[j1vms]

> > To this day, industry insiders still joke, “McDonnell Douglas bought Boeing with Boeing’s money.”

> That's commonly said about the Apple-NeXT acquisition too — NeXT paid a negative $429 million to take over Apple. (...)

I guess that is why it is considered a joke. It sounds like the management teams of NeXT / McDonnell Douglas benefited much more (in the long term) than the investors of their defunct, purchased companies. Benefiting through greater compensation and clout without really taking over (i.e. owning) the purchasor's company.