What to bedtime stories, a bankrupt company, and memes all have in common?
I was looking around through some old posts on Reddit and noticed that the video file (hosted on Reddit) has been removed from this superstonk post from July 6, 2023.
I searched for this video on YouTube using keywords pertaining to the video, such as “Kristina Partsinevelos CNBC ryan cohen”
I couldn’t find any version of it. I searched CNBC’s website, e.g. went to search for Kristina Partsinevelos, and there is no trace of the existence of this video or anything about it.
Now, evidently, it has been removed from Reddit. Fortunately, on a previous occasion I had saved a copy of this video from Reddit, and have uploaded a copy of it here if you want to download and watch it.
This hit piece production video featured the following 4 paid actors:
Full transcript:
Kristina Partsinevelos:
What to bedtime stories, a bankrupt company, and memes all have in common?
Fellow Montrealer, chairman of GameStop: Ryan Cohen. Or, that’s at least the speculation on Reddit right now.
Bed Bath and Beyond filed for bankruptcy for April, was delisted in May, and now trades on the US’s main Over the Counter exchange. The shares tend to float around until the entire bankruptcy process is over, and its bonds are right now are practically free, highlighting the lack of value in Bed Bath and Beyond, especially after Overstock paid 21.5 million dollars for all of its IP, so that means that they don’t even own bedbathandbeyond.com is not part of Bed Bath and Beyond it’s Overstock now.
And yet, Bed Bath and Beyond shares have soared, what, over 300% since its delisting, which is pretty uncommon for a bankrupt business, and more uncommon, you have retail investors getting in and, even though they know they would be the last to be paid in any sale, so,
Enter the bedtime stories and meme angle.
The Reddit crowd has a theory involving Teddy Holdings, which filed trademark applications to be an online marketplace for everything from towels, picture frames, to children’s bedtime stories. It’s also registered as a bank in Delaware, the Reddit crowd noted that the address for Teddy Holdings is the same address for Teddy Publishing, which is the publisher of a series of children’s books written by: Ryan Cohen.
There’s that Cohen connection. He’s a prominent figure in the meme stock world, although he did cash out of Bed Bath and Beyond just last year, making what, over 50 million dollars, investors now though, the retail crowd, are hoping Teddy may step in to somehow find value in the bankrupt retailer.
I called and reached out, or tried to reach out to Teddy’s patent lawyer, but didn’t hear back in time for this, uh, hit. So what is this telling us?
Rumors, we know, can move names, no doubt. Meme traders are hoping to connect the dots that may or may not be there, suggesting that Teddy holdings and in turn Ryan Cohen, can help find value in a bankrupt company that is no longer really Bed Bath and Beyond.
Courtney Reagan: And obviously Bed Bath and Beyond saw these huge moves because of the meme crowd, they haven’t given up on this name, even after it’s filed for bankruptcy, even after Ryan Cohen cashed out, huh?
Kristina Partsinevelos: Precisely, and the corporate bonds are really not worth anything, so, and the value, so what’s the value right? because the IP was pretty important hence the reason why Overstock bought it, but, they believe that this company in this shell, whatever’s left of it, that hasn’t been given to Overstock, could be renamed, and be taken under Teddy’s wing.
That’s it – You’re shaking your head no.
David Faber: I mean – Well it just, it just shows you the lengths of wishful thinking that people are willing to go to to delude themselves, that anybody who wanted to get into this business needs the ‘husk’ of Bed Bath and Beyond to do it. I can, I can go back 30 years, there was a bankrupt [something] maker called LTV, and the stock traded around for years and years and years, and people shorted it naked, it was crazy, and it happens every cycle. But the fact that we had the encouragement in here of somebody who at one point saw value in a doomed retailer is… uh I mean I think we should just be clear, that, you know, these are people telling stories to themselves.
Kristina Partsinevelos: Or, this is a really confident market right now, right? You have these investors seeking out any type of profit, uh, we’re re-invigorating the meme trade again, so what does that say, when, you know, people are trying to find value in names that are pretty much dead?
Carl Quintanilla: Or were trying to find alternatives to the, what historically has been private equity coming to the rescue, right?
Courtney Reagan: Exactly, which has not always turned out very well for these retail names, of course, with the, all of the debt that they leverage, and when other crises happen, big problems sort of resurface later on.
David Faber: Fascinating.
Carl Quintanilla: It is Fascinating.
Kristina Partsinevelos: You guys are all smiling but –
Courtney Reagan: This in itself is a bedtime story, right?
Kristina Partsinevelos: Yea, let me get a glass of milk.
Courtney Reagan: “Once upon a time…”
Kristina Partsinevelos: Ryan Cohen came to the rescue, cape and all.
Courtney Reagan: He’s gonna save this damsel in distress. At least that’s the story they’re telling themselves.
Carl Quintanilla: Kristina thanks.
Kristina Partsinevelos: Thank you.
Courtney Reagan: Fascinating.