Contrarian Corpus

54 documents showing 1–54

Starboard Value 2024-09-09

News Corporation NWSA

News Corp's dual-class structure entrenches a fractious Murdoch family with 14% economics but 41% of the vote; collapsing it would remove a governance discount already rejected by 90% of unaffiliated holders.

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Starboard Value 2024-09-09

News Corporation NWSA

Starboard urges News Corp shareholders to vote to collapse the dual-class structure that gives the Murdoch family 41% voting power on only 14% economic ownership.

N3 V2 C1
Kerrisdale Capital 2024-08-15

Lumen Technologies LUMN

Lumen's 400% AI-fueled rally is an optical illusion: $5bn in PCF deals is construction-contractor funding worth ~$1/share, masking an insolvent, secularly declining telco with $19bn debt.

N4 V3 C2
Starboard Value 2024-07-15

Match Group, Inc. MTCH

Match owns Tinder and Hinge yet trades at <8.5x FCF; fixing Tinder, lifting margins above 40%, and aggressive buybacks — or a sale — can unlock substantial upside.

N4 V2 C3
Bluebell Capital 2024-04-11

TIM S.p.A. (Telecom Italia) TIT

Vote Bluebell's slate to replace TIM's worst-in-class CEO Labriola with Google Cloud exec Laurence Lafont, halt strategic chaos, and unlock ~100% upside versus European telco peers.

N4 V3 C3
Trian Partners 2024-03-29

The Walt Disney Company DIS

Disney has underperformed its peers across every recent time period under the incumbent board; elect Trian's Peltz and Rasulo to restore focus, accountability, and shareholder alignment.

N3 V3 C3
ValueAct 2024-03-01

The Walt Disney Company DIS

Disney should lean into its 21%-ROIC Parks business and escape the streaming wars via bigger bundles and cross-studio collaboration — applying the Microsoft, NYT, and Spotify playbook ValueAct knows.

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Trian Partners 2024-03-01

The Walt Disney Company DIS

Disney's decade of underperformance stems from a board lacking focus and accountability; electing Peltz and Rasulo brings ownership mentality to fix succession, streaming economics and capital allocation.

N5 V4 C4
Trian Partners 2024-03-01

The Walt Disney Company DIS

Disney lost its way under a distracted, unaccountable board; replacing two directors with Peltz and Rasulo restores focus on DTC margins, CEO succession, and capital discipline.

N5 V4 C4
Trian Partners 2024-03-01

The Walt Disney Company DIS

Disney's decade of underperformance stems from a passive Board; Trian's nominees Peltz and Rasulo will fix CEO succession, right-size legacy media, and drive DTC to Netflix-like 15-20% margins by 2027.

N5 V4 C4
Trian Partners 2024-02-01

The Walt Disney Company DIS

Disney squandered a winning hand through a weak, unfocused Board; electing Peltz and Rasulo brings the shareholder mindset needed to reverse years of TSR underperformance.

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Trian Partners 2024-01-18

The Walt Disney Company DIS

Disney's board has failed shareholders — TSR lags peers by 401% over ten years — so Trian is nominating Peltz and former CFO Rasulo to restore governance, accountability, and 'the magic.'

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Starboard Value 2023-10-01

News Corporation NWSA

News Corp's REA stake alone is worth $8B of its $12B EV — separating Digital Real Estate would expose Dow Jones and surface ~50% upside to ~$33/share.

N4 V3 C3
TCI Fund 2023-03-23

Cellnex Telecom, S.A. CLNX

Cellnex is a great asset hobbled by a board that botched CEO succession; TCI will move at the AGM to remove Kan, Shore and Reich and seat its own director.

N3 V2 C1
Trian Partners 2023-01-12

The Walt Disney Company DIS

Disney's world-class IP is being squandered by a board that overpaid $52bn for Fox, bungled CEO succession, and is bleeding streaming losses — add Nelson Peltz to restore discipline.

N4 V3 C3
Trian Partners 2023-01-11

The Walt Disney Company DIS

Disney is in a self-inflicted crisis of governance, strategy and capital allocation; electing Nelson Peltz to the board will restore discipline, profitability and the dividend by FY 2025.

N4 V2 C2
Kerrisdale Capital 2022-09-01

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. ASTS

AST SpaceMobile is a $1.8bn 2021-SPAC promoting a physically implausible direct-to-handset satellite broadband dream; the technology won't work as hyped, timelines keep slipping, and SpaceX/Apple competition eliminates any lead.

N4 V2 C2
Third Point 2022-08-15

The Walt Disney Company DIS

Disney's DTC pivot is working, but spinning ESPN, fully owning Hulu, cutting costs, and refreshing the board will unlock the next leg of value.

N3 V2 C1
Pershing Square 2022-04-20

Netflix NFLX

Ad-tier pivot makes subscriber growth, margins, and capital intensity unpredictable

N4 V2 C2
Kerrisdale Capital 2022-04-01

Digital World Acquisition Corp DWAC

DWAC's $8bn pro-forma SPAC merger with Trump's TMTG will never close because the SEC is actively investigating it and can kill the deal via a stop order — fair value is the $10 trust cash (-80%).

N4 V2 C2
Engine Capital 2022-03-22

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt HMHC

Veritas's $21/share buyout of Houghton Mifflin steals the company for 7.6x 2024 UFCF; reject it and execute a standalone Dutch tender recap to reach ~$42 by 2024.

N4 V3 C3
Engine Capital 2022-03-22

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt HMHC

Veritas' $21 tender for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt steals value at 7.6x UFCF; a self-funded Dutch tender and standalone plan could deliver roughly $42 per share by 2024.

N3 V1 C1
Pershing Square 2022-01-26

Netflix, Inc. NFLX

Market overreacted to weak subscriber guidance, creating an attractive entry point

N2 V2 C1
Muddy Waters 2020-11-18

Joyy Inc. YY

JOYY is a multibillion-dollar fraud: ~90% of YY Live and ~80% of Bigo revenue is fabricated via bots and gift roundtripping, and Baidu's pending $3.6bn acquisition is buying air.

N5 V2 C2
Third Point 2020-10-07

The Walt Disney Company DIS

Disney should kill its $3bn dividend and plow every dollar into Disney+ content; subscriber LTV math and Adobe/Microsoft precedents show the re-rating dwarfs any dividend yield.

N4 V2 C2
Elliott Management 2020-07-06

Crown Castle International CCI

Crown Castle's fiber capex earns just 3% ROI versus ~20% for its tower business

N5 V4 C4
TCI Fund 2019-11-30

Alphabet Inc. GOOGL

TCI, a 0.6% Alphabet holder, commends Alphabet's A-grade CDP disclosure and codifies its stewardship stance: full CDP reporting, Paris-aligned transition plans, or votes against directors and auditors.

N2 V2 C1
Elliott Management 2019-10-28

AT&T T

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Elliott Management 2019-09-09

AT&T Inc. T

N1 V1 C1
Elliott Management 2019-09-09

AT&T T

N1 V1 C1
Elliott Management 2019-03-01

Telecom Italia TIT.MI

Vivendi's control of TIM destroyed 54% of shareholder value

N5 V5 C5
Starboard Value 2018-12-10

Cars.com Inc. CARS

Starboard, a ~10% holder, warns Cars.com's board that serial guide-downs must end with credible 2019-2021 targets, a third independent director, and — absent improvement — management change or a sale.

N4 V2 C2
Citron Research 2018-05-31

Snap Inc. SNAP

SNAP trades at largest-ever discount to FB/TWTR despite fastest revenue growth

N4 V3 C2
Elliott Management 2018-04-24

Telecom Italia (TIM) TIT.MI

Vivendi holds only 18% economic stake yet controls TIM to its own benefit

N4 V4 C4
Elliott Management 2018-04-05

Telecom Italia SpA (TIM) TIT.MI

Vivendi controls TIM with just 24% voting stake, running it as a subsidiary while minorities suffer

N5 V4 C4
Muddy Waters 2016-08-10

Ströer SE & Co. KGaA SAX

Muddy Waters publishes the translated transcript of Ströer's June 2016 AGM, where CEO Udo Müller defends the company against MW's short attack amid sharp shareholder questions.

N3 V1 C1
Muddy Waters 2016-04-28

Stroer SE & Co. KGaA SAX

Stroer's defense fails to rebut Muddy Waters' core allegations of overstated organic growth, misleading cash-flow netting and freeXmedia self-dealing, with a CIA polygrapher flagging Muller's response as deceptive.

N4 V1 C1
Muddy Waters 2016-04-21

Ströer SE & Co. KGaA SAX

Ströer's digital-transformation narrative is hollow: organic growth is 10x overstated, EBITDA and FCF are inflated, and insider self-dealing rivals Chinese fraud cases — short.

N4 V2 C1
SpringOwl 2016-01-13

Viacom VIAB

Viacom's absent chair Redstone and overpaid CEO Dauman have driven a lost decade; replacing leadership, cutting $400M SG&A and launching OTT unlocks up to 135% upside to $95.90.

N4 V2 C2
Muddy Waters 2015-10-15

TeliaSonera AB TLSN

Short TeliaSonera: disclosed Uzbekistan bribery is only the tip — ~SEK 17bn of suspect Eurasia/Nepal payments plus a multi-billion DOJ FCPA settlement threaten the dividend and cut stub fair value to SEK 27-29.

N4 V2 C1
Oasis Management 2014-02-26

Nintendo Co., Ltd. 7974.T

Nintendo should port Mario, Zelda and Donkey Kong to iOS/Android and buy a free-to-play studio — the casual gamer has moved to mobile, where $100bn of attention value awaits.

N3 V1 C1
Oasis Management 2013-06-11

Nintendo Co., Ltd. 7974

Nintendo's real competitor is now mobile; releasing five iOS/Android titles from its catalog would add ~73 billion Yen in annual EBITDA and unlock China's $9 billion gaming market.

N4 V2 C1
Muddy Waters 2013-01-24

Focus Media Holding Ltd. FMCN

New BVI registry evidence proves FMCN lied about its mobile-phone VIE acquisitions, reinforcing the long-running fraud thesis just as Carlyle's LBO consortium prepares to overpay.

N4 V1 C1
Starboard Value 2012-05-23

AOL, Inc. AOL

AOL's board lets management burn Access/Search cash on a Display strategy losing $500M+ a year; elect three Starboard nominees to enforce discipline and restructure or exit Patch.

N4 V3 C3
Muddy Waters 2012-02-09

Focus Media Holding FMCN

FMCN's 'independent' verification of its 185,174 LCD network counted 30,500 cardboard posters as LCDs, confirming Muddy Waters' fraud thesis and impugning all reported financials.

N5 V2 C2
Muddy Waters 2012-01-06

Focus Media Holding FMCN

FMCN's bizarre acquisition of a tiny border-town ginseng plantation from its own employee is fresh evidence the 'Olympus of China' is using fake M&A to launder fake cash off its books.

N4 V1 C1
Muddy Waters 2011-12-09

Focus Media Holding FMCN

FMCN's promise to have 'reputable' Chinese firms verify its LCD network is worthless — CTR, the firm most likely to be hired, previously rubber-stamped CCME's fabricated bus network.

N4 V2 C2
Muddy Waters 2011-11-29

Focus Media Holding FMCN

FMCN's rebuttal concedes Muddy Waters' core claims — inflated LCD network, 1,758% theater market share, phantom VIE acquisitions, and brazen insider self-dealing make the shares un-investable.

N4 V2 C2
Muddy Waters 2011-11-21

Focus Media Holding Ltd. FMCN

Focus Media is the Olympus of China: it inflates its LCD screen count by 50%, systematically overpays for acquisitions it writes off, and enriches insiders at shareholders' expense.

N5 V2 C2
JANA Partners 2011-08-22

The McGraw-Hill Companies MHP

McGraw-Hill's conglomerate structure masks four independently attractive assets; separating MH Education, Information & Media and the S&P Index business plus an accelerated buyback unlocks ~60% upside to ~$65.

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Muddy Waters 2011-03-02

China MediaExpress Holdings CCME

CCME is a fraud: a recorded salesperson admits doubling the bus count for SEC filings, and Chairman Cheng's rebuttal cited fabricated license plates — fair value $3.54 vs $12.27.

N4 V2 C2
Muddy Waters 2011-02-03

China MediaExpress Holdings CCME

CCME is a pump-and-dump: reported revenue is overstated ~5x, its bus network is half the claimed size, and management is cashing out — fair value $5.28 vs $16.61.

N4 V2 C2
Carl Icahn 2006-02-01

Time Warner Inc. TWX

Time Warner has underperformed its peer index by 51% under Parsons; splitting into four SpinCos (AOL, Content, Publishing, Cable) plus a $20bn buyback unlocks $30-45bn — a 35-54% premium.

N5 V4 C4
Trian Partners

The Walt Disney Company DIS

Disney has lost its way and underperformed peers; replacing two long-tenured directors with Nelson Peltz and former Disney CFO Jay Rasulo will restore accountability and shareholder returns.

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