Wow a £750 million pounds ($1.2 billion) rip off this is what you get when you sell off a publicly owned institution to the private sector. The privatization of the Royal Mail (UK Post Office).
Some low-lights
The government's desperation to sell Royal Mail cost taxpayers £750m in a single day, the National Audit Office has said in a scathing report into the privatisation of the 500-year-old national institution.
Achieving an additional £750m from the sale could have covered the annual salaries of an additional 34,000 NHS nurses.
But the real stink comes here:
The audit office said the government's pricing decision was largely influenced by Cable's desire for "long-term, blue chip" institutional investors to buy and hold large chunks of Royal Mail shares.
As you can guess the result of this long term investment strategy Is:
However, the audit office said six of the 16 "priority investors" selected by Cable had sold all of their allocation within weeks of the float, at a substantial profit.
Oh wow quelle surprise.
Champagne all round.
Note when ever conservatives and their allies want to sell of public companies you just know
1] They will undervalue the sale.
2] Huge profits will be made by their backers.
Lazard was paid £1.5m for its advice. The government spent a total of £12.7m on fees to bankers, including UBS, Goldman Sachs, Barclays and Merrill Lynch, accountants, lawyers and PR advisers.
Oh the stench, it's highway robbery.
Billy Hayes, general secretary of the Communication Workers Union that represents postmen and women, said the report "finds the government guilty"of overseeing a "get rich quick" scheme which offered no value to taxpayers.
Ain't it always?