Zaslav Is Real Winner in WBD Deal, Gabelli Says
Summary
- M&A Renaissance: Gabelli predicts a vibrant M&A environment driven by a "free market" administration and CEOs feeling confident that deals will close (overcoming DOJ/regulatory hurdles).
- Financial Engineering: The primary theme is "financial engineering"—specifically spin-offs and split-ups—to unlock value in conglomerates where the sum of the parts is greater than the whole.
- Busted Deal Arbitrage: He highlights a strategy of revisiting "busted deals" (companies where M&A failed and stocks crashed) and spin-offs that were indiscriminately sold by index funds.
- Sports Monetization: A strong conviction in the continued monetization of sports franchises (NBA, Premier League) via minority stake sales to private equity and separating teams from holding companies.
Trade Ideas
Gabelli advises Netflix to "learn Japanese and think about knocking on Sony's door because of the anime." In the streaming wars, unique IP is king. Sony holds a dominant position in Anime (Crunchyroll/production). If Netflix or others need to compete, they must license from or partner with Sony, increasing Sony's pricing power or making them a strategic M&A target/partner. LONG. Sony is identified as the "arms dealer" of high-value IP (Anime) that streamers desperately need. Yen currency fluctuations; conglomerate discount on Sony's other hardware businesses.
Mario Gabelli
Legendary Media Investor
Gabelli explicitly states, "Tomorrow, you'll be an announcement for a company called Myers... we own it for a long period of time." He highlights the "razor/razorblade" business model of auto parts/tire distribution. With 300 million vehicles in the US and an aging fleet, the demand for tire replacements and accessories is non-cyclical and recurring. The company is positioned to benefit from weather events (ice/snow) and infrastructure spending. LONG. A specific small-cap value pick with a hard catalyst (announcement mentioned) and fundamental tailwinds. Mild winter weather reducing demand for tire/safety accessories; execution risk on recent acquisitions.
Mario Gabelli
Legendary Media Investor
Gabelli points to the success of the "Sphere" spin-off (stock went from $30 to $120) and notes the Dolan family is "splitting them [Knicks and Rangers] off as two separate companies." The market applies a "conglomerate discount" (or "Dolan discount") to the combined entity. By splitting the teams and potentially selling minority stakes (following the Miami Dolphins/NFL private equity model), the true private market value of these scarce assets will be realized in the public stock. LONG. Pure "financial engineering" play to close the gap between public market cap and private asset value. Dolan family control issues; delay in formal separation of the teams.
Mario Gabelli
Legendary Media Investor
The Glazers sold a minority stake to Jim Ratcliffe, and Gabelli notes, "Somewhere in the next twelve months, they're gonna be able to figure out whether they wanna monetize that asset." Scarcity value of global sports franchises is rising. With the World Cup approaching, global interest in football (soccer) provides a macro tailwind. The current structure allows for a full sale or further monetization by the controlling shareholders. LONG. Gabelli calls it a "punt" (bet) on inevitable monetization events in the next 12 months. Glazer family deciding not to sell further stakes; team performance affecting brand value.
Mario Gabelli
Legendary Media Investor
The company owns land in the Marcellus Shale and a utility business. Gabelli notes natural gas is essential for "power for the data centers." The AI/Data Center boom requires massive electricity, driving demand for natural gas. NFG can unlock value by selling or spinning off its utility business while retaining the upstream/production assets to feed this demand. LONG. An energy play disguised as a utility value play, with a specific catalyst (selling the utility arm). Regulatory hurdles on utility sales; fluctuation in natural gas prices.
Mario Gabelli
Legendary Media Investor
Gabelli mentions these as examples of "busted deals" where stocks crashed (Capri from $40 to $19, Sportsman's from $15 to $1.30) after M&A failed. When arbitrageurs dump "busted deal" stocks, they often overshoot to the downside, trading below fundamental value. Gabelli implies these are now fertile hunting grounds for value investors to pick up assets for pennies on the dollar. WATCH. Look for stabilization to enter as a deep value turnaround play. The businesses may be fundamentally broken, which is why the deals failed or why no other bidder has emerged.
Up Next
This Bloomberg Markets video, published March 04, 2026, features Mario Gabelli discussing SONY, MYE, MSGS, MANU, NFG, CPRI, SPWH. 6 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.
Speakers: Mario Gabelli · Tickers: SONY, MYE, MSGS, MANU, NFG, CPRI, SPWH