All Options mistaken for a white knight (DSB)
For the second time in a week I mistook very serious news for a joke. It started with a fresh president receiving the Nobel peace price. Five days later the local market maker All Options announced interest to buy the remains of DSB Bank.
The big chief of All Options, Allard Jakobs, is notorious for his megalomania. Nice to have oversized ambitions, but it would make sense to stay in touch with the real world. Buying a troubled rival market maker isn’t comparable to taking over a collapsing bank. A consortium of five major banks didn’t want to bear the risks earlier on. But Jakobs smelled an opportunity.
Anyway, the administrators of the failed bank DSB and the Dutch national bank must have thought the same thing. A relatively small market maker in options isn’t the most likely buyer of a bank. Putting up 5 billion euro guarantee is something different than financing a few million of Van der Moolen spin off Alphabay. Oh, and please – put up the money in a few hours and stop wasting our time, must have been the additional message.
Labour unions dream of the white knight
The labour unions cried foul. Let’s give the very “serious” and European institution a little bit more time to take a crash course in “banking for beginners”. The administrators of DSB bank wasted an opportunity to save 2000 jobs.. Could anyone call the labour unions that most of the derivative trading houses had a good laugh reading the story of All Options (or All Capital) buying a serious bank?
One may wonder what mister Jakobs was thinking when Lehman Brothers went down one year ago. He must have been waiting endlessly for an invitation by the New York Fed to save the bank.
Update 1:
Spokesman of All Options (“All Capital”) denies involvement in the Dutch newspaper de Telegraaf. Sure.
Update 2:
According to administrators of the DSB Bank, they turned down All Options (“All Capital”) as a potential buyer. Spokesman Martin Strijk from All Options claims they never wanted the DSB Bank anyway. But nobody believes him.
Update 3:
De Dutch magazine Quote shed some extra light on the matter.
Unbelievable. What are they thinking, buying a big bank ? They look like fouls, All Options. Glad they haven't been taken seriously
Allard zat vooral te azen op AZ. In gedachten heette het al AJ. En zelfs AJ'69.
Yet I very seriously doubt your very serious news…
It wouldn't have been AJ'69. But "Allard Jakobstreek '69"..
Telegraaf meldt ontkenning:
http://www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/5070695/__All_Capital_ontkent__.html?p=1,1
it's AZ… no AZ'67 anaymore
All Options arent making any money and are looking at ways of growing and competing with IMC and Optiver, just because they are cash rich as a result of the Altana trade. The bottom line is that the business is run by fools – Allard Jakobs and Ralph Van Put. Lets be serious – nobody can take them seriously!! What a waste of time. They didnt make big returns last year, and have not made money this year.
AJ liked the magic realism museum from Dirk, because he believes in fairy tales.
Lehman did not have this, so that's why DSB is a far superior candidate.
The only way that All Options made money in the past is through huge speculations. You cannot accuse Jacobs of NOT putting his balls on the block time after time. Who else would risk bankrupty within a year after cashing 220M (Altana) in one day and do the same the year after. Seems like the perfect strategy for a bank. The name should be changed to All-ard options s this is a one man show with a sidekick in the form of the most incompetent and unknowligsable board in the bussiness.
saghj ashaj ssga asag aahhs jsia? O sa!
unknowligsable? Other than that a very useful addition to the previous post.
Wow – you guys really don't like entrepreneurial spirit do you? One long line of vitriolic comments, do you guys have trouble wiping the spittle off your face in the morning?
You guys are sitting at your desks moaning and whinging because someone else is willing to try new things? Push the boundaries? Be creative? Take some risks. That's why All Options got the Altana (and the many others) wins – because they have a spirit of adventure. And retain it.
You guys should apply for jobs in investment banks… you sound like the types.
Are All Options really not making any money? I thought they are a more serious player than IMC now.
They're not as big as IMC – but getting bigger, that's why they're getting so many hits from people on this blog!
'spirit of adventure' has nothing to do with marketmaking!
@nov 2 4:33:
Unless you're an algorithm, spirit of adventure has everything to do with MM!
What, you not human? Like a nice easy job? No stress, take no risk, never win? Give me some challenges – keeps life fun.
o'rly?
All Options is going down – watch this space….
I will(!)