Perspectives

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Critical thinking on Mergers & Acquisitions, market dynamics, successions, and the dilemmas of leadership from the Glenshore team.

Episodes

  1. 1D AGO

    The €8 Billion Bet. When Swisscom Went All-In on Italy's Most Brutal Market Through the Acquisition of Vodafone Italia

    In December 2024, Swisscom (CEO Christoph Aeschlimann) completed its €8 billion acquisition of Vodafone Italia from Vodafone Group (CEO Margherita Della Valle), merging it with its subsidiary Fastweb. The deal created Italy's largest mobile operator and its first truly converged fixed-mobile challenger at national scale. The logic is compelling: combine Fastweb's fiber network with Vodafone's most awarded mobile network, offer Italian businesses and consumers something no competitor can, and escape the price war that has been destroying margins for a decade. But there is a catch. In 2016, the Wind-Tre merger followed the same M&A playbook in the same market, with similarly promising synergies. It failed. French group Iliad entered, prices collapsed further, and billions in value evaporated. In this episode of Glenshore Perspectives, we look at whether Fastweb + Vodafone can avoid that fate. This is more than a story about telecommunications, it is about whether asset complementarity on a spreadsheet can survive contact with cultural integration, competitive retaliation, and a market that punishes sub-scale operators. This podcast episode is inspired by the article written by Amine Laouedj, Managing Director at Glenshore, available at https://www.glenshore.com/articles/the-8-billion-bet-when-swisscom-went-all-in-on-italys-most-brutal-market-through-the-acquisition-of-vodafone-italia

    10 min

  2. FEB 10

    George Lucas and Lucasfilm Succession: A Cautionary Tale of Mergers and Acquisitions

    In 2012, George Lucas sold Lucasfilm, the production company behind Star Wars and Indiana Jones, to Disney for $4 billion. It was intended as a thoughtful succession: handing over his life's work to ensure it endured, while he retired to focus on family and philanthropy. Sequels grossed billions, Disney+ surged from The Mandalorian (2020), and Lucas's Disney shares ballooned to an estimated $7 billion by 2021. But there was a painful personal reality. Lucas watched his singular creative vision unravel under committee-driven decisions, resulting in declining box office returns, flops like Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), and his public expressions of deep regret, including his famous comparison to "selling his kids to the white slavers." This wasn't about the money but the stark clash between a founder's coherent vision and a public company's drive for shareholder returns, that ultimately backfired. In this episode of Glenshore Perspectives, we dive into this iconic deal as a cautionary tale for any business leader contemplating an exit or succession. This podcast episode is inspired by the article written by Amine Laouedj, Managing Director at Glenshore, available at https://www.glenshore.com/articles/george-lucas-and-lucasfilm-succession-a-cautionary-tale-of-mergers-and-acquisitions

    14 min

  3. FEB 3

    The $85 Billion Bet. Can Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern Defy the Graveyard of US Railroad Mergers?

    The proposed merger between Union Pacific (CEO Jim Vena) and Norfolk Southern (CEO Mark George) promises to create the first true coast-to-coast U.S. freight railroad since the line was built in 1869. It aims to eliminate delays at interchange points like Chicago and Memphis. It would cut transit times by 24-48 hours and move freight from trucks back to rail. But there is a catch. Every major U.S. railroad merger over the last 30 years has ended in serious operational problems: gridlock, IT failures, service breakdowns, and billions in lost value. In this episode of Glenshore Perspectives, we look at whether this $85 billion deal can avoid the same fate. This is more than a story about railroads. It is about whether a deal that makes sense on paper can survive contact with operational reality. This podcast episode is inspired by the article written by Amine Laouedj, Managing Director at Glenshore, available at https://www.glenshore.com/articles/the-85-billion-bet-can-union-pacific-and-norfolk-southern-defy-the-graveyard-of-us-railroad-mergers

    15 min
  • 3 Episodes

About

Critical thinking on Mergers & Acquisitions, market dynamics, successions, and the dilemmas of leadership from the Glenshore team.

Information

  • Creator
    Glenshore
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    3
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Glenshore 2026
  • Show Website
    Perspectives