GMG Responds to Traeger Lawsuit on Cloud Connected Grills/WiFi

[SmokingPat]

"Not only am I unintimidated my litigation; I sometimes rather miss it." -- Kurt Denke, Blue Jeans Cable.

[SmokingPat]

"Shares of Yeti, a maker of fancy coolers, have more than doubled over the past year ..."
I know my purchases of Yeti have more than doubled over the past year. Yeti Imperial Stout, that is. Great Divide Brewing Company, Denver.

[fracmeister]

As another Mormon (we prefer the full name of the Church but let's not do the religion thing) I will say that the BYUY to Harvard MBA train is surprisingly full of very bright people who go on to succeed in business ventures. I know nothing of these individuals, their exploits etc. I have a Yoder pellet grill for full disclosure... I did enjoy reading the GMG responses as I do expert witness work in patents and there is at least one flaw in the GMG response

[glitchy]

TRSH?

[STEbbq]

Ha, but no.

TJNK would probably work (4 letters only for Nasdaq), but for some reason, I don't think the company would want that ticker.

[glitchy]

STEbbq Are you going all in on ticker TJUNK if they do IPO?

[STEbbq]

A 18.75 multiple....there's a lot of high valuations in the market (see tech stocks), so it's not an outrageous ask, but it's probably generous. Bankers are probably throwing out some valuations to see what investors think and will adjust closer to IPO (unless a sale happens).

[jfmorris]

How do you go from $160M in earnings to a $3B valuation?

[STEbbq]

And it all becomes clear! Traeger is setting itself up for a IPO or sale!

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/22/business/dealbook/hedge-fund-rich-list.html

Exclusive: Traeger fires up a sale


The high-end grill maker has interviewed investment banks in recent weeks for what could be either a sale or an I.P.O., DealBook hears. Traeger, which has about $160 million in operating earnings, is growing quickly: Sales rose more than 20 percent last year. The company is hoping for a valuation that tops $3 billion, which may be too high for a buyer but could match public market appetite. The private equity firm AEA Investors, which acquired control of Traeger in 2017 for an undisclosed amount, declined to comment.

Grill sales soared during the pandemic,as people stuck at home lit up the barbecue. Traeger’s wood-pellet-fueled grills can run into the thousands of dollars and come outfitted with Wi-Fi ("WiFire") technology to adjust heat settings from a smartphone. At-home grilling could slow as economies reopen and people spend less time at home, but in that case, Traeger also sells accessories and grills made for travel.

Traeger is the latest company looking to capitalize on a pandemic bump, testing the lofty premiums that investors are willing to fork out. McCormick paid $800 million to buy Cholula hot sauce as home cooking pushed spice sales, and Hormel paid $3.35 billion to buy Kraft Heinz’s once stalled Planters business as consumers sought comfort foods. Shares of Yeti, a maker of fancy coolers, have more than doubled over the past year, giving it a market capitalization of $6.5 billion.

[hogdog6]

Alphonse thanks for the definition.

[Alphonse]

hogdog6, I saw it in a news article when researching this topic. I think it comes from him being a member of the BYUMarriott School of Business Founders Board. He was educated at BYU and then went to Harvard for his MBA. He lives in Salt Lake and relocated Traeger there after he, the Barish family, and Trilantic acquired it. It apparently ruffled some feathers when he severed the majority of the Oregon employees as part of the relocation.

[hogdog6]

Alphonse being a "Mormon" I don't know what the Mormon MBA Club is??? No politics or religion just wondering what that is?

[Alphonse]

Venture Capital has ruined a lot of good companies. Joe sold out in 2006 when his patent expired to a Venture Capital outfit. That shark tank sold it to another venture capital outfit in 2014 and Jeremy Andrus, of Mitt Romney connections and the Mormon MBA club, has been running it and moved to Utah. They severed all the employees in Oregon and moved it to Salt Lake. Joe/Dansons got sued because of what Joe signed back in 2006?? Traeger has settled and made Ol' Joe take his name off his barn!

[Jerod Broussard]

Good read. yeah, my internet is slow, evidently AT&T didn't get the cold weather package with their cables (last cold spell proved the same), and I figured someone that has owned over 500 pellet poopers has plenty to add

[Jerod Broussard]

I'm thinking it's easier to Grant a patent rather than have to explain why you wouldn't Grant one.

Seriously, years ago in a certain industry they were handing out patents left and right, many of which shouldn't have been granted. They told the companies just to battle it out in the courts. Needless to say certain items in that industry saw their prices go up precipitously.