European Event-Driven Analyst

Jesus Rodriguez Aguilar

Jesús is an Insight Provider (Event-driven) on the Smartkarma network, where he looks across sectors at opportunities arising from securities mispricing (both credit and equity), share classes, bid announcements, prospective bids, and special situations. He has served as Economic and Business Advisor at the Spanish Congress in Madrid. Prior to that, he has worked in the City of London: as a Credit Analyst at Bloomberg; Event-driven associate at former boutique European Research; and doubled as Special Situations and Equity-linked VP (convertible bonds) at Merrill Lynch. Jesús has an MBA from the London Business School, a BA (Hons.) degree in Economics from the Complutense University in Madrid, and a BA (Hons.) in Law from U.N.E.D., also in Madrid.

2025 in Review: Selected European Holding Companies & DLCs

Rio Tinto / Glencore: M&A as a Stress Test for the Dual-Listed Structure

Rio Tinto: Glencore Bid – From Simplified to Sprawling?

Vivendi: Mandatory Buyout in Motion – High-Conviction Risk Arb with 30%+ Upside

Selected European HoldCos and DLC: November 2025 Report

Digging Deeper: The Vote Failed, But the Value in Rio Tinto’s Dual Listing Remains Untapped

Selected European HoldCos and DLC: October 2025 Report

Selected European HoldCos and DLC: September 2025 Report

Event-Driven

<ul>
<li>
Holdco dispersion remains extreme: Vivendi’s discount widened to ~45%, while Nordic holdcos trade near cycle tights, highlighting a sharp divergence between event-driven and quality-compounder structures.</li>
<li>
GBL execution contrasts with market inertia: Active simplification, cash generation and buybacks continue, yet the discount remains stubbornly wide — increasingly a function of sentiment rather than fundamentals.</li>
<li>
Vivendi reset restores asymmetry: Legal timing uncertainty flushed positioning, not value; with NAV intact and control unresolved, downside is limited while regulatory optionality remains substantial.</li>
</ul>



Holdco dispersion remains extreme: Vivendi’s discount widened to ~45%, while Nordic holdcos trade near cycle tights, highlighting a sharp divergence between event-driven and quality-compounder structures.

GBL execution contrasts with market inertia: Active simplification, cash generation and buybacks continue, yet the discount remains stubbornly wide — increasingly a function of sentiment rather than fundamentals.

Vivendi reset restores asymmetry: Legal timing uncertainty flushed positioning, not value; with NAV intact and control unresolved, downside is limited while regulatory optionality remains substantial.


Selected European HoldCos and DLC: December 2025 Report

Vivendi SE

Selected European HoldCos and DLC: December 2025 Report