Gutfreund was skeptical, attributing their passion to “deal heat,” the state that occurs when an investment banker finds the takeover of a lifetime. In most “deal guys,” Gutfreund had observed, the symptoms cropped up every month or two. The bankers, Gutfreund recognized, believed they had stumbled on their Holy Grail: the deal that could Bring Us Back. RJR Nabisco was to be Salomon’s salvation, the deal that would, in one fell swoop, rewrite history, wipe out their past embarrassments, and instantly establish Salomon as a major force in the LBO field. An admirable goal, Gutfreund thought, but
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