Fairfax Financial: Retail Subsidiaries Perspective
Former CFO at Fairfax Financial Retail Subsidiary
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Former CFO at Fairfax Financial Retail Subsidiary
Interview Transcript
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Great to hear. Regarding the acquisitions you were involved in as CFO, at a high level, how were the decisions made to acquire them, and how did they turn out?
I looked at one potential acquisition opportunity we had, specifically the Golf Town Sporting Life acquisition. I wasn't involved with the Fairfax head office looking at opportunities unrelated to Golf Town, Sporting Life, or Toys R Us. We only focused on our own domain. At the time, they had a standalone group that evaluated opportunities, similar to how you might always be on the lookout for new opportunities. Occasionally, I'd get a call saying, "Hey, confidentially, we're considering this potential opportunity. What are your thoughts on the risks and opportunities here?" These conversations happened occasionally, but all due diligence was conducted by their separate group. They later disbanded that group as part of a restructuring at Fairfax. This happened shortly before I left. They were handling all their M&A work internally. I'm not sure who's handling it now. They recently acquired Sleep Country, which happened after my departure, so I'm unaware of who conducted the analysis. Previously, it would have been the standalone group, but I believe those individuals have since left.
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