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23 Episodes

The Closer

The inside story of the deals that changed the world, as told by the people who know how it all went down.

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About the Show

The inside story of the deals that changed the world, as told by the people who know how it all went down.

Landmark deals can change everything. They can transform how we live. They can alter the course of the economy. The Closer asks: Who made these deals, and why?

Season 1 of The Closer covered six influential deals. We'll return with another season of these episodes in June. In the meantime, on The Closer Weekly, host Aimee Keane and producer Ben Walsh will examine business and deals stories in the news. Have an idea…

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Episodes

Jan 30, 2023

The inside story of the deals that changed the world, as told by the people who know how it all went down. The Closer, out now. For ad-free listening and…

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Feb 6, 2023

The 2013 merger between American Airlines and US Airways created the world’s largest airline. But it also marked the ascent of one of the American labor movement’s most visible faces….

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Feb 13, 2023

WeWork’s failed IPO was a stunning failure that played out in daily – at times, hourly – headlines around the world. But before that disaster there was another deal that…

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Feb 20, 2023

An exec at the center of Whatsapp’s $19 billion sale explains how the deal finally came together and the dispiriting conflict that roiled the companies after the deal closed. We…

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Feb 27, 2023

A scrappy startup wanted to help people sort their medications, and in the process took on some of the titans of Big Pharma, and won. But that success made it…

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Mar 6, 2023

When Brazilian private investment firm 3G took over Kraft and Heinz, they thought they had a perfect plan. The Closer digs into where it went wrong and who got hurt….

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Mar 13, 2023

David Bowie: ground-breaking musician; artistic shape-shifter; style icon; and … savvy financial player? We dive into “Bowie Bonds” with the man who created them and unpack their impact on the…

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Mar 17, 2023

Financial Times journalist Tabby Kinder was one of the first to report on weaknesses at Silicon Valley Bank. In this episode of The Closer, she breaks down the bank’s swift…

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Mar 24, 2023

JP Morgan Chase thought it owned 54 metric tonnes of nickel, the most highly valued base metal. The bank had reason to believe this nickel was stored in bags at…

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Mar 31, 2023

Shares in Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba jumped this week after founder Jack Ma made a rare visit to mainland China, and the company announced plans to break itself into six…

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Apr 7, 2023

Two of the biggest names in fighting, WWE and Endeavor’s UFC, are coming together to form a new, publicly traded entity. It’s a tie-up of larger-than-life personalities in the ring…

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Apr 14, 2023

This week, we’re looking at a deal one of our listeners on Twitter asked us to cover. It’s JetBlue’s $3.8bn takeover of discount carrier Spirit Airlines. The deal was approved…

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Apr 21, 2023

Alongside the release of Netflix’s quarterly earnings, the streaming service announced two big pieces of news this week. One, that it would be ending its DVD mailing business, and two,…

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Apr 28, 2023

Bed Bath & Beyond’s decline and fall is complete. The iconic home goods retailer said this week that it was entering bankruptcy and that all of its stores would be…

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May 5, 2023

The financial press has been reporting on a big trend in dealmaking: it’s way down this year, especially in comparison to the M&A activity of 2021. Aimee and Ben discuss…

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May 12, 2023

The Oakland A’s are one step closer to a move to Las Vegas, reaching a deal this week for a new plot of land that would house a brand new…

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May 19, 2023

Hundreds of thousands of Japanese companies have a problem – their founders are aging without a successor in sight. One entrepreneur has built his $1.3 billion fortune on a solution….

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Jun 12, 2023

The US Women’s National Soccer Team is among the most decorated teams in the game but, until recently, was paid a fraction of what the men took home. When the…

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Jun 19, 2023

We take you inside the final days of Toys R Us with Lauren Hirsch, the reporter who first revealed the iconic company’s impending bankruptcy, and explain what drove the company…

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Jun 26, 2023

When private equity-backed PetSmart bought Chewy.com for more than $3bn in 2017, people thought the retailer was doomed. Within just a few years, though, it was one of the most…

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