal to the bone. The "ins" and "outs" of the merger negotiations, the battle of wits and nerves, the financing arrangements, the legal entanglements, the much-ignored human consequences of corporate takeovers -- all of these, and more, are laid bare in this unusual, behind-the-scenes book. As an added bonus, the book includes one of the most comprehensive bibliographies on leveraged buyouts ever assembled.

Here is what some reviewers said about the book when it was first published:

CRAIN'S CHICAGO BUSINESS: "What Mr. Owen did was spin the story in one fascinating narrative. And that's what makes the book so interesting. For those of us who enjoy reading about business as a form of recreation, the Trans Union saga makes for great entertainment."

CHICAGO TRIBUNE: "Delves deeply into the merger negotiations . . . worth the book's $19.95 price. . . Perhaps an even greater contribution of the book, however, is Owen's description of the merger aftermarth and its effects on employees . . ."

INVESTOR RELATIONS MEWSLETTER: "Closely examines the business drama and human pathos involved in the most controversial merger in corporate history. Must reading."

upon reading this book it left me in awe and spiritual hunger to digest and gain a greater understanding of who I,AM and what is my purpose for being. This book by living SEHAJI master SRI Michael Edward Owens reveal technique and practical application to truly live from the heart consciouness, to viem life in such away that unconditional love will be our focus. TO read this book will elevate one awareness and show how we are all connected to GOD consciouness that supersede our ego.
This book is a gift from the god realize to humanity there is something for everyone to understand the spiritual nature of life.....
To validate what is shared in this book there are spiritual exercise to appeal to all levels of interest and acceptance; We have the opportunity to experiment and pick spiritual exercise that appeal to your spiritual growth ....Clifford Eagan..riverdale, New York

This cookbook is attractively photographed, easy to follow and offers interesting and appealing recipes. Good presentation and a great addition to my cookbook shelf.

Writting this book some 17 years ago, the author makes great advice to managers and decision makers in companies (States and around the globe) using Japan's then success in manufacturing quality products.

The author uses his solid background in statistical science to allert readers about the importance of statistics to businesses and companies.

I regard the recommendations (while a touch vague and, now, slipping out of date) as valid for today's era; companies' directors from evolving countries will have an insight reading the book written in easy language, and will also learn about how quality should be viewed.

Finally, I recommend it as a pre-reading to anyone who is about to study an optimization or robust design/quality engineering course at a post graduate level: It will make the academic context look simpler and easier to grasp on.

I read Dr. Phelp's book in one sitting.
I enjoyed his characters and how they
interacted with one another. It is a
good visual of how important relationships
STILL are in our ever-shifting society.We
do have the opportunity and the power to
make a difference, and it can be done in small
and effective ways. Just by being ourselves!
I found this book refreshing, because it
is also a "how to" book to help people
be influential wherever they are at.
Pastor Bill Mautino
Calvary Church of the Valley
Paradise Valley, Arizona

Part of the "Essential Lives" biography series of people who have altered the course of history, Benjamin Franklin is the true story of inventor and American Founding Father Benjamin Franklin. Written for young adults, Benjamin Franklin includes an extensively researched accounting of Franklin's life, timelines, a selected bibliography, glossaries, source notes by chapter, an "essential facts" overview of each topic, black-and-white and color illustrations, and much more. A user-friendly resource enthusiastically recommended for classroom use and school or public library collections.

It was to my great advantage to be spending the summer of 1992 in Lenox when I read this book, purchased from the local village. Carol Owens has provided a supurb look into the lives and lifestyles of the gilded aged super rich as well as an excellent portrayal of the architecture of the summer cottages of the Berkshires. Filled with historical facts and "twice-told tales", this book is a rare gem giving the reader a vivid and pictoral view point of life during this era among the social ellete and powerful industrial magnates. I was able to see many of the homes by using Owens' book as a tour guide. It was thoroughly fascinating! I even got a bit carried away when I decided to take an unauthorized tour of the massive (and deserted) 92 room Elm Court, once owned by Emily Vanderbilt Sloane White. The local police were less impressed with my venture. Lookout for the flowershop owner who works out of what used to be Elm Courts' carriage house--he is a real snitch. If you enjoy reading about the "400" and the gilded age or the architecture of this period, you must read this book. It is a real treasure!

Too often, people dismiss the Berkshires as the "Berzerkshires" - a place inhabited by the kinds of folksy degenerates who populated the artworks of the great Norman Rockwell, arguably the Michelangelo of his time. As Ms. Owens points out in her magnum opus, nothing could be further from the truth. The Berkshires are not merely the petri dish of the grotesque - they are also the locus of many random cottages, scattered hither & thither across the landscape, which it behooves any self-respecting human to visit, nay to study in depth. Yes, you will visit the Berkshires for the inbreeding & the unsolved homicides, but you will stay for the COTTAGES. Huzzah!

I ordered this am awaiting it's arival. I went to the Barbara Kreuger exibit at the Whitney and It's the best art show I've ever seen. Her work is topical and cutting and an accurate criticism and contempt of societial standards in the Western world. If you want to be smart understand Barbara Kreuger.

This is the neatest Star Trek spoof I have seen in a long time. Worth getting for Star Trek fans for laughs and Star Trek bashers... for laughs!