End of Year 2022 Update - $FTG.to, $MCB.to, $QST.v,

Happy start of the year everyone!

Thoughts on Market Activity

Pretty volatile going into 2023. I am working on a post that goes over all of my holdings, how they performed in 2022 and how I am thinking about the position. It should be out tomorrow.

Podcasts I Enjoyed

• Richard Reese on Think Like an Owner (h/t chip)

  This was great. Listening to a former CEO that has navigated many different markets and cycles is almost always worth your time. This one is no different. Reese was there when the company was bleeding capital to generating cash. They were also private and eventually went public. His discussion around compensation was something worth listening to multiple times.

• Year in Review on This Week in Intelligent Investing.

  Good conversation around 2022. Feels like we have been through a decade or two of major events in the last 3 years.

• Michael Mauboussin on Invest Like the Best

  Great episode on what’s driving returns. Market share, ROIC, and capital allocation are discussed. Mauboussin is always worth reading/listening to.

• How Do Pandemics Change Health Care? on Freakonomics MD

  Thought provoking on the longer term effects on health care. The long run effects from the last pandemic are something I underappreciated.

Other News

A couple of Canadian microcaps that I have mentioned have been bought out.

• FRII (Freshii)

  • They are being acquired by Foodtastic Inc for a 148% premium. It was down an additional 40-50% since I sold. Now it’s well above where I sold. Not sure if there is any conclusions to draw from this data point in isolation.

• MRV

  • It was sitting at about the same price as when I sold and had I held on it would be about break even. It’s pretty cheap price although there is the balance sheet overhang with the convertible debt coming due soon. Something had to happen.

Company Updates    

• Firan Technology - $FTG.to

  • another acquisition announced

    • Rev of 40 mil pre-pandemic, currently 30 mil

    • 24 mil with 6 mil earnout potential

    • as well they announced the sale leaseback of the Chatsworth facility

• McCoy Global - $MCB.to

  • announced sale lease back of their Texas production and service facility

    • proceeds of 9 mil CAD (6.7 mil USD)

• Questor Technologies - $QST.v

  • update on the Mexico project

    • hopefully this issue closes in 2023 and they don’t have this drag on the stock

Feel free to comment.

Dean

*Long - $MCB.to, $QST.v