And yet, sometimes Selling Out is the only available fallback strategy for pedestrian management in over their depth.

But one has to get the timing right-- otherwise even Selling Out can disappoint as a value-creating tactic.

During euphoric economic periods, a company with a recognized name toiling in an attractive segment might even manage to offset much of the value destruction caused by the soon-to-be-retired incumbent senior management group.

The key is timing. Seems that the best prices (measured by offer price as a percentage of market value) tend to occur at the high points bin economic cycles (VBM Consulting´s BEYOND THE DEAL, Clark, Harper Business (91), Ch. 1).

Seems that in such times, the overpaying acquirer who is highly vulerable to the ego-trap of a career-making acquisition observes his company´s inflated share price and price-to-cashflow ratio and concludes, in effect, that ´We´ve got to get solid something for this inflated corporate currency while the value is still inflated´ and goes on a spending spree.

(Never mind for now that the share prices (market values) of most quality targets have also increased in step with the too-eager acquiring company. That´s another source of value destruction by a different company.)

For beleaguered management Selling Out because internal value methods fail, timing is critical. Outside of cycliucal peaks even an obtuse hint of receptiveness to a sale shouts DAMAGED GOODS! to everyone, suppressing value to fire sale depressed levels.

One recent example: Marconi in the UK, formerly GEC. Another: Euronext Exchange. One might excuse operating company management from getting cyclical value timing right when it comes to Selling Out. Exchanges almost directly reflect value swings to the extend that for decades, the cost of a seat on the New York Stock Exchange has been one of the most reliable trailing cyclical indicators.

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