Steven Posner
Encyclopedia
Steven Neil Posner was an American corporate raid
er who worked together on a number of major hostile takeovers with his father, Victor Posner
, though the two would later have a falling out that resulted in a series of acrimonious lawsuits. A 1989 corporate takeover staged by the Posners led to fraud convictions for Ivan Boesky
and Michael Milken
levied by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission
for their role in improperly assisting the Posners in the attempted deal.
Posner was born on January 11, 1943, in Baltimore
and joined his father's business acquiring and managing corporations. In 1988, the SEC charged that the Posners had colluded with Ivan Boesky and Michael Milken to conceal their stock purchases during the 1984 Posner-led takeover of the Fischbach Corporation. While Boesky and Milken agreed to plead guilty to felony counts in relation to their activities in the Fischbach case, the Posners were required to relinquish the financial gains they had made in the deal and to relinquish ownership stakes they held in other companies.
Posner sued his father in 1995, claiming that the senior Posner had overpaid himself while operating a firm in which his son had an ownership stake. The settlement amount was determined based on the result of a gold coin flipped in front of the judge. After his father's death in 2002, Steven took over the real estate investments that his father had controlled.
A resident of Miami, Posner died at the age of 67 on November 29, 2010, as a result of an accident in which his boat collided with another boat, killing him and another passenger and leaving a passenger of the other boat severely injured. The crash was described as the result of a mechanical failure in one of the boats as they were traveling next to each other in Biscayne Bay
. He was survived by his wife, as well as by a daughter, two sons and five grandchildren.
Corporate raid
A corporate raid is an American English business term for buying a large interest in a corporation and then using voting rights to enact measures directed at increasing the share value...
er who worked together on a number of major hostile takeovers with his father, Victor Posner
Victor Posner
Victor Posner was an American businessman. He was known as one of the highest paid business executives of his generation. He was a pioneer of the leveraged buyout.-Career:...
, though the two would later have a falling out that resulted in a series of acrimonious lawsuits. A 1989 corporate takeover staged by the Posners led to fraud convictions for Ivan Boesky
Ivan Boesky
Ivan Frederick Boesky is an American stock trader who is notable for his prominent role in a Wall Street insider trading scandal that occurred in the United States in the mid-1980s.-Life and career:...
and Michael Milken
Michael Milken
Michael Robert Milken is an American business magnate, financier, and philanthropist noted for his role in the development of the market for high-yield bonds during the 1970s and 1980s, for his 1990 guilty plea to felony charges for violating US securities laws, and for his funding of medical...
levied by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission
United States Securities and Exchange Commission
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is a federal agency which holds primary responsibility for enforcing the federal securities laws and regulating the securities industry, the nation's stock and options exchanges, and other electronic securities markets in the United States...
for their role in improperly assisting the Posners in the attempted deal.
Posner was born on January 11, 1943, in Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
and joined his father's business acquiring and managing corporations. In 1988, the SEC charged that the Posners had colluded with Ivan Boesky and Michael Milken to conceal their stock purchases during the 1984 Posner-led takeover of the Fischbach Corporation. While Boesky and Milken agreed to plead guilty to felony counts in relation to their activities in the Fischbach case, the Posners were required to relinquish the financial gains they had made in the deal and to relinquish ownership stakes they held in other companies.
Posner sued his father in 1995, claiming that the senior Posner had overpaid himself while operating a firm in which his son had an ownership stake. The settlement amount was determined based on the result of a gold coin flipped in front of the judge. After his father's death in 2002, Steven took over the real estate investments that his father had controlled.
A resident of Miami, Posner died at the age of 67 on November 29, 2010, as a result of an accident in which his boat collided with another boat, killing him and another passenger and leaving a passenger of the other boat severely injured. The crash was described as the result of a mechanical failure in one of the boats as they were traveling next to each other in Biscayne Bay
Biscayne Bay
Biscayne Bay is a lagoon that is approximately 35 miles long and up to 8 miles wide located on the Atlantic coast of South Florida, United States. It is usually divided for purposes of discussion and analysis into three parts: North Bay, Central Bay, and South Bay. Its area is...
. He was survived by his wife, as well as by a daughter, two sons and five grandchildren.