I don't have a lot of them, but here is my favorite Michael Price story. Summer of 2003 I'm an intern at MFP. I've been there maybe a month and Michael asks me to go to an IPO lunch for him
He calls me into his office and says "Mike, I want you to go to this IPO lunch at the 21 club. It's an IPO of this new REIT that's going to own commercial office space leased to banks"
"When you get to that lunch I want you to ask the CEO why he thinks its OK to that he's creating a public company by buying Chase bank locations, using Chase as a lender, and taking the company public using Chase as his investment bank"
I'm 23 years old. My suit is terrible. I look like an idiot (still do fwiw) I eat my chicken breast lunch and listen to the CEO present the case for his company When it's over I raise my hand - he calls on me - and I immediately launch into it
My name is Mike Mitchell. I work for Michael Price. I want to know why it's not a conflict of interest that you're taking a company public who is buying Chase locations using Chase's debt and doing the whole thing through Chase IB???
I was so red-faced/embarrassed after asking that question I honestly have no idea what his answer was. I literally got up immediately after his answer and ran out of the room. Got on the train and headed right back to New Jersey (Michaels's office was in Short Hills)
When I got back Michael saw me through his office window and waved for me to come in I sat down right across from him. Silence. I said "well I did what you asked" He looked right at me and said "I know, the bankers called immediately after you left and asked who you were"
The immediate thought was oh shit, I royally fucked this up So I said "Michael I'm so sorry, didn't want to offend anyone I was just asking the questions you told me to" He looked me dead in the eye and said "You didn't need to use my name though they would've figured it out"
I sat there confused for maybe 30 seconds and asked "why did you want me to go to that lunch?" Classic Michael "Well, I invested pre-IPO and I figured this was going to be a hot deal so I was hoping that question would scare off investors and I could buy more on the open"
PS:
Michael Price, Who Saw Value in Companies’ Struggles, Dies at 70