Glenshore Perspectives

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The M&A deals that shape industries. The business decisions that define legacies. Welcome to the Glenshore Perspectives podcast. In each episode, the team from boutique investment bank Glenshore offers critical thinking on Mergers and Acquisitions, market dynamics, successions, and the dilemmas of leadership. This show is dedicated to helping principled business leaders protect what they have built. So, whether you are a founder planning an exit or a CEO navigating growth strategic options, this show will change how you think about M&A. And more broadly the business world. Episodes are discussions inspired by the articles at glenshore.com.

Épisodes

  1. -4 J

    Kazuo Inamori and Japan Airlines Turnaround: A Masterclass in Legacy-Led Management

    In 2010, Japan Airlines collapsed. It was the largest bankruptcy in Japanese history, carrying $25B in liabilities. To save it, the government called a 77-year-old retired billionaire with zero experience in the aviation industry, who also happened to be an ordained Zen priest: Kazuo Inamori. He took the role for a $0 salary, signaling to the workforce that this was an act of service, not personal ambition. He rewrote the company's purpose around employee wellbeing and service to society. He introduced his "Amoeba Management System", turning every department into an autonomous business unit. Within three years, JAL became the most profitable airline in the world, and its IPO was the second largest of the year, trailing only Facebook. In this episode of Glenshore Perspectives, we dive into this legendary business turnaround. 1. The Business Leader: Kazuo Inamori, who built two Fortune Global 500 companies before turning to Zen Buddhism 2. The Decision: Coming out of retirement at 77, driven by a responsibility to protect 32,000 remaining employees 3. The Outcome: From the largest bankruptcy in Japanese history to the most profitable airline in the world This podcast episode is inspired by the article written by Amine Laouedj, Managing Director at Glenshore, available at https://www.glenshore.com/articles/kazuo-inamori-and-japan-airlines-turnaround-a-masterclass-in-legacy-led-management

    18 min

  2. 17 FÉVR.

    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

    9 min

  3. 10 FÉVR.

    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

  4. 3 FÉVR.

    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

  5. 21 JANV.

    Yvon Chouinard’s Patagonia Succession: A Legacy-First Approach to Mergers and Acquisitions

    In September 2022, Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard faced the universal dilemma of every purpose-driven founder: how to step away from a company built over five decades without destroying the mission that defined it. Rather than pursuing a competitive auction or IPO, Chouinard transferred 98% of the company's stock to the Holdfast Collective, a nonprofit dedicated to fighting the environmental crisis, and placed voting control in the Patagonia Purpose Trust. The logic is radical: remove the company entirely from the gravitational pull of the standard M&A playbook, where price dominates, integration erodes culture, and 70% of transactions still destroy value after closing. But this is not just a feel-good story. Chouinard's decision was a deliberate rejection of the winner's curse, the dynamic where the highest bidder, having overpaid, is forced to cut the very capabilities that made the asset valuable. By forgoing an auction entirely, he ensured that Patagonia's culture of activism, its employee loyalty, and its environmental mission would remain the cornerstone of continuity rather than casualties of post-closing synergy targets. In this episode of Glenshore Perspectives, we look at what Chouinard's succession means for business leaders facing their own transitions. This is more than a story about outdoor apparel. It is about whether founders can design exits that honour the human adventure of their business, and whether stewardship can coexist with financial health in an era of record M&A activity. This podcast episode is inspired by the article written by Amine Laouedj, Managing Director at Glenshore, available at https://www.glenshore.com/articles/yvon-chouinards-patagonia-succession-a-legacy-first-approach-to-mergers-and-acquisitions

    10 min

  6. 14 JANV.

    The $32 Billion Bet. Alphabet's Acquisition of Wiz and the High Cost of the Winner's Curse in M&A

    In March 2025, Alphabet (CEO Sundar Pichai) completed its $32 billion acquisition of cloud security unicorn Wiz (CEO Assaf Rappaport), the largest cybersecurity deal in history. The move is designed to transform Google Cloud into the security dashboard for every enterprise's multi-cloud and AI strategy, closing the gap with AWS and Azure. The logic is compelling: combine Google's infrastructure and Mandiant's incident response capabilities with Wiz's agentless scanning technology, and offer enterprises a unified security layer across every cloud environment. But there is a catch. Wiz's greatest commercial asset has been its vendor neutrality — trusted by 40% of the Fortune 100 precisely because it favoured no single cloud provider. That neutrality evaporates the moment it becomes a Google subsidiary. And at a 40–50x forward revenue multiple, Alphabet has removed its own margin for error, creating enormous pressure to integrate aggressively — the very thing most likely to destroy what made Wiz valuable in the first place. In this episode of Glenshore Perspectives, we look at whether Alphabet can defy the structural forces of the Winner's Curse. This is more than a story about cloud security — it is about the M&A Paradox: when the cost of winning the auction forces the buyer to dismantle the asset they fought so hard to acquire. This podcast episode is inspired by the article written by Amine Laouedj, Managing Director at Glenshore, available at https://www.glenshore.com/articles/the-32-billion-bet-alphabets-acquisition-of-wiz-and-the-high-cost-of-the-winners-curse

    10 min
  • 6 épisodes

À propos

The M&A deals that shape industries. The business decisions that define legacies. Welcome to the Glenshore Perspectives podcast. In each episode, the team from boutique investment bank Glenshore offers critical thinking on Mergers and Acquisitions, market dynamics, successions, and the dilemmas of leadership. This show is dedicated to helping principled business leaders protect what they have built. So, whether you are a founder planning an exit or a CEO navigating growth strategic options, this show will change how you think about M&A. And more broadly the business world. Episodes are discussions inspired by the articles at glenshore.com.

Informations

  • Création
    Glenshore
  • Années d’activité
    2 k
  • Épisodes
    6
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    © Glenshore 2026
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