Mannerisms

Like a butterfly wing beating in Shanghai causing a tornado in Texas, mistakes by bean-counters in Manhattan may deprive 750 Scots of their livelihoods.

"I'm astounded at the assumptions made by the financial institutions buying Freescale", says Ray Bingham, former CEO of Cadence Design Systems, now managing partner at financial advisers Atlantic Capital, "great mistakes were made in under-estimating the vulnerability of Freescale to the performance of one large customer, the industry upturn was quite long in the tooth by the time the deal was done, and there was way too much leverage. It was not anybody's finest hour how that transaction was made."

The 2006 decision to buy Freescale for an over-priced $17.6 billion at, or near, the top of the silicon cycle, then loading it up with $9.6 billion of debt, is now reaping a harvest of fear and uncertainty among the Scots.

When Freescale was bought, the then CEO of Xilinx said the sale would look 'very foolish' if the industry turned down, as it did, while most of the semiconductor industry thought the deal was overpriced and ill-advised.

Are the perpetrators of this action, the private equity companies Blackstone, Texas Pacific, Carlyle and Permira, showing any remorse?

Beyond regretting the marking down of the value of their shareholdings in Freescale, it would appear not.

These are guys who spend millions on partying. Blackstone's boss Steve Schwarzman spent $3 million on his birthday party last year.

How much will Schwarzman, and the others responsible for the East Kilbride debacle, spend to help those whose futures are now under a shadow?

I think I know; but I hope I'm wrong