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Have you ever worked for a company that has been bought out?

Home ▸ Archive ▸ Serious Business ▸ Have you ever worked for a company that has been bought out?
FatHobbit's avatar

FatHobbit

Senior Member

8,651 posts
Jul 15, 2010 1:13 PM
I have a feeling my company is about to be bought out. I'm not sure if I should bail out now or stick around and see how things work out. I've been here for 15 years, but it's been pretty shaky lately. Our stock price is lower than it's ever been since I've been here and several people have already jumped ship. (I think that was mostly because of politics though.)

Anyone else ever been through that? What did you do? How did it work out and what would you do differently if you had it to do over again?
Jul 15, 2010 1:13pm
W

WebFire

Go Bucks!

14,779 posts
Jul 15, 2010 1:19 PM
Do you have something to jump to?
Jul 15, 2010 1:19pm
FatHobbit's avatar

FatHobbit

Senior Member

8,651 posts
Jul 15, 2010 1:23 PM
WebFire;424354 wrote:Do you have something to jump to?

No. But I'm not even looking.
Jul 15, 2010 1:23pm
j_crazy's avatar

j_crazy

7 gram rocks. how i roll.

8,372 posts
Jul 15, 2010 1:26 PM
you work for BP?
Jul 15, 2010 1:26pm
FatHobbit's avatar

FatHobbit

Senior Member

8,651 posts
Jul 15, 2010 1:31 PM
j_crazy;424359 wrote:you work for BP?

Nope. :)
Jul 15, 2010 1:31pm
j_crazy's avatar

j_crazy

7 gram rocks. how i roll.

8,372 posts
Jul 15, 2010 1:34 PM
you sure, several hints in the OP lead me to that conclusion:

1. stock price as low as ever.
2. people jumping ship because of politics.
3. fear of being bought out.
4. pretty shaky lately.
Jul 15, 2010 1:34pm
thedynasty1998's avatar

thedynasty1998

Senior Member

6,844 posts
Jul 15, 2010 1:39 PM
Who do you work for?
Jul 15, 2010 1:39pm
FatHobbit's avatar

FatHobbit

Senior Member

8,651 posts
Jul 15, 2010 1:40 PM
j_crazy;424370 wrote:you sure, several hints in the OP lead me to that conclusion:

1. stock price as low as ever.
2. people jumping ship because of politics.
3. fear of being bought out.
4. pretty shaky lately.

I think that probably applies to BP more than my current company, but I'm guessing there are quite a few other companies that can also say the same.
Jul 15, 2010 1:40pm
4cards's avatar

4cards

Ohio Chatter Legend

2,551 posts
Jul 15, 2010 1:47 PM
...buy stock in the company that is going to buy your company out.
Jul 15, 2010 1:47pm
se-alum's avatar

se-alum

The Biggest Boss

13,948 posts
Jul 15, 2010 1:52 PM
IMO, you should never not be looking for better opportunities. I have a great job, and I love my job, but I'm constantly looking for opportunities to further my career and increase my finances. I think, too often, people prefer comfort over opportunity.
Jul 15, 2010 1:52pm
F

fortfan

Senior Member

339 posts
Jul 15, 2010 1:54 PM
Yes. I worked for a company for 28 years total, even though I quit once because they went through bankruptcy, then recovered and I went back. A competitor bought us out and I recieved a package equal to one weeks pay for every month I worked there. (It has been difficult finding a good job-I have had 2 that didn't work out and now at my 3rd since it happened 5 years ago)
Jul 15, 2010 1:54pm
THE4RINGZ's avatar

THE4RINGZ

R.I.P Thread Bomber

16,816 posts
Jul 15, 2010 1:58 PM
It happened to me in the late 1990's. I had worked for a company for several years and then the company was purchased by another company. At first everything was fine. A couple months later a few lay offs here and there. A couple months later more lay offs. It took about a year until the last person left and they locked the doors. This was a company of about 500 People.

I would start floating some resumes out. Get ahead of the mass exodus once things really start to change. And if they don't change and you are happy where you are at, at least you'll know what options you might have.
Jul 15, 2010 1:58pm
mxwlsmrt's avatar

mxwlsmrt

Junior Member

18 posts
Jul 15, 2010 2:06 PM
Yes! It was a very smooth transition and I'm glad I stayed.
Although let me say, I AGREE 100% with se-alum, "you should never not be looking for better opportunities. I have a great job, and I love my job, but I'm constantly looking for opportunities to further my career and increase my finances. I think, too often, people prefer comfort over opportunity."
Jul 15, 2010 2:06pm
FatHobbit's avatar

FatHobbit

Senior Member

8,651 posts
Jul 15, 2010 3:35 PM
se-alum;424387 wrote:IMO, you should never not be looking for better opportunities. I have a great job, and I love my job, but I'm constantly looking for opportunities to further my career and increase my finances. I think, too often, people prefer comfort over opportunity.

I get what you're saying about people preferring comfort over opportunity, but I'm pretty content with my current job. Work isn't my life. I make enough to get by and have some fun. If I were more ambitious I could definitely make more money, but our company is fairly small so I get a lot of freedom to do things how I want and I can be involved in the decision making/design for most of my projects from the very beginning. Ninety nine % of the time I'm home by 5:00, I rarely work weekends and I get 5 weeks of vacation. I also have a 15 minute drive to work, which is nice because I live out in the country. If I were to work in a different area of Columbus my commute would probably be much worse and the traffic would suck. So I don't really want to find a new job, but I also don't want to be unemployed if I can avoid it by not being stupid.
Jul 15, 2010 3:35pm
Little Danny's avatar

Little Danny

Senior Member

4,288 posts
Jul 15, 2010 3:43 PM
My wife's company has worked for two different companies that have been bought out. As someone else noted, you should always be looking. A buy out will mean changes and potential lay-offs. It could also mean new opportunities for you at your company.

Unless something really good comes along you might want to stick along for the ride. If you are let go as part of the merger they will usually compensate you pretty well (usually a couple weeks pay for every year you been there, benefits for a certain period of time, etc.).
Jul 15, 2010 3:43pm
justincredible's avatar

justincredible

Nick Mangold

32,056 posts
Jul 15, 2010 4:49 PM
I've never worked for a company that was bought out but I did work for a company that split into two. The offshoot company was better off financially and outsourced their IT to Accenture. I was offered a position at Accenture working on the IT for the offshoot. Due to the shakiness of the original company I thought it was a good idea. After 9 months of wanting to blow my brains out I found my current job and it is awesome.
Jul 15, 2010 4:49pm