Bull. Business get sold, auctioned, their property, rights, brands, interest get sized and take all the time for losses.
Costs are not ‘always’ passed on. Have you been hit up by the Studebaker Company lately? Still working those South Sea Company debts off?
Don’t forget and/or. A company can do both: take and sell assets/jack up prices to help them recover costs, all the while reducing dividends.