Metallgesellschaft Case
Chapter from the book:
Bağcı,
H.
(ed.)
2024.
Financial Manipulations with Case Studies.
Synopsis
The deepening and globalization experienced in financial markets have enabled the volume of financial markets to grow and financial products to integrate rapidly. This situation has caused speculation and manipulation in the real economy to gain a much more severe and obvious meaning. Price movements in the markets, supply-demand balances, and various risk factors reveal speculative and manipulative cases on companies. For this reason, revealing the factors behind financial manipulation cases is essential for the validity of an efficient market. In this context, the study's primary purpose is to examine the Metallgesellschaft case in detail within the scope of financial manipulation and to reveal the factors that caused the manipulation within the scope of the case. Metallgesellschaft Refining and Marketing (MGRM) company was founded by American entrepreneur Wilhelm Merton in 1881, and this company merged with Metallurgische Gesellschaft in 1928. As a result of the company's financial case analysis, it is evident that the German Metallgesellschatf company was dragged into a severe liquidity crisis in 1993. Both the neglect of interest rates by the company and the flaws in the hedging strategy made it necessary to implement the protection program. However, the incorrect maintenance of the financial protection program is the main reason why the company entered the crisis and the speculation in the market. In this process, a consortium of some banks came together to save the company. It provided a significant level of liquidity to the company, thus ensuring the continuation of its activities.