Managerial Economics & Business Strategy 8th Edition by Michael Baye,Jeff Prince

Exercise 17

Since the late 1990s, more than 25 domestic steel companies have filed for bankruptcy. A combination of low prices with strong competition by foreign competitors and so-called "legacy costs" of unions are cited as the primary reasons why so many steel companies are filing for bankruptcy. In 2002, as Brownstown Steel Corp. was in the process of restructuring its loans to avoid bankruptcy, its lenders requested that the firm disclose full information about its revenues and costs. Explain why Brownstown's management was reluctant to release this information to its lenders.