"How to buy what's not for sale"

[oltmannd]

The self help book that needs to be written.
A puzzling statement from EHH repeated often was that NS said the offer was woefully inadequate but never said what would be adequate.

If someone rings your doorbell and makes a blind offer for your house, its really not a negotiation. You can just say "go away". Anything else is gravy.

The onus is on the would-be buyer.

[54light15]

It's been in all the papers here how Hunter gave up but said it with a lot of self-serving corporate B.S.

[Ulrich]

I'd look at it as a negotiation. You make me an offer then I might respond with a counteroffer. It is generally understood that almost everything is for sale for the right price.. NS could have/should have responded with a counteroffer instead of simply insulting CP's low offer. Had they done that (and made their counteroffer sufficiently high) this whole merger thing would have been settled long ago.

[Semper Vaporo]

Unless they negotiate the same way my ex used to... we'd both state our positions and then she'd say I need to compromise... so I'd meet her half-way, and then she would restart the negotiations with her at her same starting point and me at the new half-way point and she'd say I need to compromise and meet her half-way.  "Lather, rinse, and repeat".

[D.Carleton]

The major railroads, with one glaring exception, are owned by the shareholders; shares that are bought and sold on a market everyday. That said, the railroads are always for sale. This brings us back to our glaring exception: BNSF. Mr. Buffett raised the bar six years ago when his company bought the railroad lock, stock and barrel. The days of OP and MJ are long gone. Just owning a controlling interest in a railroad is no longer enough. If you want the railroad you can have the railroad... just bring lots and lots of CASH.

[Electroliner 1935]

Reminds me of the old story of the rich man who asked the lady  "would you sleep with me for a million dollars?" When she replied in a positive fashion, he then asked if she would sleep with him for a hundred dollars? She haughtily replied, "what do think I am!?" He replied, "we already established that, we're just hagling over the price".

[tomikawaTT]

As for counter-offers, I once heard a man tell another, "Of course I'll sell - for ten dollars more than you can bring to the table."

I remember that for when I encounter people who won't take, "No!" for an answer.

Chuck