Asset stripping involves selling the assets of a business individually at a profit. The term is generally used in a pejorative sense as such activity is not considered productive to the economy. Asset stripping is considered to be a problem in economies such as Russia or China that are making a transition to the market. In these situations, managers of a state-owned company have been known to sell the assets which they control, leaving behind nothing but debts to the state.
A fictional example of asset stripping can be found in the 1987 film Wall Street. In this film, the ruthless investor Gordon Gekko, played by Michael Douglas, purchases the failing airline Blue Star, under the pretense that he will restructure the company and return it to profitability. However, we later learn that he intends to liquidate all of the company's assets.
Famous quotes containing the word asset:
“Imagination is a valuable asset in business and she has a sister, Understanding, who also serves. Together they make a splendid team and business problems dissolve and the impossible is accomplished by their ministrations.... Imagination concerning the world’s wants and the individual’s needs should be the Alpha and Omega of self-education.”
—Alice Foote MacDougall (1867–1945)