Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Abbreviations and Wall Street Terms
Introduction—Why This Book? by Mario J. Gabelli
Part I. The Arbs’ Perspectives
1. Guy Wyser-Pratte
2. Jeffrey Tarr
3. Martin Gruss
4. Paul Singer
5. Michael Price
6. Peter Schoenfeld
7. John Paulson
8. Paul Gould
9. George Kellner
10. Roy Behren and Michael Shannon
11. Karen Finerman
12. John Bader
13. Clint Carlson
14. James Dinan
15. Drew Figdor
16. Jamie Zimmerman
17. Keith Moore
Part II. The View from the Other Side—The CEOs
18. William Stiritz
19. Paul Montrone
20. Peter McCausland
Appendix I: Risk Arbitrage Decision Tree
Appendix II: Deals
Appendix III: A Note on Methods
Index

About the Author

Kate Welling is the editor and publisher of Welling on Wall St., an independent financial journal. A well-known financial journalist, she was managing editor of Barron’s.

Mario Gabelli is the chairman and chief executive officer of GAMCO Investors, Inc. A merger master in his own right, he is one of the country’s leading money managers and investors.

Reviews

The authors bring together into one publication excellent insight from the masters in the art of merger arbitrage. A strategy designed to yield the practitioner excellent profits. A very worthwhile read.
*Leon G. Cooperman, founder, chairman, and CEO of Omega Advisors, Inc.*

Merger Masters is a rare combination of fascinating stories about legendary deal makers and battle-seasoned techniques for deal making. Reading the interviews will provide important lessons and invaluable, time-tested investment insights. There is no one better to draw out the lessons than Kate Welling and Mario Gabelli.
*Paul Johnson, adjunct professor of finance, Gabelli School of Business, Fordham University, and coauthor of Pitch the Perfect Investment: The Essential Guide to Winning on Wall Street*

Kate Welling, in her inimitable manner, has captured the individuals, articulated their talents and accomplishments, bringing her lifetime skills as a superb financial journalist to the task.
*Louise Yamada, founder of Louise Yamada Technical Research Advisors, LLC*

I highly recommend this fascinating look into the world of risk arbitrageurs. Wall Street veterans Kate Welling and Mario Gabelli provide keen insights into a part of the investment business that has long been seen as mysterious. They skillfully pull back the curtain on the industry by talking to players on both sides—the “arbs” and the corporate managers, all of whom have interesting and valuable stories to tell. For anyone interested in learning about merger arbitrage from the key players, this is the book to read!
*A. Gary Shilling, president of A. Gary Shilling & Co.*

In this engrossing book, Welling and Gabelli explore the thinking of the mavens who arbitrage the big deals on Wall Street. Risk arb turns out to be an extreme form of value investing, with more precise valuation and risk selection, overlaid with game theory. A must-read for professionals.
*Joel Tillinghast, author of Big Money Thinks Small: Biases, Blind Spots, and Smarter Investing*

Not the typical account of specific corporate combinations found in most books on merger. [The authors] look at corporate deals and risk arbitrage through the eyes of some of the most accomplished individual participants in this field.
*Choice*

Raises the curtain on arbitrage strategy by profiling leading practitioners.
*Regulation*