Rangeley Capital Podcast

Chris and Andrew discuss ongoing M&A in the super luxury space, with LVMH proposing to TIF and Sotheby's (BID) getting bought out for a mammoth 61% premium. Later, they discuss the NCAA's new proposal to allow student athletes to profit off their image.

The Rangeley Team discusses WeWork's failed IPO, September's growth to value shift, and the current chill in corporate M&A.

The Rangeley Team discusses a seeming paradox: the financial press, stock market, and (inverted) yield curve all seem to be signalling imminent recession, but all of the large retailers are reporting strong earnings (lead by Target, with their stock up ~25% this month) and continued consumer strength. Why the divergence?Then, continuing on the retail theme, the team discusses the ongoing craziness at Overstock and Tesla. 

The Rangeley Team discusses Greenlight's Q2'19 letter and its comparison of Chewy to Pets.com. Then, they turn to a discussion of Beyond Meats (BYND) unique secondary offering and the strange story of a fire that took down a small town bank fraud (https://bit.ly/2SQW3yC).

Following a month of blockbuster M&A, the Rangeley team discusses how Abbvie's deal is giving their shareholders stress wrinkles. Then, they talk about the Sprint / T-Mobile deal as it (apparently) nears DOJ approval.

The Rangeley team discusses two deals where the buyer's shareholders are unhappy. First up is Centene's (CNC) offer for Wellcare (WCG), where Third Point would like Centene to do a market check before going through with the deal. Then the conversation turns to Occidental's (OXY) bid for Anadarko (APC), a deal Carl Icahn thinks is "hugely overpriced." Finally, the conversation turns briefly to Jeopardy!

The Rangeley Team discusses the things and ideas that intrigued them the most in April, including Anadarko's bidding war and Blackstone's decision to convert to a C-Corp. You can find all of the links and ideas discussed in more depth here:http://yetanothervalueblog.com/2019/04/some-things-and-ideas-april-2019.html

The Rangeley Team discusses the things and ideas that intrigued them the most in March. You can find all of the links and ideas discussed in more depth here:http://yetanothervalueblog.com/2019/03/some-things-and-ideas-march-2019.html ‎

Both Tesla's (TSLA) Elon Musk and Papa John's (PZZA) Papa are facing huge blow back from some shocking statements. Chris and Andrew discuss what's next for the two companies.

With the U.S. announcing $200B in tariffs, we appear headed for a trade war. The Rangeley Team discuss what's that means for markets and where we'll likely go from here. Later, they discuss the most recent changes for the Starwood credit card as Marriott looks to overhaul their loyalty program in the wake of their merger.

Dell is looking to go public by performing a reverse merger into their VMW tracking stock, DVMT. The headline of the offer says it's worth $109/DVMT share, but is that really the fair value of what Dell's offering? Is there a chance for minority shareholders to get a better deal?

With Disney (DIS) receiving DOJ approval for their Fox (FOX) deal while Comcast (CMCSA) mulls coming back with a higher offer, one of the largest media deals and bidding wars in history is heating up. Chris and Andrew discuss why Comcast and Disney are so interested in Fox, what's likely to happen next, and who will ultimately catch the Fox.

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK) named Greg Abel and Ajit Jain as Vice-Chairmen today, setting them as the front runners to succeed Warren Buffett as CEO. Who's the favorite and what's it mean for investors?  After, Chris and Andrew peer into their crystal balls and try to guess some of the themes that will drive markets in 2018.

After a relatively quiet 2017, Berkshire's elephant gun is fully loaded. Andrew and Chris discuss the most likely deals he'll be pursuing in 2018. And after two big deals in the food space, they discuss what's driving consolidation and who the most likely targets going forward are.

Andrew and Chris talk about the rumored mega-merger between Disney (DIS) and Fox (FOX). Why is Fox, a traditional media empire builder, looking to sell? Why is Disney looking to buy? Later, they talk about some unintended (and intended) consequences of the Republican tax plan.

The Department of Justice is trying to block the AT&T (T) acquisition of Time Warner (TWX) in a move that's shocked the business world. Why is the DoJ suing? Who has the stronger hand, AT&T or the DoJ? And what role is politics / Donald Trump's feud with CNN playing in the suit?

Amazon buys the rights to the Lord of the Rings prequel show for a whopping $250m, a deal one industry observer called "insane." And the SEC comes out with a "forceful" statement saying celebrities who endorse stock sales and coin offerings without disclosing pay may be breaking the law.

The WSJ's "Morningstar mirage" article is sending shockwaves through the mutual fund industry and Morningstar's (MORN) stock, but does it tell the whole story? A new CEO is in charge at GE (GE), and after reporting awful Q3 earnings he is cutting corporate jets and taking names. Will it have an impact or is it too little too late to boost the struggling conglomerate?

Procter & Gamble (PG) beats Nelson Peltz in the most costly proxy battle of all time. Netflix (NFLX) is planning on spending a mind-boggling $8B on original content next year.

With competition looming from Amazon's (AMZN) Whole Foods purchase, Kroger (KR) is selling off their convenience stores and looking to cut costs to stay competitive. Will it be enough? And the WSJ notes that spinoffs have outperformed the market over the past few years; what's driving that out performance and will it continue going forward?