LC

West, thanks :D Also: Do high cash balances give you pause? I.e. that management will make poor capital allocation decisions?

My mind is curious as well. Hopefully the gentlemen will be as candid when beer is replaced with coffee.

A guy like Schloss made his money from the market's inferior wisdom, buying hundreds of stocks under book. A guy like Buffett made money from his superior wisdom, buying a few stocks where he felt he was right.

Ross, thanks for the info. Full disclosure: I met a gentleman at the pub last night who was less than excited about Chef's warehouse. Knew personally gentlemen at Sysco, had met Chris P over a long period of time, etc. Very familiar with the industry. Also, very inebriated. Attempting to read through the slurred lines was difficult, but he did allude to the fact that, "I wouldn't put your kids college fund in it". So I didn't really get any details, and I'll take it with a grain of salt. He could be a disgruntled employee as Ross alluded to, but I have his contact info and if I learn any new insights into the industry, management, or CHEF's, I'll post them (and will also hold off any investment until then).

Not sure I like this play. Anyone have any deeper insight on the owners? Also this is a fiercely competitive business and what is to prevent a larger company (Sysco et al) from muscling them out? Also I would suggest doing some research on the customer profile.

I don't see what they do differently from any other company selling ad inventory online. There are tons of companies selling video ad space. If the draw is the small niche websites which provide higher quality impressions, there is an issue of diminishing returns as they can only handle so much volume without campaign performance significantly dropping off. Also. I don't buy the proprietary SDK = higher quality impression argument. I think ad targeting is becoming increasingly efficient online and this will only continue. I have to do a bit more research but I'm not sure what their differentiator is.

Good.

Also I'll say it's rare to get such feedback from management. Sanjeev is candid and lays out his plan. Moreso than from the majority of CEOs out there. This automatically improves the odds because you don't have to discount management or quality of information you receive as an investor. In fact it may warrant a premium IMHO. How many managers out there do you know you can trust?

Seems like the critics are taking historical losses and simply projecting them. Of course the company was losing money, but we don't invest backwards into history. The company in the midst of many changes as Sanjeev has mentioned. The share placements and option issuances are obviously to facilitate that change in lieu of cash from operations. You have a company with industry tailwinds and a great person we all know to embrace those tailwinds. Getting worked up over past management's crappy performance or the capital raises to facilitate the change become moot points: the real issue is whether you think the company can turn around. Given Sanjeev's experience and the tailwinds in the industry I thought it was a good bet. Bought shares.

Here is a business already licensed etc and with connections and experience doing business in China in an industry that from my inexperienced opinion probably has more tailwinds than headwinds. Fix the cost problem (easier), re-focus the sales/revenue effort (harder), and good things may happen. That's my very simplified two cents.

Sure, LC, sure... lol ;) This is just step 1 in Kraven's program to create a happy and fulfilling marriage. Next week I'm learning the 100 uses for kale!

I lived in Montreal for 6 years and the only French I managed to learn was Arret. Oh and also how to introduce myself to women. However being recently married I have, of course, quickly forgotten that.

Well, if their gross margin is 25% per car and the average selling price is 40k, that's 10k gross per car. They currently trade for 35b. They need to sell 3.5m cars to make up their market cap in gross profit. There are currently about 255m cars in North America. Anyone have any insight into normalized ebitda or net margin per car?

Technophiles argue other phones are both technologically superior to the iphone and provide a better value (cost-benefit) to the end user. Yet look at the economic results. There's a reason Apple's competitors are playing in the low cost field. Also, product updates do not mean a moat is non-existent. Gillette would still be shilling 1 blade razors. Instead PG has added so many blades I can shave from my sideburns down to my adam's apple in one fell swoop.

Only took him 4 paragraphs to mention his book. I'm impressed by his mastery of delayed gratification.

I would argue long term as well, as long as management does not dilute the brand with subpar quality. Given the quality of management at Fiat, I think the odds are against mismanagement of that brand.

You can buy shares in the public co at the market price, Palantir. Which is what I'll be doing :)

Congrats Mr. Parsad :)

Article on a screening technique http://alephblog.com/2014/08/30/using-mean-reversion-and-momentum-for-possible-advantage/

Not sure if this was posted already: http://www.scribd.com/doc/238132453/Sequoia-Investor-Day A good read as they discuss how they think about a variety of businesses.

If I buy the stock and loan it out I get a high yield from the borrow rate. Call options compensate for this discrepancy by selling at a more attractive price.

My thought exactly. Oh the drama when reality doesn't fit a market penetration model! This must be a drastically different new world we are entering!

Nate, thanks. Very informative as always. Also thank you PM and bookie for potential outlets to find other deals.

Thanks for that link. Marketability isn't a huge concern to me, but key man risk is. I'm also very curious about the brokers who are selling these deals. I assume the diligence they do is minimal at best. Therefore the buyer needs to work with the seller to obtain accurate financials information, client/vendor lists, etc. I want to be prepared before I engage a seller in a round of due diligence, and also know what to look out for.

Thanks for posting your experience, ray. What are the red flags that immediately tell you to pass? Part of what I'm trying to figure out is how to best filter through these. With public companies it is a bit easier because financials are usually spelled out cleanly and there is a lot of information as to industry dynamics.