Topic: Mergers And Acquisitions

Jason Calacanis explains why the tech industry has warmed to Donald Trump, primarily due to his stance on deregulation and mergers and acquisitions (M&A). He criticizes FTC Chair Lina Khan's approach to antitrust, arguing that tech companies want "balls and strikes" adjudication rather than predictive regulation. Andrew Horowitz adds that while he is a moderate, he supports innovation and free enterprise.

A donor with experience in mergers and acquisitions explains "The Bitter Defense," a strategy where boards investigate their own company's skeletons to prevent hostile takeovers. The conversation shifts to the annoyance of robocalls, specifically those claiming a business is not properly listed in Google's search index.

The hosts follow up on a previous story regarding a banker from Greenhill & Co. who died in a plane crash. They note that the firm's rankings in the M&A sector plummeted to 40th place following the collapse of the $39 billion AT&T and T-Mobile acquisition, suggesting a link between the failed deal and the firm's misfortunes.

John C. Dvorak shares a rumor about a backdoor in the OpenTable reservation system used by consultants to track the meetings of Silicon Valley executives. He claims to have seen an itinerary of restaurants visited by Will Hearst, suggesting that reservation data can be used to predict mergers and acquisitions.