Skip to content
Log in

academy · special situations

Academy

How is the list card read?

Each number marks one line or figure of the card; below, what it shows and how it is read. The card is a schematic: it carries no deal's data.

  1. 1Line 1 · Holding company identity

    Ticker, exchange and country of the listed parent company that accumulates stakes in independent operating subsidiaries, with the family 09 chip and the days elapsed since announcement («Day N/D» when there is no announcement date).

  2. 2Line 2 · Parent holding company

    Name and sector of the holding entity: the company with a persistent structural discount to the assets it holds in its portfolio.

  3. 3Line 3 · Controller

    The situation's counterparty, labelled «Controller»: whoever controls the holding company. The largest stake, whose market value is easy to audit on the exchange, is not read here but in the case file, «SOTP & stub» tab.

  4. 4Line 4 · Score and DRI (empty for holdings)

    In other families this line carries the score and DRI chips. For holdings the card does not show them: they are merger-arbitrage instruments and this family has no score. The width of the discount and the credibility of the reduction catalysts are read in the case file.

  5. 5Headline figure and IRR

    The highlighted block shows the headline figure only when it is sourced and, below it, the IRR. For holdings no IRR or expected return is published, so it shows N/D. The discount to NAV, the gap between the holding company's price and the liquid value of its subsidiaries, is read in the case file («SOTP & stub»).

  6. 6Holding company spot price

    Latest price of the holding company in its currency, with the offer below it only if there is an offer price. It is the price compared with the net asset value of its stakes; that NAV is not printed on the card.

  7. 7Underlying value and buyback

    The card prints neither the subsidiary's value nor a downside for holdings. The market value of the listed stakes, the NAV, the stub and the buyback mechanism are in the case file («SOTP & stub» and «Traps»); an unlisted value stays N/D unless an official document backs it.

  8. 8Stage: discount stabilisation milestone

    The card footer shows the situation's stage, with «Analysing» or «Awaiting official documentation» when applicable. A holding company has no formal close date: the arbitrage closes when the market rewards the balance-sheet simplification and the discount narrows, and no target level is printed as a date.