The Special Situation Report #183: October 12 Roundup
Summary of the Week in Special Situations
Table of Contents:
Update on Developing M&A
Update on Shareholder Activism
Update on Other Special Situations
Announced M&A
C-Suite Sudden Departures
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Update on Developing M&A
Peraso (PRSO): Mobix Labs (MOBX) delivered an updated all-cash proposal where Peraso stockholders would receive $1.30 per share in cash. (Press Release)
ReNew Energy Global (RNW): A consortium led by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and ReNew CEO Sumant Sinha submitted a revised non-binding proposal increasing the price per share to acquire ReNew to $8.15 per share, from the previous offer of $8 per share. (13D Filing)
Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD): Paramount Skydance (PSKY) chief David Ellison is in talks with major private equity firms to join his possible bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery. (New York Post)
Rumors
Confluent (CFLT): Is exploring a sale after attracting acquisition interest. (Reuters)
Protagonist Therapeutics (PTGX): Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is in talks to buy Protagonist Therapeutics. (WSJ)
SM Energy (SM): Civitas Resources (CIVI) is considering a merger with Permian Basin rival SM Energy. (Bloomberg)
Update on Shareholder Activism
Dayforce (DAY): T. Rowe Price issued an open letter outlining the reasons for its opposition to the proposed acquisition of Dayforce by Thoma Bravo. (13D Filing)
STAAR Surgical (STAA): Defender Capital opposed the proposed acquisition of STAAR by Alcon (ALC). (Press Release)
Update on Other Special Situations
ABB (ABBNY): ABB announced it has signed an agreement to divest its Robotics division to SoftBank Group for an enterprise value of $5.375 billion and not pursue its earlier intention to spin off the business as a separately listed company. The deal is expected to close in mid-to-late 2026, pending regulatory approvals. (Press Release)
Comcast (CMCSA): Goldman Sachs Group is in early talks with investors to assess interest in a roughly $2.1 billion leveraged loan supporting Comcast Corp.’s planned spinoff of Versant Media Group. (Bloomberg)
FedEx (FDX): FedEx announced that Marshall Witt will join FedEx Freight as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer effective October 15. (Press Release)
Announced M&A
Target / Acquirer – Approximate Transaction Enterprise Value, Expected Closing
Financial Services
Comerica (CMA) / Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) - $10.9 bn, Q1 2026 (Press Release, Merger Agreement)
Healthcare
Akero Therapeutics (AKRO) / Novo Nordisk (NVO) - $4.7 bn, End of 2025 (Press Release, Merger Agreement)
Industrials
Heidrick & Struggles International (HSII) / Advent International and Corvex Private Equity - $1.3 bn, Q1 2026 (Press Release, Merger Agreement)
Sudden Departures
“Sudden Departures” highlights executive exits announced with short notice, where the executive is expected to leave within 30 days.
Amcor (AMCR): Chief Financial Officer Michael Casamento resigns effective November 10, 2025. (Filing)
Cipher Mining (CIFR): Chief Financial Officer Edward Farrell retires effective October 14, 2025. (Filing)
The Campbell’s Company (CPB): Chief Financial Officer Carrie L. Anderson resigns effective October 20, 2025. (Filing)
Designer Brands (DBI): Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer Jared A. Poff resigns effective October 31, 2025. (Filing)
Legacy Housing (LEGH): Chief Financial Officer Jeff Fiedelman resigns effective October 10, 2025. (Filing)
MSP Recovery (MSPR): General Counsel Alexandra Plasencia resigns effective October 17, 2025. (Filing)
NextDecade (NEXT): Chief Financial Officer Brent Wahl resigns effective October 20, 2025. (Filing)
Nuwellis (NUWE): Chief Financial Officer Robert B. Scott resigns effective October 24, 2025. (Filing)
PepsiCo (PEP): Chief Financial Officer Jamie Caulfield resigns effective November 10, 2025. (Filing)
Plug Power (PLUG): President Sanjay Shrestha resigns effective October 10, 2025. (Filing)
Verizon Communications (VZ): Chief Executive Officer Hans Vestberg resigns effective October 6, 2025. (Filing)
VSE Corp (VSEC): Chief Accounting Officer Tarang Sharma resigns effective October 31, 2025. (Filing)
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Thanks for the comprehensive roundup. The Cipher Mining (CIFR) CFO departure caught my eye given the timing. Edward Farrell retiring effective October 14th is interesting because it comes right after Cipher closed the $1.1B zero-coupon convertible offering and announced the Google/Fluidstack deal. CFO transitions during major strategic pivots can signal different things. On one hand, Farrell successfully navigated the company through a massive capital raise and secured the Google partnership - perhaps a natural exit point after achieving those milestones. On the other hand, the timing raises questions about whether there might be disagreements about execution strategy for the AI/HPC buildout. The convertible stucture Cipher chose is equity-friendly (zero coupon, no cash drain) but requires flawless execution on the Black Pearl timeline to avoid dilution at unfavorable conversion prices. If the CFO had concerns about capex burn rates or deployment timelines, this would be the logical exit moment. Given how critical cash flow management will be during this transformation phase, the quality of Farrell's replacement will be crucial. The stock has been incredibly volatile (up 230%+ YTD per other sources), so any perception that this departure reflects execution concerns rather than planned succession could trigger a pullback.