So, we are going to sign on Saturday. But it’s business as usual. I don’t expect there to be any changes.’ 

I was being briefed by the CFO on the impending deal whereby the company was going to be bought by a US Private Equity firm. Of course, US Private Equity are known for taking over businesses and then making no changes whatsoever.

The deal had been progressing in the US, which on the positive side meant I had been spared some of the late nights that seem a macho inevitability in any deal. On the downside I had only had a hazy idea of what was going on and had been sent a random selection of information requests, all deal-breakingly urgent during the night.