Path's Biggest New Investor Is Shady and Despised
If you're wondering who the fuck would help give Dave Morin $25 more million to continue Path's jaunt toward nonexistence, here's your illuminating answer: Indonesia's Bakrie Global Group, a company notorious for its disasters. This app is just the latest.
In some case, very real disasters, as Indonesia's Daily Social points out: a Bakrie-owned company is responsible for a horrific mudslide that's plagued the country for years.
From the Sydney Morning Herald:
It's been almost six years since drilling for gas by a company owned by one of Indonesia's most powerful men, Aburizal Bakrie, unleashed the torrent of mud that consumed thousands of homes, as well as scores of factories, rice fields, schools and mosques.
About 14,000 people lost their homes and livelihoods and, just as the muck keeps coming, so does the agony for many of those dispossessed by the disaster.
As of May, many families are still waiting for promised reparation payments. That alone was enough to make Bakrie a bad word in Jakarta's executive suites, and a villain figure across Indonesia: Daily Social says "The investment news from Bakrie sent a shock across Indonesia...many have decided to remove Path from their devices." But it goes on! The Jakarta Post reports a subsidiary, Bakrie Telecom, is riddled with debt, while the Jakarta Globe says a development subsidiary is under governmental investigation for failing to pay debts. The politically entrenched group has also been slapped on the wrist for failing to disclose financial documents:
The Bakries have been linked to several problems in the capital market. In 2010, three companies under the conglomeration, namely PT Bakrie and Brothers (BNBR), PT Bakrie Sumatra Plantations (UNSP) and PT Energi Mega Persada (ENRG), were each fined Rp 500 million (US$51,500) by the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) for a failure to properly explain discrepancies in the amount of money placed as deposits at PT Bank Capital.
And now, Path—which makes total sense, really. Morin is trying to gracefully land a tumble into irrelevance. If Path only matters somewhat in Indonesia, like an infinitely lamer Orkut, then by God, Dave Morin will take the money from Indonesia—even if staying afloat means partnering with crooks. And when your reputation can't get any lower, really, why not?
Ironic top image via BakrieGlobal.com
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