Claim OwnershipThe Special Situations Report
Subscribed: 7Played: 43
Subscribe
© Inside Arbitrage
Description
A weekly roundup of the most significant event-driven and special situations news, with notable guests every month! Brought to you by your hosts Asif Suria and Tamanna Suria, The Special Situations Report is a podcast powered by Inside Arbitrage.
56 Episodes
Reverse
We’re proud to release this week’s special episode, an interview with our wonderful guest, Ehsan Ehsani. Ehsan Ehsani is an executive director at Crescendo Partners, an adjunct assistant professor at Columbia Business School, and the author of “Finding Value in Numbers: The Essential Investing Toolkit to Win on Wall Street.”Our conversation with Ehsan centered around his recently released book, “Finding Value in Numbers,” and the various strategies, quantitative tools, and case studies discussed within. We spoke extensively about the art and science of investing, the importance of developing a framework for investing, the Kelly Criterion (especially in relation to portfolio sizing), the differences between first and second level thinking, and much more. We learned so much from this discussion, and we hope our listeners will too! Check out InsideArbitrage here: https://www.insidearbitrage.com/?s1=yt&c=pYou can find Ehsan, his book, and his daily newsletter at the following locations:LinkedIn: Ehsan EhsaniEhsan's Book: Finding Value in Numbers Value Hedgehog Newsletter on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7099112971280203776/
We’re proud to release this week’s special episode, an interview with our wonderful guest, Chris Waller. Chris is the Founder and Portfolio Manager of Plural Investing. Before founding Plural, Chris worked in London at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, working as a member of the investment team for the Global and International Small Cap equity funds. He has an MBA from the Value Investing program at Columbia Business School and completed his bachelor's degree at Oxford University.Our conversation with Chris centered around the case for GCI Liberty, beginning with the company’s complex origins as part of John Malone’s Liberty Media empire and as a spinoff from Liberty Broadband. We then dive into the company’s core business operations, offering broadband services in remote parts of Alaska. We also spend most of our discussion covering the M&A play that lies at the crux of this thesis, and how John Malone seems to want to execute acquisitions in a similar fashion to the way the original Liberty Media was built up. This was one of the most comprehensive deep dives into a single business we’ve ever done on this podcast, andwe hope our listeners enjoy this as much as we enjoyed recording it!Check out InsideArbitrage here: https://www.insidearbitrage.com/?s1=yt&c=pYou can find Chris at the following locations:Plural Investing: https://www.pluralinvesting.com/Hidden Gems Investing: https://substack.com/@hiddengemsinvestingX: https://x.com/HiddenGemsInvesLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wallerchris/
We’re proud to release this week’s special episode, an interview with our wonderful guest, Matt McClintock. Matt is an expert in the consumer and retail sectors across the Americas. He spent over 15 years in equity research across firms such as Lehman Brothers, Barclays, and Raymond James, covering over 80 different companies and categories, including Retail Hardlines and Apparel Wholesale. He now runs M Squared Capital, an independent research firm focused on both retail and consumer insights.Our conversation with Matt centered around the thesis for Under Armour and the special situations bonanza taking place at the business (insider purchases and C-Suite transitions) as it navigates difficult sales and a possible turnaround. We also discussed a number of other retail businesses, drawing comparisons between Lululemon, Nike, Deckers, VFC, and more, developing a full picture of the athletic brands space. This was by far the most comprehensive deep dive into an industry we’ve ever done on this podcast, and as such, we learned so much from this discussion. We hope our listeners enjoy this as much as we loved recording it! Please note that there were a few audio issues with the recording and hopefully they don't detract too much from the conversation.Check out InsideArbitrage here: https://www.insidearbitrage.com/?s1=yt&c=pYou can find Matt at the following locations:X: https://x.com/MattJMcClintockLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattjmcclintock/M Squared Capital: https://www.msquaredcapital.com/about
Summary:In this episode of the Special Situations Report, hosts Asif and Tamanna Suria discuss cover two key stories, such as a new deal for a boat manufacturer that the two compare and contrast with a potential deal for a boat retailer. Asif and Tamanna then cover the sudden departure of PayPal's CEO, Alex Chriss, and the quick appointment of his sucesssor, who comes over from HP.Check out InsideArbitrage here: https://www.insidearbitrage.com/?s1=yt&c=pCheck out The Special Situations Report here: https://www.thespecialsituationreport.com/Keywords:M&A, merger arbitrage, bidding wars, shareholder opposition, deals in the works, insider buying, insider sales, buybacks, C-suite transitions, spinoffs, activists, activist campaigns, failed mergers, management transitions, special situations, event-driven investing, markets, stocks
Summary:In this episode of the Special Situations Report, hosts Asif and Tamanna Suria discuss cover four key stories including a tender offer for the apparel retailer Land’s End, a deep dive into quantum computing in the context of IonQ acquiring SkyWater in a $1.8 billion deal, a massive buyback by the natural gas company CNX Resources, and an unusual insider purchase by the CEO of Abbott Laboratories while they are in the process of acquiring Exact Sciences. Check out InsideArbitrage here: https://www.insidearbitrage.com/?s1=yt&c=pCheck out The Special Situations Report here: https://www.thespecialsituationreport.com/Keywords:M&A, merger arbitrage, bidding wars, shareholder opposition, deals in the works, insider buying, insider sales, buybacks, C-suite transitions, spinoffs, activists, activist campaigns, failed mergers, management transitions, special situations, event-driven investing, markets, stocks
Summary:In this special episode of the Special Situations Report, hosts Asif and Tamanna Suria discuss two key stories, including the acquisition of Nathan’s Famous by Smithfield Foods and insider purchases by the CEO and a director of GameStop.Check out InsideArbitrage here: https://www.insidearbitrage.com/?s1=yt&c=pCheck out The Special Situations Report here: https://www.thespecialsituationreport.com/Keywords:M&A, merger arbitrage, bidding wars, shareholder opposition, deals in the works, insider buying, insider sales, buybacks, C-suite transitions, spinoffs, activists, activist campaigns, failed mergers, management transitions, special situations, event-driven investing, markets, stocks
Summary:In this special episode of the Special Situations Report, hosts Asif and Tamanna Suria discuss cover five key stories including a potential acquisition of oil and gas fracking company Coterra by Devon Energy, two back-to-back acquisitions by Eli Lilly, a $2 billion stock buyback announcement by SaaS company Veeva Systems, a fascinating insider purchase of Micron Technology by the former CEO of TSMC and management changes at Under Armour, which incidentally also saw insider buying by Prem Watsa. Check out InsideArbitrage here: https://www.insidearbitrage.com/?s1=yt&c=pCheck out The Special Situations Report here: https://www.thespecialsituationreport.com/Keywords:M&A, merger arbitrage, bidding wars, shareholder opposition, deals in the works, insider buying, insider sales, buybacks, C-suite transitions, spinoffs, activists, activist campaigns, failed mergers, management transitions, special situations, event-driven investing, markets, stocks
Welcome back to the new season of The Special Situations Report! We’re proud to release this week’s special episode, an interview with our wonderful guest, Gary Heffernan. Gary is an individual investor who has a background in investment banking, equity research, and more general finance applications. Gary has incredibly deep knowledge of both the special situations and value investing landscapes.Our conversation with Gary centered around the ever-developing Warner Bros. Discovery situation, beginning with a breakdown of the pre-deal environment and bidding war, and continuing with an in-depth examination of both competing bids once the official acquisition had been announced. We explore the considerations associated with the Discovery Global Networks spinoff as well as the key risks to this deal, including regulatory risks, leverage concerns, and opposition from key media players. This was easily one of the most comprehensive deep dives we’ve ever done on this podcast, and as such, we learned so much from this discussion. We hope our listeners enjoy this as much as we enjoyed recording it!A list of resources referenced during this podcast:Congressional Hearing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=1343&v=mY9fNZZLAuw&feature=youtu.bePentwater CEO Interview: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2026/01/07/halbowers-letter-to-wbd-netflix-merger-has-greater-regulatory-risk-than-paramount-merger.htmlCheck out InsideArbitrage here: https://www.insidearbitrage.com/Check out Gary Heffernan here: https://x.com/garyHeff
We’re proud to release this week’s special episode, an interview with our wonderful guest, Brett Gardner. Brett is a value investor and analyst at Discerene Group, and the author of the best-seller, Buffett's Early Investments. The book is incredibly insightful deep dive into Warren Buffet's earliest investment theses and original investment approach, with case studies featuring household names such as Disney and American Express, as well as some lesser-known businesses.Our conversation with Brett covered multiple fascinating topics – such as Buffett's key components for evaluating an arbitrage situation developed with the fight for British Columbia Power, the importance of a strong management team as tied to Marshall Wells, balancing the worries of key man risk and a complex corporate governance structure with a strong cash flow generating movie business as was the case with Disney, and so much more. We learned so much from this discussion, and we hope our listeners will too. Check out InsideArbitrage here: https://www.insidearbitrage.com/ Check out Brett Gardner here: https://x.com/brettgardner_10 and https://amzn.to/3TvSHSc
Summary:In this special episode of the Special Situations Report, hosts Asif and Tamanna Suria discuss two key stories, including an interesting insider purchase of DoorDash by Alfred Lin of Sequoia Capital and a breakdown of the various spinoffs at the industrial conglomerate Honeywell.Check out InsideArbitrage here: https://www.insidearbitrage.com/?s1=yt&c=pCheck out The Special Situations Report here: https://www.thespecialsituationreport.com/Keywords:M&A, merger arbitrage, bidding wars, shareholder opposition, deals in the works, insider buying, insider sales, buybacks, C-suite transitions, spinoffs, activists, activist campaigns, failed mergers, management transitions, special situations, event-driven investing, markets, stocks
Summary:In this episode of the Special Situations Report, hosts Asif and Tamanna Suria discuss the latest developments in the event-driven investing world, focusing on M&A activity, stock buybacks, insider trading, spinoffs, and significant management changes. The two continue with the new format by focusing on four key stories, including the massive $23 billion acquisition of Exact Sciences by Abbott Laboratories, the spinoff of Topgolf from Topgolf Callaway being converted into an asset sale to a PE firm, a buyback at a clinical-stage biotech that is pivoting to a royalty-based business model, and a large secondary offering and insider purchases at Biohaven. Check out InsideArbitrage here: https://www.insidearbitrage.com/?s1=yt&c=pCheck out The Special Situations Report here: https://www.thespecialsituationreport.com/Keywords:M&A, merger arbitrage, bidding wars, shareholder opposition, deals in the works, insider buying, insider sales, buybacks, C-suite transitions, spinoffs, activists, activist campaigns, failed mergers, management transitions, special situations, event-driven investing, markets, stocks
Summary:In this episode of the Special Situations Report, hosts Asif and Tamanna Suria discuss the latest developments in the event-driven investing world, focusing on M&A activity, stock buybacks, insider trading, spinoffs, and significant management changes. The two continue with the new format by focusing on four key stories, including a new higher bid for the narcolepsy focused drug company Avadel, a large $1.5 billion stock buyback announcement by grocery delivery company Instacart, several interesting insider purchases now that company executives are outside their earnings related quiet periods, and an activist who is trying to convince a pain management company Pacira BioSciences to put itself up for sale.Check out InsideArbitrage here: https://www.insidearbitrage.com/?s1=yt&c=pCheck out The Special Situations Report here: https://www.thespecialsituationreport.com/Keywords:M&A, merger arbitrage, bidding wars, shareholder opposition, deals in the works, insider buying, insider sales, buybacks, C-suite transitions, spinoffs, activists, activist campaigns, failed mergers, management transitions, special situations, event-driven investing, markets, stocks
Summary:In this episode of the Special Situations Report, hosts Asif and Tamanna Suria discuss the latest developments in the event-driven investing world, focusing on M&A activity, stock buybacks, insider trading, spinoffs, and significant management changes. The two continue with the new format by focusing on four key stories, including a potential take private of the real estate firm Kennedy-Wilson by its CEO and Fairfax Financial, a potential deal for the insurance and annuities provider company Brighthouse Financial coming to fruition, an insider purchase at the data center company Core Scientific, and a large $1 billion buyback at affordable luxury products company Capri representing 40% of its market cap at announcement.Keywords:M&A, merger arbitrage, bidding wars, shareholder opposition, deals in the works, insider buying, insider sales, buybacks, C-suite transitions, spinoffs, activists, activist campaigns, failed mergers, management transitions, special situations, event-driven investing, markets, stocksCheck out InsideArbitrage here and check out The Special Situations Report here.
Summary:In this episode of the Special Situations Report, hosts Asif and Tamanna Suria discuss the latest developments in the event-driven investing world, focusing on M&A activity, stock buybacks, insider trading, spinoffs, and significant management changes. The two continue with the new format by focusing on four key stories, including a potential deal for satellite connectivity company Globalstar, the battle between Pfizer and Novo Nordisk for the obesity drug company Metsera, an M&A deal with an embedded spinoff that reminds us a lot of Pfizer’s acquisition of Biohaven, and a large buyback at gas station operator Murphy USAKeywords:M&A, merger arbitrage, bidding wars, shareholder opposition, deals in the works, insider buying, insider sales, buybacks, C-suite transitions, spinoffs, activists, activist campaigns, failed mergers, management transitions, special situations, event-driven investing, markets, stocks
We’re proud to release this week’s special episode, an interview with our wonderful guest, Gautam Baid. Gautam is a CFA charterholder and the author of the international best-seller, The Joys of Compounding, a book that was shortlisted in the Berkshire Hathaway selection of 2025. Gautam is also the Managing Partner of Stellar Wealth Partners India Fund, a Delaware-based investment partnership which is available to accredited investors in the US.Our conversation with Gautam covered multiple fascinating topics – such as special situations like spinoffs in India, his journey that included applying for 1,300 jobs before finding a portfolio manager position at a multi-billion dollar firm and the numerous lessons he learned along the way. We learned so much from this discussion, and we hope our listeners will too. Check out InsideArbitrage here: https://www.insidearbitrage.com/ Check out Gautam Baid here: https://stellarwealthindia.com and https://a.co/d/2qPE68F
Summary:In this episode of the Special Situations Report, hosts Asif and Tamanna Suria discuss the latest developments in the event-driven investing world, focusing on M&A activity, stock buybacks, insider trading, spinoffs, and significant management changes. The two continue with the new format by focusing on four key stories, including multiple investors opposing the acquisition of STAAR Surgical by Alcon, the acquisition of Akero Therapeutics by Novo Nordisk in a $4.7 billion deal, an intriguing insider purchase at Scholar Rock Holdings, and the appointment of a new CFO at Pepsi following activist involvement by Elliott Management. Keywords:M&A, merger arbitrage, bidding wars, shareholder opposition, deals in the works, insider buying, insider sales, buybacks, C-suite transitions, spinoffs, activists, activist campaigns, failed mergers, management transitions, special situations, event-driven investing, markets, stocks
Summary:In this episode of the Special Situations Report, hosts Asif and Tamanna Suria discuss the latest developments in the event-driven investing world, focusing on M&A activity, stock buybacks, insider trading, spinoffs, and significant management changes. The two continue with the new format by focusing on five key stories, including the largest leveraged buyout when a consortium of investors decided to buy videogame publisher Electronic Arts, the spinoff of Alphabet’s lifesciences division, a large stock buyback announcement at rare diseases focused biotech Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, an intriguing insider purchase at Miami International Holdings and activist involvement in mental health company Acadia Healthcare.Keywords:M&A, merger arbitrage, bidding wars, shareholder opposition, deals in the works, insider buying, insider sales, buybacks, C-suite transitions, spinoffs, activists, activist campaigns, failed mergers, management transitions, special situations, event-driven investing, markets, stocks
Summary:We are continuing with our new format by focusing on four key stories, including a deal between the two largest real estate brokerage companies Anywhere Real Estate and Compass, a combination of stock buybacks and insider buying at the semiconductor company Marvell, the largest insider purchase ever and Elliott’s involvement with enterprise software company Workday. Because we interviewed Evan Tindell for our podcast last week, we also have several updates related to special situations that have occurred over the last two weeks.Keywords:M&A, merger arbitrage, bidding wars, shareholder opposition, deals in the works, insider buying, insider sales, buybacks, C-suite transitions, spinoffs, activists, activist campaigns, failed mergers, management transitions, special situations, event-driven investing, markets, stocks
We’re proud to release this week’s special episode, an interview with our wonderful guest, Evan Tindell. Evan is the Co-Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Bireme Capital, where he develops firm-wide investment strategy and performs both bottom-up research and portfolio management for the flagship Fundamental Value strategy. Evan was formerly a professional poker player, where his successes included a 10th-place finish at a European Poker Tour event. Our conversation with Evan covered multiple fascinating topics – ranging from investment background, idea generation, parallels between poker and investing, exploiting various investor biases, and so much more. We dived deep into specific companies such as Lyft, with a specific focus on the competitive landscape with the rise of robotaxis like Waymo and the partnership with Baidu. We also discussed the differences between investing in international markets as opposed to the U.S., noting that access to information has improved greatly with the help of AI. We learned so much from this discussion, and we hope our listeners will too. Check out InsideArbitrage here: https://www.insidearbitrage.com/ Check out Evan Tindell here: https://www.biremecapital.com/ and https://x.com/evantindell
Summary:In this episode of the Special Situations Report, hosts Asif and Tamanna Suria discuss the latest developments in the event-driven investing world, focusing on M&A activity, stock buybacks, insider trading, spinoffs, and significant management changes. The two continue with the new style for today’s podcast – where they discuss four key stories, including a deal between the satellite company Echostar and SpaceX, shareholder opposition to Blackstone’s take-private of TaskUs, two different activists getting involved with the accounting and payments software company Bill.com, and the largest corporate pay package in history. Before we begin, we want to state that nothing on this podcast is meant as investment advice. Please refer to our disclaimer at the end for more details.Keywords:M&A, merger arbitrage, bidding wars, shareholder opposition, deals in the works, insider buying, insider sales, buybacks, C-suite transitions, spinoffs, activists, failed mergers, management transitions, special situations, event-driven investing, markets, stocks
Comments
Download from Google Play
Download from App Store
United States