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THE LATEST ARTICLES
William D. Cohan
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July 31, 2024
There’s Something About Larry
For years, GE provided executives with a juicy dowry in retirement, bestowed at the sole discretion of the C.E.O. Then Larry Culp came along and started tinkering with the formula, spinning off the liabilities as he broke up Jack Welch’s empire. Now Culp is backtracking, but the damage has been done. “You can hear [Jack] screaming,” said one person involved in the litigation. “The company has changed culturally, and not for the better.”
William D. Cohan
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July 29, 2024
Ackman of the People
News and notes on the bizarre and bewildering saga of Pershing Square USA’s long journey to the public market.
William D. Cohan
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July 24, 2024
The Ackman Cometh
Bill Ackman’s forthcoming publicly traded closed-end fund appears to offer retail investors the chance to ride along with the investment strategies of the guy who believes he is the heir to Warren Buffett. Is this a play for permanent capital or something more ephemeral?
William D. Cohan
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July 21, 2024
Zaz’s Everything-on-the-Table Era
On the heels of the now-infamous BofA note suggesting that WBD needs to buy or sell assets to survive, and Zaz’s own misguided political commentary at the Lodge in Sun Valley, it’s increasingly clear that both the markets and Zaz know that his company needs a shake-up. But what to do in an environment so inhospitable to M&A?
William D. Cohan
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July 17, 2024
Casus Gabelli
Can Paramount’s long-suffering Class A shareholder successfully twist Shari’s arm and find out what, exactly, David Ellison and the RedBird guys are paying for her slice of the pie? Herewith, a conversation with Mario Gabelli, the architect of Operation Fishbowl.
William D. Cohan
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July 14, 2024
Shari’s Schmuck Insurance
The Ellison/RedBird deal to buy Paramount includes a 45-day “go-shop” period, during which the special committee is empowered to consider other bidders: Sony and Apollo, Bronfman and Bain, Barry Diller, or Steven Paul. But there are a dozen reasons to believe that none of these rumored suitors will upset the apple cart.
William D. Cohan
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July 10, 2024
The Shari Orchard
An assessment of the dynastic saga, the heavy NAI carrying costs, the Ellison anointment, and simultaneous challenge of growing the business while eliminating $2 billion in carrying costs. “It’s a huge commitment,” Gerry Cardinale, the founder of RedBird Capital, told me on Tuesday.
William D. Cohan
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July 3, 2024
“Cautious But Tenacious”: The Shari Saga Continues
The rebooted Ellison/Paramount deal would be a complicated arrangement with several moving parts, but it appears to be one that Shari Redstone could live with—even if everything could still go wrong.
William D. Cohan
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June 30, 2024
Advanced Zazonomics & Goldman Kremlinology
More news and notes on the Wall Street and media industrial complex. Plus, a fascinating detail or two about Biden’s all-important family dinner tonight at Camp David.
William D. Cohan
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June 26, 2024
Bezos’ Rubber Room & Shari’s Plan B
News and notes on the dual obsessions of the Sconset set: whether Shari will reconsider the private equity pill and break up Paramount; and how Jeff Bezos and Will Lewis may be taking a page from Wall Street’s layoff playbook with their plan for a “third newsroom” at The Washington Post.
