DICE 2008: Assholes and Non-Assholes, the Story of Massive Black

According to Manley, 80 percent of the companies seeking to "acquire" start-ups fall into the first of what he calls the four categories of such suitors, those who aim to "look up your skirt, learn as much as they can about what you do, and then go and try to do as much as they can without you."

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"Manley's most terrifying horror story of start-up creative work involved the third category of acquisition, a deal he almost entered into that not only went sour, but gutted his company in the process. He says friends and colleagues warned him about negotiating with the potential suitor, telling him he was an artist, not a businessman, and the people he was dealing with were jackals. But he didn't listen until he was sent portions of an email discussing the deal - an email he wasn't supposed to see - characterizing the management of Massive Black as "the head" and saying if they cut that off, the body would follow. But it was too late. He says they ultimately poached his key management."

So what happened exactly? The suitor tried his best to create a relational rift between Manley and his staff?
S'ry, I don't really get why the society went down.