Seriously — the firm is comprised of very, very smart guys who are more than capable of doing a deal.
So, why is the gubmint involved in this?
Probably because they don't see financial collapse and widespread deprivation as a solution to the problem.
The firm is comprised of guys who were told they are very, very smart and think that. They are incapable of doing a deal.
Fixed it for you’
No one, other than the U.S. Treasury, has the billions of "spare" dollars that it will take to grease the wheels for this deal. Just as JPMorgan got some $30 to $50 billion to close the deal with Bear Stearns, similarly it will take serious money to close this deal.
The banks and countries with the spare tens of billions sitting around who could handle a deal like this are way too risk adverse these days to consider such a deal, on any sort of terms that one could get without some Treasury money "facilitating" it.
Why was the gubmint involved with LTCM? How much did that one cost you?