Sold Tronc

I took a hit in Tronc (Ticker: TRNC) today. I was expecting news this morning of a definitive agreement with Gannett (Ticker: GCI), but obviously it did not materialize. There was also news later in the day that banks pulled out of financing for this deal. It was the financing news that told me to cut my losses and move on. I generated a super -29.39% loss on this special situation play. I had ~ 16% position in Tronc so the overall impact was a ~ 5% draw down on my portfolio. I learn the most from my losses and this was one nice lesson.

More Virgn America

I’ve been building a position in Virgin America (Ticker: VA) as my conviction grows in this deal closing. Virgin America is in the process of being acquired by Alaska Air (Ticker: ALK) for $57.00 in cash. This position currently makes up ~ 48% of my portfolio at an average price of $53.73. All of the body language from Alaska Air has been positive in this deal closing. Now, it’s a question of when and not if this deal closes. I have modeled a closing by November 30th. We should be hearing from the DOJ soon…

Bought: Tronc, Virgin America and NXP Semi

The M&A space are full of opportunities, but there are also plenty of land mines out there. I recently entered into a couple of high risk / high reward positions. (1) Tronc (Ticker: TRNC) (~8% position) at an average price of $17.11. All signs indicate that Gannett (Ticker: GCI) is very close to acquiring Tronc at a price of $18.50 to $19 per share. An announcement should occur shortly. (2) Virgin America (Ticker: VA) (~13% position) at an average price of $53.43. This company is being acquired by Alaska Air for $57 per share in cash. Anti-trust jitters are causing the spread to widen. Obviously I see this deal getting anti-trust approval. And finally (3) NXP Semiconductors (Ticker: NXPI) (~8% position) at an average price of $102.28. This is a perfect fit for Qualcomm (Ticker: QCOM) and can see a $120 deal getting struck. Now, just wait and see how things evolve…

September 2016 Performance

September was all about Medivation, Medivation and Medivation. I went in big on Medivation by going long the stock and short Puts. Fortunately, everything went as planned as this deal closed on 9/27. A bit annoyed that I am still waiting for the cash to hit my account. I had modeled the cash to hit my account by September 30th (It now looks like it will hit my account on 10/3).

One arb play that has consistently given me a headache is Rite-Aid (Ticker: RAD). This is one that I never seem to get right. I’m currently out of the position after getting shaken out for the third time. I think Rite-Aid is just not meant for me!

I’ve closed out my remaining arb plays such as Virgin America (Ticker: VA) for the time being. It’s been such a good year that I just don’t want to start forcing trades. Although, I am keeping a very close eye on LinkedIn (Ticker: LNKD) and believe that this deal has a good shot at closing by year end.

I’m planning on taking it a bit easy for the remainder of the year.

Well, that’s what I say now…


2016 Performance Year to Date = +24.86% with the running monthly returns as follows:

January -5.47%
February -3.50%
March +7.51%
April +0.84%
May +6.34%
June -2.6%
July +12.2%
August +6.57%
September +1.94%