Minutes after we wrote about the curious absence of Valeant’s ad hoc committee from this morning’s press release severing ties with Philidor, Valeant(VRX) issued a second press release which confirms that the committee has not yet done anything. the ad hoc committee appointed by Valeant’s board of directors has appointed former Deputy Attorney General of the United States Mark Filip… Read More »
Nearly two weeks after serious allegations emerged about Philidor and Valeant’s(VRX) relationship with it, and five days after a conference call in which Valeant defended the indefensible, Valeant has finally cut ties with Philidor and Philidor will cease its operations. We had urged this as the only rational action for Valeant, and were surprised when Valeant instead spent… Read More »
Dear Concerned Shareholders- We are pleased to inform you that our actions regarding the henhouse have been “fully compliant with the law. However, other issues have been raised publicly about [our henhouse] business practices, and it is appropriate that they be fully reviewed. This decision to create an ad hoc committee of [foxes], which I fully support, will help… Read More »
It’s been a long week for Valeant(VRX), a longer weekend, and with the fresh allegations published tonight in the Wall Street Journal, it’s going to be a long night. The week began with Valeant changing its business model completely, putatively in the face of pressure on raising prices on “mispriced” drugs. In reality, a business model based on… Read More »
Turnaround magician and Oracle of HisOwnMind, Biglari Holdings(BH) Chairman and CEO Sardar Biglari continues to struggle with Maxim magazine. The NY Post reports that editor Kate Lanphear is gone, just six months into her attempt to reposition the laddie mag as a luxury magazine. Her tenure has included the previously unthinkable- featuring a man on the cover of the August… Read More »
There are many books which describe the mechanics of value investing, beginning, of course, with The Intelligent Investor: The Definitive Book on Value Investing. A Book of Practical Counsel (Revised Edition) (Collins Business Essentials) by Benjamin Graham. One might wonder what Guy Spier’s new book, The Education of a Value Investor: My Transformative Quest for Wealth, Wisdom, and Enlightenment might… Read More »
Great piece by Nate over at Oddball Stocks detailing the recent events at First Aviation(FAVS). Basically, management is forcing outside shareholders to sell out at an arbitrary price below intrinsic value, without a shareholder vote. As a holder, I am disappointed, but like Nate, my basis is not too far above the buyout price. It’s a relatively cheap… Read More »
From the moment the first headlines crossed the wire this morning, the story has been “Berkshire Hathaway(BRKB) Buying Heinz(HNZ)” or “Buffett Buying Heinz”. That is not at all the case however. 3G Capital, a Brazilian firm known for its investments in Burger King and InBev, is buying Heinz. It will own half the equity and operate the company.… Read More »
A year ago, we questioned Eastman Kodak’s solvency, and discovered a strange world of what Donald Rumsfeld might have called “dead-enders” who believed in a pot of gold at the end of the Kodachrome rainbow despite all evidence to the contrary. One rallying cry amongst these folks was huge, multi-billion dollar patent sale that was imminent. Well, apparently,… Read More »
Bilgari Holdings(BH) Chairman and CEO Sardar Biglari has, on multiple occasions, let us all know that Biglari Holdings is a ‘jockey stock’ and that he is the ‘jockey’. It seems though, that the horse’s owners continue to resist his orders. Biglari first tried to classify the stock in February 2011, but was unsuccessful in that attempt. More recently,… Read More »