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The Deal podcast network brings The Deal’s award winning coverage in M&A, activist investing, private equity and restructuring to your airwaves. With a suite of offerings, including Activist Investing Today (hosted by Senior Editor Ronald Orol), Drinks With The Deal (hosted by Senior Writer David Marcus), Behind The Buyouts (hosted by Senior Reporter Steve Gelsi) and Fresh Start (hosted by Senior Reporter Stephanie Gleason), The Deal’s podcast network is your go-to source for timely financial news and perspective.
Available episodes
Newest first
Oldest first
Sep 21, 2023
Drinks with The Deal: Doug Ellenoff Holds Court on SPACs
Doug Ellenoff, who heads up Ellenoff Grossman & Schole's SPAC practice talks about how SPAC's obituary was premature. Guest hosted by senior reporter Bill Meagher.
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Sep 19, 2023
Activist Investing Today: William Blair’s Bresani on Bad Deals, M&A Crumbs
Christina Bresani, the head of corporate advisory at investment bank William Blair, explains why sometimes advisers need to tell the emperor they don’t have any clothes, when it comes to dealmaking, and in other cases companies need to "drop the crumbs" before unveiling a large transactions.
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Sep 11, 2023
Talking M&A: The Evolving Crypto Market With Baker McKenzie and Coinbase
Baker McKenzie’s Lawrence Lee (Partner) and Coinbase’s Victoria Wong (Associate General Counsel, Corporate) talk with host Surani Fernando about M&A trends within the evolving cryptocurrency sector. They discuss how a volatile market and intensifying regulatory landscape are impacting the fast-growing sector. Both guests give their unique insights into how dealmakers and serial acquirers are navigating industry headwinds and regulatory uncertainties, while taking a pragmatic approach for the future. Sponsored.
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Sep 8, 2023
Activist Investing Today: Morrow’s Weinberg Tackles Retail Activism
Angry shareholders are running untraditional campaigns at companies with many retail investors, and corporate executives need to deal with it, Morrow Sodali’s Geoff Weinberg explains.
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Sep 7, 2023
Drinks With The Deal: Akin's Ramanathan on Move From Bain to Private Practice
Ranesh Ramanathan, co-head of private credit and special situations at Akin, discusses why he decided to return to a law firm after 14 years in-house at Citi and Bain and how he's thought about his career.
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Aug 24, 2023
Drinks With The Deal: Shearman’s Aryani on Getting Comfortable With Discomfort
In the latest Drinks With The Deal podcast, Shearman M&A partner Lara Aryani talks about how her practice has evolved and why it’s OK not to know what you want to do as a young associate.
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Aug 9, 2023
Drinks With The Deal: Sidley’s Fahrney on Laterals Hires, Regulatory Scrutiny
On the latest Drinks With The Deal podcast, Brian Fahrney, the co-head of M&A and PE at Sidley, discussed lateral hiring, mentoring and the enhanced regulatory scrutiny on deals.
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Aug 4, 2023
Activist Investing Today: Campaign’s Fein Talks Tenure, AI, McDonald’s
Michael Fein, who recently launched proxy solicitor Campaign Management, explains how activists screen for ‘weak link’ directors and whether ESG contests will follow Carl Icahn’s McDonald’s effort.
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Jul 27, 2023
Drinks With The Deal: Mayer Brown's Panama Discusses M&A, Career Management
Camila Panama, an M&A partner at Mayer Brown, discusses how she got hooked on M&A and how she's pursued that interest at different firms.
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Jul 20, 2023
Behind the Buyouts: Solomon's Mitchell on Staffing, Consulting M&A
Solomon Partners' managing director Connor Mitchell discusses private equity's growing interest in staffing and consulting, a temporary slowdown in the sector's M&A and reasons for optimism.
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Jul 12, 2023
Behind the Buyouts: Kline Hill's Yanez on Semis, Continuation Funds and Trophy Assets
Kline Hill's Managing Director Raudel Yanez discusses the firm's latest investment in the semiconductor supply chain and the rise of continuation funds.
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Jul 12, 2023
Drinks With The Deal: McKinsey's Gentin on Professional, Personal Fulfillment
Pierre Gentin, the chief legal officer at McKinsey, discussed his career path, his approach to building a legal department and incorporating his intellectual passions into his work.
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Jul 6, 2023
Drinks With The Deal: Nakazawa's Fuerth on High-End Wine, Sake
Dean Fuerth, the beverage director at the Nakazawa restaurants, discusses his approach to the guest experience and how he came to work in hospitality.
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Jun 28, 2023
Activist Investing Today: Feldman Talks ‘Vote No,’ Canada Rules, Starboard at Ritchie
Goodmans partner Jonathan Feldman explains why activists have advantages when targeting Canadian companies, and he offers views on Starboard’s unusual investment in a Canadian company.
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Jun 22, 2023
Drinks With The Deal: Bracewell's Austin Lee Talks Energy
Austin Lee, an energy M&A partner at Bracewell in Houston, discusses being a landman, the difference between working in-house and at a law firm, and energy transition.
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Jun 12, 2023
Behind the Buyouts: FTV's Bernstein on Fusion of Payments, Vertical Software
FTV Capital's Managing Partner Brad Bernstein talks about disintermediating traditional financial services, "value-add envy" and the firm's 25th anniversary.
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Jun 8, 2023
Drinks With The Deal: Wachtell's Ryan McLeod Discusses Delaware
Wachtell's Ryan McLeod talks about clerking for Bill Chandler, working as a litigator in Delaware and the most important corporate law issues facing the state's courts.
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Jun 2, 2023
Activist Investing Today: Davies’ Olasker on Ideological Lawyers, Women in Activism
Davies, Ward partner Patricia Olasker discussed why a bifurcated U.S. legal advice system may change, why so few women work on M&A and activism and how that may change.
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May 24, 2023
Activist Investing Today: EY’s Hunker Eyes 2023 Proxy Season
The shareholder activism defense leader at Ernst & Young explains why ESG proponents and second tier activists may be reticent to launch director contests, while brand name insurgents can ‘weather the storm.’
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May 18, 2023
Drinks With The Deal: Debevoise's Levitsky on Journey From Public Service to Private Practice
Jonathan Levitsky, an M&A and PE partner at Debevoise & Plimpton, discussed clerking on the Supreme Court, working on the Kosovo peace accords and transitioning to an M&A and PE practice.
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May 4, 2023
Drinks With The Deal: Hunton's Kennedy Talks Restrictive Covenants
In the most recent Drinks With The Deal, Jim Kennedy, an M&A partner at Hunton Andrews Kurth, discussed recent Delaware decisions on restrictive covenants.
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Apr 20, 2023
Drinks With The Deal: Eli Black and the Limits of ESG
Author Matt Garcia discusses his new biography of Eli Black, a midcentury CEO whose efforts at corporate social responsibility ended in tragedy.
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Apr 13, 2023
Activist Investing Today: T. Rowe’s Anderson Talks Insurgencies
Donna Anderson, chief of corporate governance for asset manager T. Rowe Price, explains why it will speak publicly about certain deals and why companies facing activists might want to think about visiting her before traveling to see a nearby proxy adviser.
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Apr 5, 2023
Drinks With The Deal: McDermott's McCann Talks Path to Finance Law
Stephanie McCann, a finance partner at McDermott Will & Emery, talks about her path into the practice and what she's seeing in the market now on this week's Drinks With The Deal podcast.
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Mar 30, 2023
Drinks With The Deal: Cleary's Chris Moore Discusses SVB, Tech PE, ChatGPT
On the most recent Drinks With The Deal podcast, Cleary Gottlieb's Chris Moore talks about the effect of SVB's demise on Silicon Valley, recent changes in how PE sponsors are funding deals and the possible effect of ChatGPT on legal practice.
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Mar 10, 2023
Drinks With The Deal: Freshfields' Jenny Hochenberg Discusses the Demands of the Job
Freshfields' Jenny Hochenberg discusses her unusual path to becoming an M&A lawyer, the challenges of being a young partner and managing the intensity of the job on the most recent Drinks With The Deal podcast.
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Mar 6, 2023
Fresh Start: CohnReznick's Sherman and The Deal's Meagher on distressed SPACs
On the latest episode of Fresh Start, CohnReznick LLP’s Taylor Sherman and The Deal’s own Bill Meagher discussed distress among companies that merged with SPACs.
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Mar 3, 2023
Activist Investing Today: Gojkovich Talks Universal Contests, Proxy Advisers, 'Activated' Managers
Lauren Gojkovich, who switched sides to advise activists at LDG Advisory, discusses prospects for 'activated' historically passive institutions and why the universal card in contests could reduce proxy adviser influence.
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Feb 23, 2023
Drinks With The Deal: Skadden's Nijjar Discusses Tech M&A Boom, Memories of Bear Stearns
On the most recent Drinks With The Deal, Skadden M&A partner Sonia Nijjar discussed her work on the sale of Bear Stearns, her transition to a tech M&A practice and advising Activision and Elon Musk last year.
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Feb 23, 2023
Activist Investing Today: ZMH's Hassan Talks Nominations, Masimo, Disney
ZMH Advisors' Waheed Hassan, who has advised on major proxy contests at Huntsman, U.S. Foods and LivePerson, discussed activist director recruitment, Masimo's now removed bylaws and Nelson Peltz vs. Disney.
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Feb 16, 2023
Drinks With The Deal: Nixon Peabody's O'Keefe on Advising Founders
Amy O'Keefe, an M&A and PE partner at Nixon Peabody in Boston, discussed the rewards and challenges of advising founders on the sales of their companies on this week's Drinks With The Deal podcast.
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Feb 3, 2023
Talking M&A: Trends in Healthtech and Biotech M&A
Baker McKenzie partner Aarthi Belani, AbbVie head of immunology business development and acquisitions Rachel Strick, Flare Capital Partners co-founder Michael Greeley and Patient Square Capital founding partner Neel Varshney share their insights on M&A trends in the healthech and biotech sectors for the third episode of the Talking M&A podcast.
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Feb 2, 2023
Drinks With The Deal: Wilson's Pavri on Dealmaking in Silicon Valley
Rezwan Pavri, a securities and M&A partner at Wilson Sonsini in Palo Alto, talks about balancing the two practices and the challenges his clients are facing in the most recent Drinks With The Deal podcast.
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Jan 25, 2023
Activist Investing Today: White & Case’s Matthews, Tolani on Insurgents, Deals
U.K. based attorneys Tom Matthews and Sonica Tolani of White & Case, who advise both activists and companies, explains why they are seeing a trend of insurgent managers partnering with PE to try to buy companies they previously targeted with agitation campaigns.
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Jan 19, 2023
Drinks With The Deal: Dechert's Macarchuk Talks Asset Management Convergence
Nicole Macarchuk's career as a PE lawyer in-house and at law firms has paralleled the evolution of the asset management industry as PE sponsors, hedge funds and credit funds have increasingly crossed into each other's markets.
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Jan 19, 2023
Fresh Start: Berkeley's Ayotte on Creditor-on-Creditor Violence
Berkeley Law professor Kenneth Ayotte discusses the way controversial out-of-court deals are influencing Chapter 11 transactions.
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Jan 5, 2023
Drinks With The Deal: Cynthia Cole Discusses In-House Practice, Evolution of Tech Transactions
Baker McKenzie IP and data privacy partner Cynthia Cole talks about her experiences as an in-house lawyer at tech companies and how the focus of her tech transactions practice has shifted to data.
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Dec 15, 2022
Behind the Buyouts: Thoma Bravo Returns to its Middle Market Roots
Partner Carl Press discusses the Thoma Bravo's Explore fund, its middle market playbook and the fund's symbiotic relationship with the Discover and Flagship funds.
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Dec 15, 2022
Drinks With The Deal: Hogan's Bonser on REITs, Nurturing Younger Lawyers
David Bonser, co-head of corporate and head of the REIT practice at Hogan Lovells, discusses the development of his practice and how he applies those lessons in managing younger lawyers.
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Dec 8, 2022
Activist Investing Today Podcast: Saur on Peltz, Disney, Icahn, M&A
Matt Saur, one of the founding partners of law firm Woolery, explains why Nelson Peltz faces an uphill battle at Disney, what it was like working with Carl Icahn on his Xerox campaign and why activists will continue to push for M&A.
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Dec 1, 2022
Drinks With The Deal: Davis Polk's David Hahn Talks Evolution of Financing
David Hahn, a finance partner at Davis Polk, discusses the current state of the finance markets and the evolution they've seen in recent years in this week's Drinks With The Deal podcast.
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Nov 17, 2022
Fresh Start: MACCO's Bonjour on Crypto Chapter 11s, Part Two
Pablo Bonjour, former financial adviser to Cred, returns with his thoughts on the Chapter 11 filing of FTX on the latest episode of Fresh Start.
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Nov 14, 2022
Fresh Start: Macco's Bonjour on Crypto Chapter 11 Cases
Pablo Bonjour, former financial adviser to Cred, discusses lessons learned from the case as well as the Voyager and Celsius bankruptcies on the latest episode of Fresh Start.
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Nov 9, 2022
Drinks With The Deal: Gibson's Muzumdar on Direct Lending, M&A in Tough Times
Saee Muzumdar, an M&A partner at Gibson Dunn in New York, discussed what she learned from beginning her career during the financial crisis of 2008 and how dealmakers are adjusting to challenging markets.
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Oct 27, 2022
Drinks With The Deal: Jeremy Greene Discusses the History of Telemedicine
Jeremy Greene, a doctor and a professor of history at Johns Hopkins, talks about his new book The Doctor Who Wasn’t There, on the use of communications technologies in American medicine.
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Oct 13, 2022
Drinks With The Deal: King & Spalding's Smith Takes Fast Food Lessons to Big Law
Cal Smith, co-head of M&A at King & Spalding, talked about the experience of watching his parents build a Burger King franchise and how it helped shape his approach to practicing law, in the latest episode of the podcast.
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Oct 5, 2022
Talking M&A: Cross-Border Dealmaking with Baker McKenzie
Baker McKenzie partner Airi Hammalov shared her insights on cross-border trends in M&A for the second episode of The Deal’s Talking M&A podcast.
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Sep 30, 2022
Activist Investing Today: Zaba Sees M&A Activism Amid Uncertainty
Derek Zaba, the co-chair of Sidley’s shareholder activism practice, explains why an insurgent investor might be more willing to push for M&A than seek out an operational thesis in today’s volatile markets.
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Sep 22, 2022
Drinks With The Deal: Jones Day's Levine Touts Value of Workplace Socialization
Andy Levine, the co-chair of private equity at Jones Day, discussed the value of attorneys working together in the office as well as the current state of M&A and PE in this week's Drinks With The Deal podcast.
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Sep 16, 2022
Activist Investing Today: Ides Capital's McKeever Talks Monro, Safety Insurance
Diane McKeever, the head of Ides Capital Management, discusses her latest campaigns and talks about collaborative efforts at Arcosa and Graphic Packaging.
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Sep 8, 2022
Drinks With The Deal: Holland & Knight's Grammig on Firm Growth, Threat of AI
Bob Grammig of Holland & Knight talks about the possible threat to law firms posed by artificial intelligence and the growth of his firm on the most recent Drinks With The Deal podcast.
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Sep 8, 2022
Activist Investing Today: Kimmeridge’s Viviano Talks ESG and Control Pay
Mark Viviano, the lead portfolio manager of the oil and gas-focused Kimmeridge’s public investment team, discusses ESG, his company’s latest activist investment*s* and why change-of-control payments should include stock in combined companies.
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Aug 17, 2022
Drinks With The Deal: Arlene Arin Hahn Discusses Tech Transactions, D&I
Arlene Arin Hahn, who heads the tech transactions group at White & Case, discusses her practice and her personal reasons for being so passionate about diversity and inclusion during the latest Drinks With The Deal podcast.
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Aug 4, 2022
Drinks With The Deal: Cooley's Ian Nussbaum Talks Case Law and Clerking for Strine
Ian Nussbaum, an M&A partner at Cooley, discusses how he approaches reading case law and what he learns from it during the latest Drinks With The Deal podcast.
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Jul 29, 2022
Activist Investing Today: Jefferies' Young Reviews ISS, M&A
Chris Young, the global head of contested situations at Jefferies, discusses his view of the 'duopoly proxy advisory services' on contested M&A and director contests.
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Jul 21, 2022
Drinks With The Deal: Cravath's Teti on Spinoffs, Tax Appeal
Len Teti, a tax partner at Cravath, discusses his work on spinoffs and how young tax lawyers should think about building their careers during the latest Drinks With The Deal podcast.
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Jul 20, 2022
Fresh Start: Professor David Skeel Talks Bankruptcy Backlash
The University of Pennsylvania professor David Skeel discusses the recent backlash against the bankruptcy system — including against judge shopping, the Texas Two-Step and third-party releases — and what can be done.
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Jul 20, 2022
Activist Investing Today: V&E’s Elbaum on M&A, Kohl's, Twitter
Lawrence Elbaum, the co-head of the shareholder activism practice at Vinson & Elkins, explains why activists will be back at Kohl’s next year, his expectations for Musk vs. Twitter and his case for SPACtivism.
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Jul 5, 2022
Talking M&A: Baker McKenzie on Carve-outs
Baker McKenzie partners Steven Canner and Darcy Down sit down to discuss the complexities of carve-out transactions, why more companies are considering them and how to make sure they are executed smoothly. Sponsored.
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Jun 30, 2022
Drinks With The Deal: Simpson's Patrick Ryan Talks PE Financing
On the latest podcast, Patrick Ryan, the global head of finance and credit at Simpson Thacher, discusses the evolution of the lending markets over the course of his career and the rise of direct lending.
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Jun 23, 2022
Activist Investing Today: Goodwin’s Sean Donahue on Universal Proxy Cards and More
Goodwin's Sean Donahue, a top corporate adviser on activism and an ex-SEC regulator, explains why proxy contest rule changes and a market 'dislocation' could create a 'perfect storm.'
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Jun 16, 2022
Drinks With The Deal: Steve Camahort Discusses Tech PE, Twitter, Bay Area Legal Market
On this week's Drinks With The Deal podcast, Steve Camahort, the chair of global M&A at Paul Hastings, discusses Elon Musk's bid for Twitter as well as the evolution of tech PE and the Bay Area legal market.
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Jun 15, 2022
Fresh Start: Professor Adam Levitin
Professor Adam Levitin of Georgetown University on the latest Fresh Start podcast discussed what could happen to investors in cryptocurrency if a crypto exchange were to file for bankruptcy.
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Jun 15, 2022
Behind the Buyouts: How Court Square Befriends Founders
Court Square managing partner Jeff Vogel discusses the firm's approach to investing with founders, the spin out from Citi and changes in the tech market.
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Jun 2, 2022
Drinks With The Deal: Rick Rule and Dan Howley
Rule Garza Howley’s Rick Rule and Dan Howley discuss why now is the right time for their antitrust boutique in Washington on the latest episode of Drinks With The Deal. Guest hosted by The Deal's Washington D.C. Senior Editor David Hatch.
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May 23, 2022
Activist Investing Today: Barclays’ Kerstein Talks M&A, Entry Points
Daniel Kerstein, Barclays' global head of M&A, ESG and activist defense, insists that the deal market hasn’t yet slowed down, but if it does activists will find new entry points.
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May 18, 2022
Drinks With The Deal: Kramer Levin's Wechsler on Negotiation as Communication
Ernest Wechsler, head of the corporate group at Kramer Levin, discusses his approach to negotiation and the value of being collegial.
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May 17, 2022
Behind the Buyouts Podcast: THL's Carlisle on Middle Market Robotics, Tech
Thomas H. Lee managing director Jim Carlisle discusses the buyout shop's approach to investing in technologies such as automation, software and online marketplaces.
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May 12, 2022
Activist Investing Today: Alexander Talks Stakeholders and Twitter
The latest Activist Investing Today podcast interviewed Shareholder Commons’ Rick Alexander about why he thinks Twitter shareholders should demand that the social media giant set up an independent oversight trust as they evaluate Elon Musk's $44 billion acquisition. Alexander tells AIT he doesn't expect regulators or shareholders will stop the deal from happening, but he thinks investors shouldn't accept a traditional deal closing because of what he calls the implications of the transaction on "the public square."
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May 5, 2022
Drinks With The Deal: Fried Frank’s Jantzi and Schoenhard on Auto IP and More
Nicole Jantzi and Paul Schoenhard, IP partners at Fried Frank, discuss the increased importance of patents in the automotive sector as well as the companies' desire for a broad IP strategy in this week's podcast.
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Apr 21, 2022
Drinks With The Deal: Sullivan's Matt Goodman
Matt Goodman, an M&A partner at Sullivan & Cromwell, talks about the transition from associate to partner in this week's Drinks With The Deal podcast.
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Apr 8, 2022
Activist Investing Today: Schulte’s Klein Talks Musk, SEC, ESG
Ele Klein, the chief of Schulte's shareholder activism group, explains why he believes ‘there was clearly something wrong’ with Elon Musk’s initial disclosure of a big Twitter investment.
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Apr 7, 2022
Drinks With The Deal: Carolyn Vardi of Ropes & Gray
Carolyn Vardi, head of the PE industry practice group at Ropes & Gray, talks about the current state of PE and the challenges and opportunities of a more fluid market for legal talent.
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Mar 24, 2022
Drinks With The Deal: Fenwick's Ken Myers
Fenwick & West M&A partner Ken Myers talks about the influence his mentor Alexandra Korry had on him, the challenges of being in a two-lawyer couple and how he approaches legal technology.
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Mar 22, 2022
Behind The Buyouts: Monogram's Stein
Monogram Capital co-founder and partner Jared Stein talks about finding upstart consumer brands, the firm's investment criteria and cutting through the noise to find long-term trends.
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Mar 11, 2022
Activist Investing Today: Arkhouse’s Kahane Seeks Multiple Roads to Success
Gavriel Kahane, co-founder of the real estate-focused private equity firm Arkhouse Partners, talks about activism within a market that is experiencing 'rapacious private demand.'
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Mar 8, 2022
Drinks With The Deal: Author Carolyn Chen
UC Berkeley professor Carolyn Chen discusses her new book 'Work Pray Code: When Work Becomes Religion in Silicon Valley,' in which she argues that companies have replaced religious institutions as sources of meaning and identity for white-collar Americans.
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Feb 18, 2022
Activist Investing Today: Lazard’s Jim Rossman
Lazard’s Jim Rossman, a top corporate defender and banker, explains why a new disclosure rule is a 'big win' for companies while changes to proxy contest rules will open the floodgates to activists nominating director candidates.
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Feb 17, 2022
Drinks With The Deal: Kirkland's Eric Wedel
Kirkland debt finance partner Eric Wedel discusses the evolution of the practice and how the emergence of capital markets desks at PE sponsors have changed it in this week's podcast.
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Feb 11, 2022
Activist Investing Today: Katz Says 13D Change ‘Won’t Put Activists Out of Business'
Wachtell Lipton’s David Katz, a top corporate defender, explains why he is excited that the nation’s securities regulator just issued new tougher transparency rules for activists.
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Feb 3, 2022
Drinks With The Deal: Katten's Kimberly Smith
Kimberly Smith, head of Katten's corporate department, discusses the current state of middle-market dealmaking, her work with family offices and increased regulatory scrutiny of even smaller deals.
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Jan 20, 2022
Drinks With The Deal: Sidley's Justin Savage
Justin Savage, co-head of the environmental and automotive and mobility groups at Sidley Austin, discusses his unconventional path to law firm practice, what he learned at the DOJ and how he talks to boards and management teams about environmental issues.
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Jan 11, 2022
Behind the Buyouts: Blackstone's Chung and Morrell Talk Spanx
Ann Chung and Kelley Morrell, managing directors at Blackstone, take a deep dive into the firm's stake in the popular shapewear brand Spanx, the private equity giant's approach to investments and more.
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Jan 6, 2022
Drinks With The Deal: Covington's Catherine Dargan
Covington head of M&A and corporate Catherine Dargan discussed building her healthcare M&A practice, current issues in healthcare dealmaking and her approaches to diversity and inclusion and associate retention in this week's podcast.
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Dec 16, 2021
Drinks With The Deal: Eduardo Gallardo of Gibson Dunn
Eduardo Gallardo, co-chair of M&A and chair of the activist defense group at Gibson Dunn, discussed the universal proxy, the Williams case and more on this week's Drinks With The Deal podcast.
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Dec 15, 2021
Activist Investing Today: R5’s Mushkin on Dollar Tree, New Coke and Hain
Scott Mushkin, a consumer-focused researcher, discussed Mantle Ridge’s contest at Dollar Tree and compared the discount retailer’s new pricing strategy to Coca-Cola’s failed ‘New Coke’ endeavor.
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Dec 8, 2021
Drinks With The Deal: Gregory Varallo of Bernstein Litowitz
Greg Varallo, partner at Bernstein Litowitz in Wilmington, discussed the switch from representing companies to working with shareholders, Andy Bouchard's achievements as Chancellor, his love of hunting, poker and the American University of Rome and more in this week's episode of the podcast.
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Dec 2, 2021
Drinks With The Deal: Willkie's Tariq Mundiya
Tariq Mundiya, the head of litigation at Willkie Farr & Gallagher, discusses the Williams poison pill case from earlier this year as well as the CytoDyn decision and the evolution of Delaware's Caremark doctrine in this week's Drinks With The Deal podcast.
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Nov 18, 2021
Drinks With The Deal: Squire Patton Boggs' James Barresi
James 'Jim' Barresi, who heads the financial services practice at Squire Patton Boggs, explains how his time as an in-house lawyer at US Bancorp in the 1990s has shaped his approach to private practice and how he works with clients who are considering a deal.
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Nov 4, 2021
Drinks With The Deal: Spirits Experts David Wondrich and Noah Rothbaum
On the latest edition of Drinks With The Deal, David Wondrich and Noah Rothbaum discuss their work editing the new Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails, which considers at length the companies, entrepreneurs and trends that have driven the alcohol business.
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Oct 28, 2021
Drinks With The Deal: Edward Zimmerman of Lowenstein Sandler
Ed Zimmerman discusses building the tech group at Lowenstein Sandler and his commitment to social justice on the latest Drinks With The Deal podcast.
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Oct 25, 2021
Fresh Start: Professor Melissa Jacoby
Professor Melissa Jacoby of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill discusses the limits of bankruptcy in handling mass tort cases and the recent filings of Purdue Pharma LP and others on the latest episode of the Fresh Start podcast.
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Oct 13, 2021
Drinks With The Deal: Krishna Veeraraghavan of Paul Weiss
M&A lawyer Krishna Veeraraghavan talks about health care M&A and the risks of excessive antitrust regulation of combinations between biotech and pharma companies in the Drinks With The Deal podcast.
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Sep 30, 2021
Drinks With The Deal: Mintz's Matt Simpson
Matt Simpson of Mintz Levin discussed his transition from peace negotiator to M&A lawyer, why he enjoys the middle market, what he's learned from advising reps and warranties insurers and how he finds serenity on sailboats in the latest edition of Drinks With The Deal.
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Sep 29, 2021
Behind the Buyouts: EQT's Brown Pivots From Microsoft to EU Tech
EQT Growth head Marc Brown said EQT's desire as a firm to do well financially while promoting diversity and inclusion appealed to him as he looked to start a new phase of his career after 20 years working on M&A deals at Microsoft.
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Sep 20, 2021
Activist Investing Today: Moelis' Herrington Talks Proxy Votes, Boards After Exxon
Moelis' Duncan Herrington spoke with the Activist Investing Today podcast about proxy advisers and corporate director selection efforts following ESG activist Engine No. 1's big win at Exxon Mobil.
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Sep 16, 2021
Drinks With The Deal: NYU's Rob Jackson and Yale's John Morley
Rob Jackson, a former SEC commissioner and current NYU Law professor, and John Morley, a professor at Yale Law School, said SPACs should be treated more stringently by the SEC and discussed their current research projects during the latest Drinks With The Deal podcast.
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Sep 16, 2021
Fresh Start: Hilco's Ian Fredericks
*Hilco Global president Ian Fredericks discusses the business of liquidation and the outlook for retail on this week’s Fresh Start podcast.*
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Sep 2, 2021
Activist Investing Today: Diligent’s Stafford Talks Exxon, Diversity
Brian Stafford, CEO of the governance risk and compliance software provider Diligent Corp., explains why he thinks boards are reevaluating their membership in the wake of Engine No. 1’s surprising ESG victory at Exxon Mobil.
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Sep 1, 2021
Drinks With The Deal: Lande Spottswood of Vinson & Elkins
V&E's Lande Spottswood discussed the energy sector's recent evolution and the implications for both private equity and strategic buyers on the latest Drinks With The Deal podcast.
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Aug 19, 2021
Drinks With The Deal: Freshfields' Ethan Klingsberg
Ethan Klingsberg, head of U.S. corporate and M&A at Freshfields, discussed the pressures that increased antitrust scrutiny has put on dealmaking and how companies can respond during the latest Drinks With The Deal podcast.
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Aug 13, 2021
Behind the Buyouts: Lovell Minnick’s Pierson Charts Fintech's Rise
Lovell Minnick's Steve Pierson says smaller, more nimble financial tech companies have driven large financial institutions to hire, acquire or partner with them to boost growth and innovation in the latest episode of the Behind The Buyouts podcast.
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Aug 5, 2021
Drinks With The Deal: Cleary's Jim Langston
Cleary Gottlieb's Jim Langston discussed how companies are responding to more vigorous antitrust enforcement during the latest Drinks With The Deal podcast.
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Jul 27, 2021
Behind the Buyouts: Vista's Stewart on Navigating Frothy M&A Prices
Rene Stewart, Co-head of Vista Equity Partners’ Endeavor Fund, talks about how the fund finds high quality businesses, navigates frothy markets and helps scale businesses through operational support in the latest episode of the Behind The Buyouts podcast.
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Jul 22, 2021
Fresh Start: Professor Jared Ellias
On this week’s Fresh Start podcast, UC Hastings Law professor Jared Ellias discusses his new paper, which quantifies a trend gaining increasing attention, the increase in corporate directors with bankruptcy experience on the boards of companies entering Chapter 11.
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Jul 22, 2021
Drinks With The Deal: Alec Dawson of Morgan Lewis
M&A lawyer Alec Dawson, of Morgan Lewis, discusses the opportunities and challenges in the SPAC market and the difficulties of doing deals remotely on this week’s Drinks With The Deal podcast.
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Jul 14, 2021
Behind the Buyouts: Kilometre Music Sings PE's Praises For Music Royalties
Kilometre Music Group CEO Michael McCarty and Apex Fund Services' John Bohan say PE firms remain keen on acquiring music royalties, with an eye on subscription revenue from music streaming services in the latest episode of the Behind The Buyouts podcast.
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Jul 8, 2021
Drinks With The Deal: Historians Caley Horan and Dan Bouk
Caley Horan, a history professor at MIT, and Dan Bouk, who teaches at Colgate, discussed their work on the history of life insurance in the U.S. 20th century and its implications for today on the latest episode of the podcast.
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Jul 6, 2021
Activist Investing Today: BC's Fos Examines Record Date Asymmetries
Vyacheslav Fos, a professor in Boston College's finance department, discussed his new paper on shareholder record dates and findings that corporations can disclose such dates in ways that leave retail investors and some sophisticated shareholders in the dark.
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Jul 1, 2021
Drinks With The Deal: Author Jonathan Levy
Jonathan Levy, University of Chicago professor and author of the new book 'Ages of American Capitalism,' discussed the influence of the 2008 financial crisis on his work, the role of the factory in the American imagination, Herman Melville's insight into American economic life and his love for the city of Houston on this week's Drinks With The Deal podcast.
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Jun 30, 2021
Behind the Buyouts: Sun Capital's Leder Talks Post-Close Value Creation
Sun Capital co-founder and co-CEO Marc Leder said the firm focuses on opportunistic deals with companies facing challenges rather than pristine targets that need little operational input in the latest episode of the Behind The Buyouts podcast.
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Jun 16, 2021
Drinks With The Deal: Author Destin Jenkins
Destin Jenkins, a history professor at the University of Chicago, discussed his new book 'The Bonds of Inequality,' and how San Francisco's municipal bond market was used for more than four decades to advantage whites at the expense of blacks and the city’s Asian-American community.
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Jun 11, 2021
Activist Investing Today: Minow Contrasts Gordon Gekko, Engine No. 1
Nell Minow, vice chair of ValueEdge Advisors, a former activist investor and ex-president of Institutional Shareholder Services, explains why insurgent fund managers no longer must resemble the corporate raider-type character portrayed in 'Wall Street' when considering director contests.
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Jun 9, 2021
Behind the Buyouts: Main Street's Magdol Talks BDCs, Economic Cycles
David Magdol, president and chief investment officer at business development company Main Street Capital, talks about his view of the economy through the lens of 174 portfolio companies in the latest episode of the Behind The Buyouts podcast.
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Jun 3, 2021
Drinks With The Deal: O'Melveny's David Makarechian
David Makarechian, who heads the emerging technologies group and the northern California corporate department at O’Melveny & Myers, compares today's tech market with that of the late 1990s and discusses his work with Silicon Catalyst and his love of Singapore street food on this week's Drinks With The Deal podcast.
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May 26, 2021
Activist Investing Today: Rose on Robovoting, Proxy Fights
Paul Rose, associate dean for strategic initiatives at Ohio State University, talked about his new study on the relationship between big investors and proxy advisers as well as his view that the activist investment movement wouldn’t exist in its current form without the help of proxy advisers.
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May 26, 2021
Behind the Buyouts Podcast: TJ Maloney Gives Long View on PE
TJ Maloney, CEO of middle market PE shop Lincolnshire, tackles myth versus reality on private equity as job killers or creators in the latest episode of the Behind The Buyouts podcast.
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May 20, 2021
Drinks With The Deal: Skadden's Ann Beth Stebbins
Ann Beth Stebbins, partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, discusses her work with Gucci, Westfield and Apax; her thoughts about building and strengthening client relationships; and her deep ties to Georgetown on this week's Drinks With The Deal podcast.
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May 4, 2021
Behind the Buyouts Podcast: Song Serves Up Vestar’s Better-For-You Menu
Winston Song, the managing director and co-head of the consumer group at New York-based private equity firm Vestar Capital, talks about his role in the better-for-you foods business.
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Apr 29, 2021
Drinks With The Deal: Electricity Grid Expert Julie Cohn
Julie Cohn, author of a leading history of the electricity grid, discusses the February power outages in Texas as well as how the grid might change in this week's Drinks With The Deal.
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Apr 15, 2021
Drinks With The Deal: Mayer Brown's David Carpenter
David Carpenter, the co-head of Mayer Brown's New York corporate and securities practice, talks about his work for Nestle, his love of wine and his involvement with SommTV is the latest episode of the podcast.
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Apr 13, 2021
Activist Investing Today: Freed on Corporate Election Proposals and Risk
On the latest episode of the Activist Investing Today podcast, Bruce Freed, the co-founder and president of the Center for Political Accountability, discusses the growth in support for shareholder proposals urging corporations to disclose election-related spending – and he explains why companies that don’t disclose payments face political risk.
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Apr 8, 2021
Drinks With The Deal: Duane Morris's Anastasia Kaup
Duane Morris finance partner Anastasia Kaup talks about her practice, her work with the firm's diversity and inclusion committee, the importance of mentoring and her enjoyment of Krav Maga in this week's Drinks With The Deal podcast.
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Mar 31, 2021
Drinks With The Deal: Author Christopher Phillips
Christopher Phillips, a history professor at Carnegie Mellon, discusses his book Scouting and Scoring, on the long history of talent evaluation and data usage in major league baseball in this week's Drinks With The Deal podcast.
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Mar 31, 2021
Behind the Buyouts: Josh Fabian Wins Funding for Metafy and Eyes Challenge of Black Entrepreneurship
Josh Fabian, an African American entrepreneur and co-founder and CEO of Metafy Inc., says Covid fueled interest in his business that turns esports stars into coaches, while the Black Lives Matter movement stoked investor efforts to fund African American entrepreneurs in this week's Behind The Buyouts podcast episode.
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Mar 25, 2021
Drinks With The Deal: Authors of The Caesars Palace Coup
Max Frumes and Sujeet Indap, authors of a new book detailing the vicious, protracted Caesars restructuring, discuss the historic case in this week's Drinks With The Deal podcast.
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Mar 11, 2021
Drinks With The Deal: Jones Day's Vica Irani
The market in Europe has held up surprisingly well over the last year, Vica Irani, head of EMEA M&A at Jones Day, said on the latest episode of the Drinks With The Deal podcast.
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Mar 4, 2021
Activist Investing Today: Ancora’s Chadwick on Kohls, Forward Air
Ancora’s James Chadwick, head of alternative investments, discussed why retailers should consider sale-lease backs and how ex-CFOs and founders can help drive an activist campaign, on the latest episode of the Activist Investing Today podcast.
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Mar 4, 2021
Women In Dealmaking with Germaine Gurr and Peter Wexler
White & Case M&A partner Germain Gurr and Peter Wexler, of long-time client Schneider Electric, sit down with The Deal to talk dealmaking, her life-long pursuit of improved opportunities for women and Latin Americans in law, and more. Sponsored.
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Mar 4, 2021
Drinks With The Deal Podcast: Gunderson's John Olson
John Olson, partner at San Francisco-based Gunderson Dettmer, discussed the appeal of SPACs for technology companies and the continued prominence of Silicon Valley as a tech center in this week's Drinks With The Deal podcast.
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Mar 3, 2021
Behind the Buyouts: 3i Goes the Distance For Proprietary M&A Deals
In the latest episode of Behind the Buyouts, 3i Group dealmaker Andrew Olinick says the U.S. buyout market is big enough to find companies to purchase outside of traditional sales processes, but it takes time.
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Feb 18, 2021
Drinks With The Deal: Hunton's Steven Haas
Steven Haas, the co-head of M&A at Hunton Andrews Kurth, discusses what he learned from working for Travis Laster, the state of Delaware law on officer liability, MAE clauses and ordinary course covenants and why he enjoys teaching M&A at the University of Richmond in this week's Drinks With The Deal podcast.
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Feb 12, 2021
Activist Investing Today: Coast’s Rasteh on ESG Activism, Gold Miners
James Rasteh, the founder of the sometimes activist fund Coast Capital, offered up a new strategy for environmental activists, and reasons he thinks the Canadian gold mining sector is ripe for consolidation and ESG efforts, on the latest episode of the Activist Investing Today podcast.
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Feb 10, 2021
Behind the Buyouts: Sajan Pillai Strengthens India's Ties to Silicon Valley
Sajan Pillai, the founder, CEO and Managing Partner of Season Two Ventures, sees tech talent from India fueling investment opportunities as he works to accelerate growth at his portfolio companies in the latest episode of Behind the Buyouts.
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Feb 4, 2021
Drinks With The Deal: Fried Frank's Amber Banks
Amber Banks, partner at Fried Frank, discusses the challenges of being a lawyer from a non-traditional background and how law firms can become more welcoming places for women and people of color in this week's Drinks With The Deal podcast.
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Jan 28, 2021
Drinks With The Deal: MIT's Will Deringer
MIT historian of finance Will Deringer talks about what he learned from his time as a Blackstone analyst, Michael Milken and early spreadsheet programs, the South Sea Bubble and the many uses of present value in this week's episode of Drinks With The Deal.
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Jan 7, 2021
Drinks With The Deal: Goodwin Procter's Stuart Cable
Stuart Cable, vice chair and head of M&A at Goodwin Procter, discusses building the firm's biotech practice, helping Covid-19 vaccine developer Moderna grow over the years and recent transformational deals in the latest edition of the Drinks With The Deal podcast.
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Dec 18, 2020
Activist Investing Today: Goodwin on Governance, Pay as “Wedge Issues”
On this episode of the Activist Investing Today podcast, Shane Goodwin, the chief of the Applied Corporate Governance Institute, explains why credible “economically motivated” activists won’t target corporations with poor governance or problematic CEO pay unless they have a broader M&A or operational goal in mind.
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Dec 17, 2020
Drinks With The Deal: Bryan Cave's Stephanie Hosler
Stephanie Hosler, who heads Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner's corporate and finance transactions group, talks about her experiences as a Latina M&A lawyer and her desire to help create a more diverse workplace in the latest edition of the Drinks With The Deal podcast.
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Dec 16, 2020
Behind the Buyouts: Gig Wage CEO Eyes Gig Economy, Venture Capital and Diversity
CEO Craig J. Lewis discusses the rapid growth of his Dallas-based company Gig Wage Inc., a payroll services specialist for companies that use part time workers in the gig economy and how he sees a missed opportunity by venture capitalists to invest in African American startups in the latest episode of Behind the Buyouts.
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Dec 10, 2020
Drinks With The Deal: Davis Polk's Daniel Brass
Davis Polk's Daniel Brass discusses the challenges of cross-border dealmaking and lessons he learned when he started practicing in New York after starting his career at Slaughter and May in London on the latest episode of Drinks With The Deal.
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Dec 3, 2020
T-Mobile Sprint: Winning The Case The Experts Said Couldn't Be Won (Podcast 3)
Our third and final installment on the precedent-making merger of T-Mobile and Sprint features Melissa Scanlan, who oversees antitrust law in T-Mobile’s legal department, and David Gelfand, one of the lead lawyers on Cleary Gottlieb’s trial team. The pair explore the future regulatory implications of the court’s decision in their case. Sponsored
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Nov 19, 2020
Drinks With The Deal: Debevoise's Paul Bird
Paul Bird, a partner at Debevoise & Plimpton, discusses his work for Clayton, Dubilier & Rice and Aveva's acquisition of OSIsoft on the latest episode of Drinks With The Deal.
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Nov 18, 2020
Behind the Buyouts: Checkpoint's Billy Weber Talks Fintech, M&A
Billy Weber, a former banker and current CEO of fintech company Checkpoint Capital, provides perspective on monetary policy, the community banking space and increased transparency in the bond market looking ahead to 2021 in the latest episode of Behind the Buyouts.
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Nov 5, 2020
Drinks With The Deal: Latham's Luke Bergstrom
Luke Bergstrom, an M&A partner at Latham & Watkins, discusses his passion for cocktails, how he got from Pittsburgh to Silicon Valley in the 1990s and how he approaches helping manage Latham's global M&A and technology groups.
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Oct 29, 2020
Drinks With The Deal: Hughes Hubbard's Ken Lefkowitz
Ken Lefkowitz, an M&A partner at Hughes Hubbard, talks about his work for clients including Frank Lozenzo's Jet Capital and Anthony Tan, who founded Singapore-based ride-hailing company Grab, during the latest episode of the Drinks With The Deal podcast hosted by David Marcus.
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Oct 28, 2020
Behind the Buyouts: Priya Karkar of Kline Hill Sees Secondary PE Uptick
Priya Pradhan Karkar, vice president of business development, at Kline Hill Partners, expects an uptick in secondary PE fund stake M&A in Q4 after a Covid-prompted lull. While the secondary market has traditionally been a place for larger deals with big LPs as buyers, Kline Hill focuses on the lower end of the middle market in the buying and selling of PE fund positions.
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Oct 24, 2020
T-Mobile Sprint: Winning The Case The Experts Said Couldn't Be Won (Podcast 2)
In the second of our three-part series on the landmark T-Mobile/Sprint transaction, Cleary Gottlieb partners George Cary and Daniel Culley and T-Mobile’s senior vice president of litigation and intellectual property Laura Buckland discuss the intense federal court trial the wireless carriers won against a group of several state attorneys general. Cary, Culley and Buckland deconstruct U.S. District Judge Victor Merrero’s decision in the case and offer their opinions on what swayed the judge to their side. Sponsored
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Oct 22, 2020
Activist Investing Today: Zacchei Eyes PE Activism, Post-Election
Dan Zacchei, the president of special situation communications at Sloane, explains why activism can be compared to professional sports within the context of the pandemic, partnerships between PE firms and activists as well as expectations for the industry post-election, among other topics, on the latest episode of the Activist Investing Today podcast.
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Oct 15, 2020
Drinks With The Deal: Cravath's Damien Zoubek
Cravath, Swaine & Moore's Damien Zoubek discusses changing corporate attitudes toward ESG, the effects of the pandemic on deals signed up in the months before it started and transactions being negotiated now as well as his love of wine in the latest episode of the Drinks With The Deal podcast.
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Oct 7, 2020
Activist Investing Today: Coffee Weighs DOL Rules Impact on ESG
Columbia Law School professor John Coffee talks about why he thinks a new Labor Department proposal represents a shot against ESG investing, new SEC rules for shareholder proposals, and more, on the latest episode of the Activist Investing Today podcast.
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Oct 1, 2020
Drinks With The Deal: Pillsbury's Allison Leopold Tilley
Allison Leopold Tilley, a partner at Pillsbury in Silicon Valley, discusses how she built her practice, the lessons she learned from being a director at FBR during its eventful final year and maintaining firm cohesiveness during the pandemic in the latest episode of the Drinks With The Deal podcast.
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Sep 23, 2020
Behind the Buyouts: VSS's Stevenson Takes the Long View on Investing
In the latest episode, VSS managing partner Jeffrey Stevenson traces the arc of the PE firm's development from a shop focused on media deals in the 1980s to its current focus on business services, healthcare IT and services, information and education.
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Sep 17, 2020
Drinks With The Deal: Author Marc Levinson
Author, economist and historian Marc Levinson discusses the increasing importance of services and ideas and the reduced role of manufactured goods in global trade, the topic of his new book Outside The Box, in the Drinks With The Deal podcast.
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Sep 11, 2020
T-Mobile Sprint: Winning The Case The Experts Said Couldn't Be Won (Podcast 1)
Cleary Gottlieb partner Mark Nelson and T-Mobile EVP and general counsel David Miller kick off a series of three podcasts dedicated to the landmark T-Mobile/Sprint merger. This first episode will cover the overall strategy to obtain successful clearance for the transaction, including the development of the business case and the public and regulatory messaging, and the strategy for DOJ, FCC, the Hill, state AGs, state PUCs, etc. Sponsored
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Sep 9, 2020
Activist Investing Today: Columbia’s Ogawa on Abe, Toshiba
Alicia Ogawa, the director of the Center on Japanese Economy and Business at Columbia Business School, appears on the latest episode of the Activist Investing Today podcast, to talk about the legacy of outgoing Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s legacy on governance and corporate stewardship, ongoing issues at Toshiba, and more.
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Sep 3, 2020
Drinks With The Deal: Cooley's Jamie Leigh
Cooley's co-head of M&A Jamie Leigh discusses her career path, why she enjoys advising tech and life sciences companies, how she approaches mentoring younger lawyers and how she's staying sane in the pandemic.
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Aug 27, 2020
Behind The Buyouts: Brian Gildea of Hamilton Lane Talks ESG
Hamilton Lane's Brian Gildea reveals the forces driving wider use of ESG principles in private markets, but adds that different regions of the world emphasize varying aspects of the approach. LPs must ask questions and then vote with their dollars to shape social agendas in a positive way.
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Aug 20, 2020
Drinks With The Deal: Leo Strine Jr.
Leo Strine, longtime Delaware judge and of counsel at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, discusses DuPont, Joe Biden, and corporate law in the wake of Covid-19 and Thomas Cromwell in this week’s Drinks With The Deal podcast.
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Aug 6, 2020
Drinks With The Deal: Dechert's Ken Young
Ken Young, co-head of PE at Dechert, discusses how PE firms have diversified their investments, the challenges of developing law firm partners and his recent deals in this week's Drinks With The Deal podcast.
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Jul 29, 2020
Behind The Buyouts: VMG Partners Embraces Diversity
Cassie Nielsen and Wayne Wu of VMG Partners talk about the role of diversity at their firm and in middle-market deal-making for their consumer-oriented portfolio companies. While women make most of the purchasing decisions in the sector, they still occupy less than 50% of the boards of consumer companies.
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Jul 23, 2020
Drinks With The Deal: Simpson's Alan Klein
Simpson's Alan Klein discusses his stint in London in the late 1990s, his work for Microsoft and Tyco and his passion for films and books on the latest episode of the Drink With The Deal podcast.
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Jul 16, 2020
Activist Investing Today: Axler On Forescout and Forensics
Ben Axler, the activist shortseller behind Spruce Point Capital Management, offered a behind the scenes look at two campaigns and his investigative approach to companies, which includes running background checks on executives and directors as well as working with private investigator partners.
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Jul 9, 2020
Drinks With The Deal: Sidley's Dan Clivner
Sidley's Dan Clivner discusses lateral hiring, building a PE practice in Los Angeles and law firm diversity in the Drinks With The Deal podcast.
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Jun 26, 2020
Behind the Buyouts: Great Hill Re-Ups on Wayfair Amid Uncertainty
Great Hill Partners co-founder and managing partner Christopher S. Gaffney says the public markets got the valuation of online home products retailer Wayfair all wrong during Covid-19 stock market swoon earlier this year. So, the PE firm teamed up in April with two other private investors to buy $535 million in senior notes in Wayfair, convertible at $72.50 a share, at a time when the stock was trading at about $50. Now, three months later, Wayfair is trading at more than $200 a share.
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Jun 25, 2020
Drinks With The Deal: Kirkland's David Fox
David Fox discusses building an M&A practice at Kirkland & Ellis, his friendship with Joe Flom and his plans for the next phase of his career in the Drinks With The Deal Podcast with David Marcus.
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Jun 18, 2020
Drinks With The Deal: Author Chase Purdy
Chase Purdy discusses his new book "Billion Dollar Burger: Inside Big Tech’s Race For The Future of Food", in which he describes the effort to produce cell-cultured meat on a commercially viable scale.
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Jun 9, 2020
Activist Investing Today: CII's Bertsch on Pills, Virtual Meetings
Ken Bertsch, the executive director of the Council of Institutional Investors speaks with The Deal for its Activist Investing Today podcast about why he thinks 5% threshold poison pills are an 'extraordinary statement of weakness' on the part of the company adopting them. Bertsch also talks about virtual meeting shenanigans and universal proxy cards.
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Jun 4, 2020
Drinks With The Deal: Author Sarah Frier
Sarah Frier, the author of the new book 'No Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram' and a technology reporter for Bloomberg, talks about how the app’s co-founder Kevin Systrom was able to succeed for so long after Facebook purchased his startup and what he might do next. She also discussed the elements of good design in the smartphone era and how regulators should approach tech M&A.
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May 29, 2020
Activist Investing Today: AVI’s Bauernfreund on Japan Insurgencies
Joe Bauernfreund, manager of a $1 billion sometimes activist U.K. fund Asset Value Investors, discussed why he may start submitting shareholder proposals at Fujitec’s annual meeting in 2021 if it doesn’t consider divesting stakes, buy back shares, set up board subcommittees or perform a strategic review.
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May 27, 2020
Behind the Buyouts: Steen Brings the Farmer's Voice to VC
Colin Steen, managing director at Syngenta Ventures, talks about investing opportunities in the agriculture and food sectors in the The Deal's inaugural edition of Behind the Buyouts, the new podcast that drills down into private equity and venture capital transactions.
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May 14, 2020
Drinks With The Deal: UPenn's David Skeel
David Skeel, a bankruptcy professor at the University of Pennsylvania, talks about his work with the Puerto Rico Oversight Board and the lessons of the great financial crisis for the bankruptcy system on the Drinks With The Deal podcast.
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May 7, 2020
Activist Investing Today: Goldstein Targets Fund Bylaws
Activist investor Phil Goldstein believes a recent Securities and Exchange Commission decision upholding a closed-end fund's right to ignore a shareholder proposal poses a broader threat to investor rights.
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Apr 22, 2020
Activist Investing Today: Jackson Eyes eBay M&A Amidst Covid-19
Eric Jackson, manager of technology-focused hedge fund EMJ Capital, says he thinks the company should use cash on hand — and proceeds from expected unit sales — to make its own acquisitions. Jackson explains on Activist Investing Today why eBay may be a "coronavirus play" and what activist investors in the business may be thinking about its new CEO.
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Mar 30, 2020
Activist Investing Today: Privet’s Rosenzweig on Synalloy, Covid-19
The activist investor Ben Rosenzweig talked about why Privet doesn’t want to buy Synalloy now even though he is seeking to take control of its board. He also discussed Privet’s partnership with an operating company for the campaign and his thesis that there could be “fantastic opportunities” that emerge when the volatility subsides.
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Mar 23, 2020
Activist Investing Today: Coast's Rasteh on FirstGroup, Covid-19
The founder of the New York-based activist fund explains why he hires CEO experts and other advisers to assist with the fund's campaigns. He also explains why he will stick with his investment and campaign at transport and school bus company FirstGroup — one of the fund's largest positions — even as its share price gets battered.
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Mar 13, 2020
Activist Investing Today: V&E's Elbaum on Covid-19 vs. 2008
Many hedge funds first-time activists, family offices and private equity funds who have been contemplating activism are going to walk away from their campaigns, while established activist investors such as Carl Icahn are building stakes and pressing forward with insurgencies, according the co-head of Vinson & Elkins' shareholder activism practice. Elbaum looked back at the 2008 crisis to offer a view of how activist investors might act during the unfolding coronavirus outbreak.
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Mar 6, 2020
Drinks With The Deal: Steven Lipin of Gladstone Place Partners
Steven Lipin, founder of communications firm Gladstone Place Partners, talks with The Deal’s David Marcus about the Anixter and Disney/Fox deals, the lessons of WeWork, how he’s gone about building his firm since its 2017 launch, his love of natural wine and his favorite places to eat in New York.
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Mar 5, 2020
Activist Investing Today: Author Geoffrey Cain
Geoffrey Cain, author of a "Samsung Rising," talked with The Deal for its Activist Investing Today Podcast, about chaebols, the biggest swing vote in South Korea and activist investing. Cain provided behind-the-scenes details about Samsung's campaign to activist Elliott Management and complete its 2015 restructuring. He also talked about Hyundai's own fight with Paul Singer's activist fund.
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Feb 10, 2020
Activist Investing Today: Banking Insurgent on M&A, Majority Votes
New community banking activist Abbott Cooper offers his thoughts on his M&A pushes at Community Bankers Trust and First United, two middle-market financial institutions. In a wide ranging conversation, Cooper discussed what he considers to be strong and weak majority vote standards, why there isn’t much succession planning at small financial institutions and his thesis about consolidation in the fragmented banking sector.
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Feb 7, 2020
Drinks With The Deal: Ted Smith of Union Square Advisors
Ted Smith, president of Union Square Advisors, discusses Permira's purchase of a majority stake in Lytx, the rise of tech PE, the outlook for software M&A, his work in building Union Square and his love of wine in this month's Drinks With The Deal.
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Jan 28, 2020
Activist Investing Today: Hamermesh on Icahn, Bylaws and Insider Votes
Widener University's Lawrence Hamermesh talks about why there isn't much clarity about whether activists can gain access to corporate books and records to help director fights. The corporate governance and Delaware expert discussed books and record requests, company advanced notice bylaw litigation victories and why he thinks sunset provisions for insider-controlled share voting structures may not make sense.
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Jan 10, 2020
Drinks With The Deal: Sullivan & Cromwell’s Frank Aquila
Frank Aquila discusses his work for Tiffany’s on its sale to LVMH, for AmGen on its purchase of Otezla, and for Novartis on its billion purchase of Medicines Co. as well as his favorite spots in New York, Hong Kong and Tokyo in the Drinks with The Deal podcast with David Marcus.
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Dec 12, 2019
Activist Investing Today: Columbia’s Coffee on WeWork, Softbank and IPO Ratchets
Retail investors are being harmed by essentially secret IPO protection deals still-private companies are reaching with mutual funds. At least that’s the view of Columbia Law School professor John Coffee, who spoke with The Deal for its Activist Investing Today podcast about so-called IPO ratchets — contracts some mutual funds are receiving entitling them to additional shares in the event an initial public offering falls below the valuation reflected in the final private equity round. In a wide-ranging conversation, Coffee explained that public investors can suffer dilution while the IPO itself is at risk of becoming overpriced. He argued adequate disclosure of the details of these ratchets could discourage their use. On the podcast, Coffee offered shocking details of what a particular ratchet would have given Softbank Group Corp. had WeWork Cos. debuted earlier this year. He also argued WeWork share ownership and voting structure produced a particularly egregious example of why it…
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Dec 6, 2019
Drinks With The Deal: Chris Varelas
The former Citi tech investment banker and author of 'How Money Became Dangerous' talks with The Deal’s David Marcus about working at Disneyland in the 1980s, being a tech banker in after the dot-com crash and investing in influencers.
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Nov 22, 2019
Activist Investing Today: Antitrust Expert Talks Activism
Diana Moss, president of the American Antitrust Institute, suggested that financial activists are exerting pressure on companies to merge even though they carry a high amount of antitrust or other regulatory risk.
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Nov 8, 2019
Drinks With The Deal: PJ Solomon's Marc Cooper
PJ Solomon’s Marc Cooper talks about brand authenticity, the challenges of being a CEO and the joys of the half-bottle.
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Oct 18, 2019
Activist Investing Today: Snow Park’s Pierce Talks Activism in Australia
Jeffrey Pierce, managing partner at activist fund Snow Park Capital, discusses his experiences with agitation at an Australian REIT and gives commentary the recent situation between Elliott and BHP as well as nuances to Australia’s federal corporate governance system on the Activist Investing Today podcast.
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Sep 13, 2019
Activist Investing Today: McRitchie Targets Shareholder Proposals, BRT’s ‘Stakeholders’
The top proponent of shareholder proposals spoke to The Deal’s Activist Investing Today podcast about what he thinks would happen if the nation’s securities regulator made it more difficult to submit proposals on environmental, social and governance issues.
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Aug 30, 2019
Activist Investing Today: Goodwin On Friedman Doctrine and CEO Lobby’s Stakeholders Push
Goodwin On CEO Lobby’s ‘Stakeholders’ Push -The chief of the Applied Corporate Governance Institute told The Deal that Milton Friedman’s 1970 doctrine of shareholder primacy is misunderstood and that the Business Roundtable’s recent ‘stakeholders’ statement of purpose may have a hard time enduring the next recession.
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Aug 13, 2019
Activist Investing Today: Harvard’s Roe Disputes Perceptions Around Short-termism and Activists
Activist funds face an uphill effort getting the votes they need to effectuate change. That’s the view of Mark Roe, professor of Law at Harvard Law School. Roe spoke with The Deal for its Activist Investing Today podcast about why he thinks that observers should be wary about blaming activist hedge funds for perceived short-termism in the markets. “They [activists] have to have a really persuasive explanation for why something should change in their target company, enough so that index funds, pension funds and others, who initially are inclined to favor management, back their efforts,’ Roe said. In a wide-ranging conversation, Roe suggested that there is a widespread, possible misperception that the public stock markets are particularly short term, with hikes in buybacks and cuts in research creating problems in corporate America. However, Roe argues there is mixed data on the subject. He points out that capital expenditures are down everywhere in the developed world, but less so…
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Jul 8, 2019
Activist Investing Today: State Street’s Vernardis Says Many Companies “Surrender” to Activists When They Settle
Some settlements reached between activist hedge funds and corporations represent an “unconditional surrender” by the targeted firm rather than a truce. At least that’s the view of State Street Global Advisers' vice president of the asset stewardship team Philip Vernardis, who spoke with The Deal for its Activist Investing Today podcast about why he thinks companies should do a better job of speaking to their long-term holders (Read: State Street) before reaching agreements that add insurgent-backed director candidates to corporate board. “With shareholder activism rising in recent years…, we’ve also have seen companies entering into settlement agreements with activists more often and much faster than ever before,” Vernardis said. “These agreements are being negotiated between companies and activists behind closed doors, therefore without the voice of long-term investors. In some cases, they resemble an unconditional surrender by the company…” In a wide-ranging conve…
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Jun 4, 2019
Activist Investing Today: Columbia's Coffee on Board Diversity and Litigation
A lawsuit or two challenging California's recently approved board diversity law requirement is likely to emerge, though the proponents of such a challenge may not be immediately apparent. At least that's the view of Columbia Law School Professor John Coffee, who spoke with The Deal for its Activist Investing Today podcast about a new trend of legislators pushing to require corporations headquartered in their states to set up diverse boards. In California, a recently approved law requires one female to be installed on each locally-headquartered, publicly-traded corporate board by the end of this year. Coffee suggested that corporations based in the state without women directors may decide against filing a lawsuit challenging the restriction because of what he calls a "high embarrassment" cost. However, he also suggested that "ideological organizations" on the right, such as the CATO Institute, may bring derivative actions, buying a small number of shares, and suing in the name of the co…
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May 31, 2019
Activist Investing Today: Columbia’s Coffee on Activists, Icahn, M&A and Proxy Adviser Rules
Activist hedge funds hurt research & development budgets at U.S. corporations, which has a broader negative impact on the economy.At least that’s the view of Columbia Law School Professor John Coffee, who spoke with The Deal for its Activist Investing Today podcast about a study he co-authored on the impact of insurgent managers on corporations and the markets overall.In a wide-ranging conversation, Coffee explained what he thinks is going on with Carl Icahn’s objections to Occidental Petroleum’s acquisition of Anadarko Petroleum and what he thinks might be at play when activists try to nullify blockbuster mergers. Coffee, who runs Columbia’s Center on Corporate Governance, also discussed his thoughts on a new Securities and Exchange Commission effort seeking to rewrite the rules for proxy advisers Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis.
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May 16, 2019
Activist Investing Today: CCGG’s McCall on Canada ‘Say on Pay,’ ESG and Diverse Boards
Canada currently doesn’t have legislation mandating a non-binding vote of shareholders on executive compensation, but legislation percolating on Parliament Hill in Ottawa is likely soon to change the situation. That’s according to Catherine McCall, executive director of the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance in Toronto. McCall talked to The Deal for its Activist Investing Today podcast about why she thinks a Canadian federal government amendment requiring a non-binding say on pay has a “pretty high” chance of being adopted. She also touched on the group’s efforts regarding director qualifications, when it comes to environmental and social risks as well as about efforts to gently push Canadian companies into becoming more diverse.
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Apr 12, 2019
Activist Investing Today: What’s Next at Sony With Third Point Hovering
The Activist Investing Today podcast spoke with The Deal’s media, technology and communications expert Chris Nolter, about whether there would be interest in acquiring Sony’s entertainment assets now that it appears Third Point’s Dan Loeb is seeking to shake things up at the Japanese diversified multinational company. Nolter noted that Sony owns a major Hollywood studio and “there just are not that many of them, so it always has been valuable.” Nolter points to a bidding war that led to a sweetened $71 billion sale of Fox’s TV production and other operations to Disney, as an example why buyers could be interested in buying Sony’s entertainment assets. He notes that Sony could set up a joint venture of sorts, as an alternative to a sale. The podcast reviewed whether other factors could be playing into the potential Third Point campaign, such as a change in management and new Japanese spin off tax laws.
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Apr 5, 2019
Activist Investing Today: 'Dear Chairman' Author Gramm Discusses Luby's, Corporate Raiders
It’s okay to call activist investors corporate raiders. At least that’s the view of Jeff Gramm, the author of “Dear Chairman: Boardroom Battles and the Rise of Shareholder Activism.” Gramm talked to The Deal for its Activist Investing Today podcast about his book, why he launched a proxy fight at Texas Restaurant chain Luby’s and what he thinks about CEO pay packages.“ One big theme of the book is that these shareholder activists through history are kind of all the same,” Gramm said. “They are economic actors out to seek a buck on their investments in public companies and they use engagement with public companies as a means to generate their alpha.”
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Mar 26, 2019
Activist Investing Today: Turkey’s First Activist Talks Istanbul Insurgencies
In 2015, Ertan Enginalev, launched his first public insurgency campaign in Turkey, urging an industrial conglomerate, Akfen Holdings, to consider strategic options such as listing a minority stake of a container port it controlled. Enginalev took some time to speak to The Deal’s Activist Investing Today podcast about the experience and why he thinks Turkey’s investor make up can make the country a strong candidate for public and private activism, even though most companies are insider-controlled and appear to be impenetrable. Under pressure from WSD, Akfen’s shares shot up, outperforming the BIST 100 Index, Turkey’s benchmark stock index, by 151 points over 12 months. By 2019, Akfen was taken private, giving Enginalev his first big win in Turkey. Since then, Enginalev has set up three additional Special Purpose Vehicles with two-year lockups to fund three additional campaigns, all of which, so far, have remained collaborative and private.
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Feb 8, 2019
Activist Investing Today: Glass Lewis’ Grothe Talks Peltz, Campbell and Director Fights
Activist investors like Nelson Peltz who have board and operational experience are more likely to be viewed positively by influential proxy adviser Glass Lewis than hedge fund managers that have never held director positions.That’s the view of Mark Grothe, senior analyst in M&A and contested situations at Glass Lewis. Grothe, who has worked on the some of the most contentious proxy fights in recent years, spoke to The Deal’s Activist Investing Today podcast and offered his thoughts on whether the Glass Lewis is more or less likely to recommend that investors support an activist-backed industry expert or one of their hedge fund analyst candidates for a directorship. Grothe also offered his thoughts on change-of-control slates, and why he thinks it is very important for both companies and activists to make director candidates available for conversations.“If you think of someone like Nelson Peltz at Trian, he has a lot of board experience with consumer product goods companies. He ha…
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Feb 1, 2019
Activist Investing Today: What’s Next For Rent-a-Center, Vintage in Delaware
The Activist Investing Today Podcast spoke with The Deal’s intrepid Delaware expert, David Marcus, about what to expect in Delaware Chancery Court later this month when rent-to-own retailer Rent-a-Center faces off against its would-be buyer, Vintage Capital. In December, Glenn Welling-targeted Rent-A-Center surprised the markets by saying it was terminating its $1.37 billion deal to be acquired by Vintage Capital after it "did not receive" an extension notice from the buyer. Vintage said RCII’s move was invalid. Now the two companies are in the midst of a Delaware battle over the deal and a whopping (at least for Vintage) $126.5 million termination fee that hasn’t been paid yet. It’s a story with everything: Activism, private equity, M&A, intrigue and now, litigation. Will more lawsuits follow this one?
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Jan 25, 2019
Activist Investing Today: UofW’s Nili Targets ‘Succession CEOs’ With Study
Chief executives who also serve as board chairs are leaving CEO roles but maintaining chairman positions at a large number of U.S. corporations, a situation that is jeopardizing boards’ independence and effectiveness.That’s the view of Yaron Nili, assistant professor of Law at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, an expert in governance, hedge funds, private equity and activist investors. Nili spoke to The Deal's Activist Investing Today podcast about a new study he just issued that identifies many cases where the company installs a CEO who the former chief executive has been cultivating for the role and whom he will continue to oversee as chairman. “If you have the CEO and ex-CEO both serving, and working in cahoots, so to speak, the power structure is a problem and whether the rest of the directors can resist the chairman and CEO, who are on the same wave length, is a question,” Nili said. According to Nili, there were 217 companies in the S&P 1500 in 2016 that had “success…
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Jan 18, 2019
Activist Investing Today: Governance Guru Schulzke On Strong, Diverse Boards
Individuals who sit on five or more corporate boards - particularly at the largest U.S. corporations -- may not have the bandwidth to focus enough energy and time on each company's strategic and operational issues. At least that's the view of Kurt Schulzke, associate professor of Accounting & Law at the University of North Georgia and director of Kennesaw State University's Corporate Governance Center. Schultzke spoke with The Deal's Activist Investing Today podcast about overboarded directors, and his finding that some of the best-performing companies in the U.S., such as Starbucks Corp. (SBUX), Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), have directors who don't serve on many other boards.
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Jan 11, 2019
Activist Investing Today: Raymond James’ Duncan Herrington Eyes Middle Market
A recent proxy season found that the median market capitalization of companies targeted by activist investors was well below $300 million. That’s according to Duncan Herrington, a veteran adviser in the activist investor world, who talked to The Deal’s Activist Investing Today podcast about a shareholder activist advisory practice he recently launched at middle market investment bank Raymond James. Herrington argues that bigger bulge bracket banks issue marketing materials on trends with campaign data that only includes companies with a $100 million-plus or $1 billion-plus market capitalization. “They are indicating what is most relevant for their clients,” Herrington said. “That leaves a large chunk of the [smaller] market out.” Herrington said. Herrington offered his thoughts on what kinds of companies are most susceptible to an activist threat as well as the latest trends in banking and cross-border activist campaigns.
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Dec 20, 2018
Activist Investing Today: Diligent’s Stafford on CEO-Chairmen and Scandal-Driven Board Shakeups
Lead independent directors at U.S. corporations have become more important, especially when it comes to “clubby” boards. That’s the view of Brian Stafford, CEO of Diligent Corp., a board management software company, who spoke with The Deal's Activist Investing Today podcast about a trend of lead independent directors meeting with shareholders and why it often takes scandals – like those witnessed at Wells Fargo, Wynn Resorts and Rite Aid -- to drive boardroom shakeups. Stafford explains that an activist hedge fund often seeks to find a lead independent director privately to see if he or she is willing to discuss their point of view. He also said 2019 will bring more diverse boards, higher-quality director serving on fewer boards overall and a spike in outside advisers to corporate boards. “The lion’s share of your understanding of how the company is performing is filtered through the company,” he said. “When an activist shares a stat that we’re underperforming our com…
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Dec 14, 2018
Activist Investing Today: MacKenzie’s Marese talks M&A, Wynn and Poison Pills
Institutional investors aren’t afraid to tell companies that shareholders should be permitted to buy as many shares as they want as long as they don’t breach antitrust limits. At least that’s the view of MacKenzie Partners’ Bob Marese, who spoke with The Deal’s Activist Investing Today podcast about why a corporation may experience collateral damage when they install a poison pill in response to an activist. In a wide-ranging conversation, Marese offered up his views on why companies engaging in M&A should do more to prepare for activists. He also explained why Elaine Wynn was so successful in her “no vote” campaign at Wynn Resorts.
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Dec 5, 2018
Activist Investing Today: Guerra of ISS on Control Fights, Universal Proxies and Salting Pasta
Activist hedge funds seeking board control essentially want corporations to give them "the keys” to businesses. As such they need to prove they have qualified director candidates and an in-depth understanding of their targeted company. At least that’s the view of Cristiano Guerra, head of the Institutional Shareholder Services Special Situations Research, who spoke to The Deal's Activist Investing Today podcast about why activists can't just point to the problem and say "trust us, we'll get it right." Guerra offered up a behind-the-scenes look at how ISS sets up meetings with companies and their adversaries, what impact benchmark policies have on contests and why the adviser thinks universal proxy cards make sense.
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Nov 29, 2018
Activist Investing Today: Governance Guru Charles Elson on Campbell, Dell and Insider Control
The director of John Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance spoke to The Deal’s Activist Investing Today podcast about why he believes Third Point’s Dan Loeb is fortunate for getting what he got in a settlement with Campbell Soup, considering that opponents to his efforts controlled 41% of the equity. Loeb’s success at installing two dissidents on the company’s board is quite significant because it means “you will have independent voices in the boardroom.” Elson also argued that shareholders have “practically” no rights when it comes to a new board structure at Dell Technologies.
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Nov 16, 2018
Activist Investing Today: Stifel's Bonifacino on Campbell, BlackRock, ISS and Unsolicited Bids
Activists seeking to take control of boards don't need to have a CEO candidate in mind but they should produce a clear position about what they would do on day one. At least that's the view of Juan Bonifacino, director of shareholder activism defense at boutique investment bank Stifel. Bonifacino spoke to The Deal's Activist Investing Today podcast about why activists seeking to take control of boards need to provide a really compelling reason to forgo the "checks and balance" position that would come with a minority slate. The boutique investment banker spoke about Third Point's director battle at Campbell Soup as well as why he thinks companies and activists will need to spend more time talking to index funds in the years to come. He also offered up some pros and cons associated with hostile bids coupled with proxy contests. "Change of control [contests] really ratchet up the risk for a lot of unintended consequences for a company," Bonifacino said.
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Nov 12, 2018
Activist Investing Today: Doyle Targets Proxy Advisers
Timothy Doyle, the general counsel of the corporate-backed American Council for Capital Formation, spoke to the Activist Investing Today podcast about two new studies the group has produced targeting influential proxy advisory firms and “robo-voting” by some institutional investors. Doyle contends that the number of issues ACCF has identified are “just the tip of the iceberg.” He insists that companies either can’t challenge proxy advisory firms before their reports are issued, or don’t have enough time to respond.
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Nov 2, 2018
Activist Investing Today: Morgan Lewis' Gottfried On Founder and Hedge Fund Activism Differences
Keith Gottfried, chief of Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP’s shareholder activism defense practice, took some time to talk to The Deal’s Activist Investing Today podcast about how defending the company against an ex-CEO and founder of the business is so different, and perhaps much more difficult, than protecting it from an activist hedge fund. Gottfried’s comments emerge as founder and co-founder activism has skyrocketed in recent months, with high profile campaigns launched at Papa John’s, Wynn Resorts and AmTrust as well as many other companies. According to FactSet, there were 36 campaigns launched by founders, co-founders and former CEOs at companies between 2013 and 2018, so far, including 11 this year so far.
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Nov 2, 2018
Activist Investing Today: Ancora's Chadwick Talks Working With Activist Pioneer Ralph Whitworth
The Activist Investing Today podcast talked to Jim Chadwick, about Ancora’s activist strategy and his recent insurgencies at Hill International and Element Fleet Management. In a wide-ranging interview, Chadwick explains how working with Relational Investors Ralph Whitworth and David Batchelder, prior to joining Ancora, was "the most important factor" in his career of activism. Chadwick provides a bit of the backstory behind how Whitworth and Batchelder became pioneers in the activism strategy. "Today it has become so common, really ubiquitous throughout global markets. Back at the time 1999, when there were the Carl Icahn's of the world, but Relational may have been structured as the first pure-play activism fund," Chadwick said. "I was always fascinated with the way Ralph had conducted himself in the boardroom."
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Nov 2, 2018
Activist Investing Today: Applebaum On Icahn, Activism and Why Analysts Make Good Directors
The Activist Investing Today podcast talked to Michelle Applebaum, a former steel analyst who has been nominated by insurgent managers Barington Capital and Land & Buildings for corporate boards, about why she thinks activists' analytics are quite sound. She also explains why activist investors often represent a consensus view of institutional investors, long before management has figured it out.
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Nov 2, 2018
Activist Investing Today: Why Dan Loeb is Spear-Heading the Biggest Activist Campaign of 2018
Activist Dan Loeb thinks Campbell Soup Co. should be sold and wants a full revamp over the board. The Deal's Senior Editor Ron Orol gave us the up-to-the-minute scoop.
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Nov 2, 2018
Activist Investing Today: Marathon’s Cibelli on CEO pay, e.l.f., Shutterfly Campaigns
Marathon Partners' manager Mario Cibelli explains why e.l.f.’s ‘fast beauty’ strategy can get its cosmetics into market faster than “legacy” rivals. While he foresees a bright future for the company, he has real concerns about executive compensation. Cibelli, 50, who succeeded in installing two dissidents onto the board of Shutterfly in 2015, also suggested that e.l.f. needs to bring on a designated lead independent director that isn’t affiliated with buyout shop TPG.
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Nov 2, 2018
Activist Investing Today: A Q&A With Wynnefield Capital’s Obus
The insurgent investor Nelson Obus explains how listening in on his dad’s basement meetings put him on the road to investing, then later, Lazard banking and finally activism. In a wide-ranging conversation, Obus, 71, explains what kind of companies he finds attractive and why this year his 25-year-old fund opposed another activist investor’s director battle. He also gave us an inside look at how he shook up the board of Omega Protein, an “entrenched” company that was diversifying in all the wrong ways until Wynnefield showed up.
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Nov 2, 2018
Activist Investing Today: Barington’s Mitarotonda on Avon, Outback Steakhouse and Xerium
James Mitarotonda, who has run activist fund Barington Capital since 2000, says he takes a private-equity approach to public market investments in companies that frequently have high barriers to entry. However, Mitarotonda acknowledges that he will launch a director-election fight if necessary. For example, Barington is seeking to install two directors onto the board of Xerium Technologies as part of an effort to drive the paper machine manufacturer to explore a "strategic transaction that would facilitate the refinancing of its debt to more favorable terms." Beyond, Xerium, Mitarotonda spoke to The Deal about his efforts at Bloomin Brands and Avon, where he has a directorship.
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Nov 2, 2018
Activist Investing Today: Sloane's Zacchei on Realistic Expectations For Activists
Sloane & Co.'s Dan Zacchei, who advises both targeted companies and investors involved in activist situations, suggests that an insurgent fund manager’s track record is a key factor corporations must consider before deciding how to respond. According to Zacchei, a company that has underperformed for an extended period of time needs to be realistic about its prospects, particularly when faced with a well-respected activist. Alternatively, he argues that first-time activists with tiny funds can’t “come out of nowhere and all of a sudden think they are Carl Icahn.” The Deal spoke with Zacchei about governance, strategy and why “just vote no” campaigns should be treated seriously.
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Oct 22, 2018
Activist Investing Today: Sidley’s Liekefett On War-and-Peace-Time in Activism
Kai Liekefett recently joined Sidley Austin to become the law firm behemoth’s dedicated partner in charge of proxy fights and activism. He explains why many corporations have bylaws in place that just don’t prepare them for when an insurgent investor strikes.
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Oct 22, 2018
Activist Investing Today: Engine Capital's Ajdler on Activism, CST Brands and Nelson Pelt
Since 2013, the insurgent investor Arnaud Ajdler with a “fix it or sell it” investment philosophy has put 20 directors onto corporate boards. He took some time to speak with The Deal’s activist podcast about key targets for share-price improvement: M&A, capital allocation and C-Suite payments. Ajdler also explains why he thinks Procter & Gamble’s decision to fight Peltz was “silly.”
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Oct 22, 2018
Activist Investing Today: Shill On Male Activists Targeting Women CEOs and Musk’s Control of Tesla
The Activist Investing Today podcast speaks to Gregory Shill, a University of Iowa associate professor of law, about the “glass cliff” and why we’re seeing a rash of female C-Suite executives targeted by insurgent fund managers. We also take a closer look at the various types of insider-controlled publicly-traded companies, including Musk’s complex and effective form of control over the electric-car company that he oversees.
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