Haha, I’m glad someone got the Seinfeld reference.Fair play. I’m...

Haha, I’m glad someone got the Seinfeld reference.

Fair play. I’m also long gold (due to similar concerns) but as you’ve probably noticed I prefer the smaller end of town. CNB, TMX, KMR, WCN, GNM and CAZ are my main goldies (if you’re feeling adventurous) but I’ve thrown quite a few darts and hopefully one or two hit a bullseye. Bit of a numbers game with the juniors. Not a fan of healthcare - bit too safe/boring for my liking but I understand the appeal.

I agree with you that long term consumption trends are against CLB (as well as the big boys like Coca Cola, McDonalds etc). But that will take decades to play out. Most people in both developed and developing countries have pretty shit diets and unhealthy lifestyles - obesity rates tell us that (and my eyes). The likelihood of any significant regulatory reform is also many years away IMO. There is some serious $ and powerful vested interest groups that will fight tooth and nail against the introduction of sugar taxes in the US. I also think they are inequitable as they tend to discriminate against people from lower socioeconomic demographics. Anyway, by the time anything like that happens (5 years away at best IMO) I’ll be long gone and CLB will probably be as well.

I reckon CLB will be taken out by one of the big boys when they get a a bit more scale - ie a Mars, Haribo, Hersheys etc. For the same reason Woolworths made a cornerstone investment in Marley Spoon. One it provides distribution. It’s also a cheap hedge against their existing business. There are a few good reasons why CLB would be an m&a target in a year or two.

Personally I like the lack of liquidity/freefloat but understand the concern. It’s not for the faint hearted. My positions would also be significantly smaller than the ones you’re used to (based on my recollection of our discussions on MMM).

Appreciate the input/feedback.

Cheers