DEAL ANALYSIS
Real deals, read for the signal that decided them.
Sony and Nintendo. LVMH and Tiffany. Apple and Beats. Volkswagen and its suppliers.
Written from the documented record, one deal at a time.
What was there to see before the outcome, and what changed once someone saw it.
The buyer said its supplier asked for more to keep delivering. Five weeks later, the supplier had a new owner, and the buyer was helping to pay for it
In 2018, engine maker Deutz said its foundry asked for higher prices, one-off payments and purchase commitments to keep delivering. Deutz went to court, then backed a new owner for the supplier. ...more
Deal Analysis
October 16, 2026•3 min read
The penalty clause was there to protect the buyer. In 2013, the buyer's own consultant warned the ceiling would soon be reached.
In 2010 SBB ordered 59 trains from Bombardier. The delay penalties had a ceiling, the buyer's own change requests became the supplier's argument, and most of what the 2023 settlement lists came as war... ...more
Deal Analysis
October 08, 2026•2 min read
The list price was sixty million dollars a plane. Ryanair reportedly paid twenty-eight.
Ryanair ordered one hundred Boeing 737s in January 2002 at reportedly under half the list price. The number was decided eighteen months earlier, by two cancelled contracts and a public offer for used ... ...more
Deal Analysis
October 01, 2026•3 min read
The terms were signed once. They decide who carries the risk.
dm's standing conditions agreement decided who carried the risk when a product did not sell: returns, delisting at any time, and the cost of clearing store stock. Three of those clauses were rewritten... ...more
Deal Analysis
September 24, 2026•3 min read
Four banks called the price appropriate. The board negotiated everything that was not the price.
Four banks called Midea's offer for KUKA appropriate, so the price was settled before the board sat down. What it negotiated instead: locations, strategy, board independence and where the customer dat... ...more
Deal Analysis
September 17, 2026•3 min read
He called to apologise. The other side told him it was a great idea.
he-called-to-apologise Meta description: In 1992 a trademark dispute ended in a rented arena. The part that decided it was a phone call made under discomfort, and how the other side read it ...more
Deal Analysis
September 10, 2026•3 min read
The read comes first.
Then the structure.
Then the room.
The analyses show what was visible before each deal was decided.
The training is about seeing it in yours, while it is still running.
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