Goldman Sachs buys 19% of danish energy giant Dong Energy despite massive protests and over 200k sig
42 replies, posted
Didn't see any news on Facepunch about this and was too lazy to make a thread about it, but i think this is pretty important news to Europeans, as Goldman Sachs is buying alot of European energy companies recently.
Folketinget (our parlament) voted yes yesterday to sell 19% of the Dong Energy shares to a daughter company of Goldman Sachs, located in a tax haven. SF (Socialist Party) withdrew from the government yesterday, but voted yes anyway. Many has left the party. Goldman Sachs was also given a speciel veto ability in the company depspite not owning 51% of the shares as a veto normally requires. In Copenhagen we pay 0.30€ per kWh, so this is probably not gonna help. The "socialist" government also lowered corporate tax and unemployment benefits last year.
Dong Energy is the worlds largest offshore windpower company.
Danish source: [url]http://politiken.dk/indland/politik/ECE2195623/folketinget-har-vedtaget-dong-salg-til-goldman-sachs/[/url]
Enlish source: [url]http://www.forbes.com/sites/williampentland/2014/01/31/dong-energy-sells-stake-in-offshore-wind-farm/[/url]
Danish company was overbidding Goldman Sachs, but didn't get the deal (danish source):
[url]http://politiken.dk/oekonomi/virksomheder/ECE2184531/dansk-selskab-gav-hoejere-dong-bud-end-goldman/[/url]
Only 15% of right wing voters approve of Dong Energy sale (danish source):
[url]http://politiken.dk/indland/politik/ECE2194932/blaa-vaelgere-siger-nej-til-dong-aftale/[/url]
[img_thumb]http://www.timtim.com/public/images/drawings/large/4520_Broke-Denmark.jpg[/img_thumb]
giant dong energy
I can translate the first article gimmie a few minutes
edit: translated article. Might be some odd wording somewhere, some of it is kinda hard to translate because politicians
[QUOTE]The sale of 19 percent of Dong Energy’s stocks to the American investment bank Goldman Sachs is now a reality.
Members of the finance committee from [a bunch of political parties] have just placed their signatures on the contentious appropriation that approves the capital increase in the state-owned energy company.
[Two other parties] are staying out of the deal.
“I think it is sad”, says chairman/president Kristian Thulesen Dahl of Dansk Folkeparti, who just came out from the committee room.
“The finance committee has just broken a years long practice that you first decide an appropriation when every question is answered. There is nothing at all that prevents that you could have discussed it on a meeting later today, when the answers were available.” he says.
EL: Problematic to just say privatization
Also Frank Aaen from Enhedslisten is annoyed over the outcome. He points out that the party will continue to drill in the part sale of Dong.
“We will of course follow this case further, and I think that this case has opened the eyes for many people how problematic it is to just say ‘privatization’, and that we in the future can get a better debate that won’t just be ran through, like this is the case here.” he says.
Frank Aaen criticizes the finance committee for having accepted the deal, even though not all questions in the case have been answered.
“I think it is a very irresponsible way to drive a decision about such a large company as Dong. But it is apparently very important for the majority to close the case in order to stop the continuing debate. But that didn’t succeed” he says.
SF: The weird part would be, if we didn’t sign
SF’s energy-spokesman Steen Gade signs, even though a large minority in the political party has talked sternly against the agreement with the controversial finance-giant.
This morning party chairman/president Annette Vilhelmsen evaluated, that the resistance against the Dong-part sale is so large in the party, that she can no longer continue as chairman/president, and that the party resigns from the government.
Steen Gade doesn’t mean that there is anything weird in him having just signed the agreement.
“SF has been in to make the proposal, so it is our own proposal. The weird part would be if we didn’t vote yes to our own proposal.” says Steen Gade, who is signing in his capacity of SF’s energy-spokeman.
“There has been an idea that Dong is practically a golden egg. But it isn’t. It’s a company with a deficit.” He says.
Finance minister Bjarne Corydon (S) is receiving the news about the incoming agreement with joy.
“It is good that Dong Energy now has solid ground under their feet. The parliament has today secured that one of our largest businesses here at home can invest massively instead of having to cut down.” Says finance minister Bjarne Corydon in a press statement.
[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=.apex;43747821]I can translate the first article gimmie a few minutes[/QUOTE]
Thanks i will keep adding information meanwhile.
Let me get this straight. The deal went on despite:
- 200.000 citizens actively protesting the decision.
- Parties leaving the government and falling apart to protest the decision
- A rival company bidding higher than Goldman
- Them getting an idiotic and exclusive veto right with less than a fifth of the company's ownership
- The Sachs company being located in a tax haven somewhere far off
Are you absolutely SHITTING ME?
DONG ENERGY LMFAO
[QUOTE=DarkWolf2;43747853]Let me get this straight. The deal went on despite:
- 200.000 citizens actively protesting the decision.
- Parties leaving the government and falling apart to protest the decision
- A rival company bidding higher than Goldman
- Them getting an idiotic and exclusive veto right with less than a fifth of the company's ownership
- The Sachs company being located in a tax haven somewhere far off
Are you absolutely SHITTING ME?[/QUOTE]
That's correct. Not 100% sure on the overbidding part, but Politiken is a very trusted danish newspaper. Don't mind paying the worlds highest taxes aslong as the money is spent well and we aren't screwed by corporate interest. It seems as we are turning into USA but with much higher taxes.
there's a twitch joke to be made here i'm sure of it
dong then merges with Chinese energy giant Wang Energy, calling it now
[QUOTE=DarkWolf2;43747853]Let me get this straight. The deal went on despite:
- 200.000 citizens actively protesting the decision.
- Parties leaving the government and falling apart to protest the decision
- A rival company bidding higher than Goldman
- Them getting an idiotic and exclusive veto right with less than a fifth of the company's ownership
- The Sachs company being located in a tax haven somewhere far off
Are you absolutely SHITTING ME?[/QUOTE]
They bribed the right politicians.
Even the usual politicians who's normally all-in for privatisation of state owned companies were against it, due to Goldman Sachs blatant dickery.
So this can only be because of under-the-table deals.
And feel free to mock the name of the energy company, we did it ourselves when it were announced.
Edited my post above with a translation of the article. Might have some weird word choices around, some of it kinda annoying to translate because politicians speak weird
[editline]1st February 2014[/editline]
[QUOTE=DarkWolf2;43747853]Let me get this straight. The deal went on despite:
- 200.000 citizens actively protesting the decision.
- Parties leaving the government and falling apart to protest the decision
- A rival company bidding higher than Goldman
- Them getting an idiotic and exclusive veto right with less than a fifth of the company's ownership
- The Sachs company being located in a tax haven somewhere far off
Are you absolutely SHITTING ME?[/QUOTE]
correct except only one party left the government
[QUOTE=.apex;43748012]Edited my post above with a translation of the article. Might have some weird word choices around, some of it kinda annoying to translate because politicians speak weird[/QUOTE]
[B]Legal[/B]ese.
If you can't tell something in a simple and concise manner, then confuse the shit out of everyone.
And so, we get twelve more years of Lars fuckin' Løkke. Helle didn't do very well, but she had shit to work with. Fogh and Løkke had all the possibilities in the world and still fucked it up.
[QUOTE=O Cheerios O;43748029][B]Legal[/B]ese.
If you can't tell something in a simple and concise manner, then confuse the shit out of everyone.[/QUOTE]
I can understand it just fine in danish, however translating is just hard because I've never had to use those words in a translation before.
Eh, translated article should still make sense enough, if it doesn't just tell me and I'll correct.
[QUOTE=Riller;43748116]And so, we get twelve more years of Lars fuckin' Løkke. Helle didn't do very well, but she had shit to work with. Fogh and Løkke had all the possibilities in the world and still fucked it up.[/QUOTE]
We are basicly down to two parties now who isn't corrupted to the core: Enhedslisten (Way to left leaning for me) or Dansk Folkeparti (Hates immigrants and has elements of facism in some of their proposals).
[QUOTE=mrpirate;43748155]We are basicly down to two parties now who isn't corrupted to the core: Enhedslisten (Way to left leaning for me) or Dansk Folkeparti (Hates immigrants and has elements of facism in some of their proposals).[/QUOTE]
Wish they actually counted blank votes, instead of lumping them with invalid votes and non-voters. A blank vote is a show of will to take part in the voting process, but having no one you agree with. Not voting is laziness.
Surely some law was broken in this? It's so blatantly corrupt that it surely can't stand up to legal scrutiny, or maybe i'm just being hopeful.
Dong will grow stronger.
[QUOTE=Desuh;43748180]Dong will grow stronger.[/QUOTE]
Even if this helps us get a bigger Dong, that Dong won't be serving the people it should.
[QUOTE=Desuh;43748180]Dong will grow stronger.[/QUOTE]
Penis-bullying gets company to consider name change (danish article about Dong considering changing name):
[url]http://www.business.dk/ledelse/penis-drillerier-faar-virksomhed-til-at-overveje-navneskifte[/url]
Links in the OP are broken to me, literally leads to "http://politiken.dk/indland/politik/...goldman-sachs/"
[QUOTE=Twistshock;43748288]Links in the OP are broken to me, literally leads to "http://politiken.dk/indland/politik/...goldman-sachs/"[/QUOTE]
Sorry it's fixed now.
I just came back from a research vessel, we worked in a Dong Windpark, I literally got off the ship 5 hours ago this is so bizarre to me right now..
I'm not sure I understand fully what this means. 200,000 citizens protested a private company selling itself to an American private instead of a Danish private company? I'm not a political science major, especially in European politics, so I'm confused as to why this is the end of the world.
[editline]1st February 2014[/editline]
I have the strange feeling that I'm going to get wrecked for posting this.
[QUOTE=SGTNAPALM;43748516]I'm not sure I understand fully what this means. 200,000 citizens protested a private company selling itself to an American private instead of a Danish private company? I'm not a political science major, especially in European politics, so I'm confused as to why this is the end of the world.[/QUOTE]It's explained literally in the first post; Goldman Sach's child company's bid was lower, they're located in a tax haven, and they get highly irregular veto powers which they shouldn't get with a share that size. It's also a state company, not a private one; hence why their parliament had to approve the sale.
Would it have really killed you to read the OP?
[QUOTE=SGTNAPALM;43748516]I'm not sure I understand fully what this means. 200,000 citizens protested a private company selling itself to an American private instead of a Danish private company? I'm not a political science major, especially in European politics, so I'm confused as to why this is the end of the world.
[editline]1st February 2014[/editline]
I have the strange feeling that I'm going to get wrecked for posting this.[/QUOTE]
You're gonna get wrecked because even though it's technically a private company, much of it is still owned by the Danish state.
And that's why people are protesting, because the state is doing the opposite of what the people wants.
So it's technically not privatized fully yet, and hopefully if it IS gonna be, then it'll be kept away from idiots like Goldman Sachs who'll run it into the ground for a minor profit.
[QUOTE=Sgt Doom;43748596]It's explained literally in the first post; Goldman Sach's child company's bid was lower, they're located in a tax haven, and they get highly irregular veto powers which they shouldn't get with a share that size. It's also a state company, not a private one; hence why their parliament had to approve the sale.
Would it have really killed you to read the OP?[/QUOTE]
I had a really hard time reading that OP through the broken English, this post did a much better better job of explaining it (for example, with the sentence "Many has left the party," I was sitting there trying to Google the Danish politician named Many, wondering why he/she left, before I realized he meant "Many have left the party.") Thanks! I assumed that this was a fully private company, which I thought would be akin to American citizens protesting Google buying another company. So I was confused as to why the fuck citizens would be allowed to have any pull there or why it matters.
It's all about sachs and dongs.
[QUOTE=SCopE5000;43748746]It's all about sachs and dongs.[/QUOTE]
then the wind energy company merges with the energy drink company for double brand recognition
bawlsachs & dongs
The veto capability isn't very important - it only applies to fairly specific circumstances. It's not at all an all-encompassing veto capability as suggested. Still, this is dumb in my opinion. This government is really bad at communicating what ever they want to do.
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