This is an update (hopefully the last update!) in regard to the "Battery Danger" message I experienced. Here are the prior posts:
Original Post on 10 May 2023
Update 1 on 15 May 2023
BLUF:
I now have the car back with a new battery. The EV Concierge is reimbursing my fuel expenses while I had the rental car (which was also taken care of).
Potentially helpful background:
I traveled out of state to find & buy the Bolt EUV (with S&S and SC). I purchased the car in Feb 2023 and DCFC'd it 4 times on the drive home immediately after purchase. Since I've been home, I charged up to 80% nightly with the 32A / 240V charger that came with the car.
When this event occurred, I still had about 140 miles remaining even though the picture shows "Low".
What I learned when I picked up the car:
The car was towed in, horn still going off, on 10 May 2023. The tech disconnected the negative on the battery to get it to stop and parked the car in the far corner of the lot. The next day, Thursday 11 May 2023, the tech saw error code P0BBD (Hybrid Battery Pack Voltage Variation Exceeded Limit).
Apparently what happened here is the battery has contactors and all of those disengaged as a safety mechanism when the car saw this code. The horn goes off - possibly with the hope of draining the 12V battery if no one is around. If this were to happen while driving, the assumption is you'd still get the notice and you'd slowly lose propulsion power - so you'd have enough time to pull over and gtfo.
Anyway - the tech followed diagnostics and a bulletin had him contact Technical Assistance Center (TAC) for further direction. TAC had him put together a report and scheduled the local field engineer to come out ASAP which ended up being Monday morning. The field engineer had a device that plugged into the engineering port (on passenger side) to stream data to engineers in Detroit. It was then decided a battery replacement would be the resolution and the bad battery would be carefully packaged, crated, and sent to LG.
When the new battery was installed, the coolant was also replaced and the battery was programmed remotely by the engineers in Detroit (I think).
The tech also put the car on their DCFC which performs an isolation test and rebalances cells. He said it's free to use and it wouldn't hurt to do it monthly (the battery doesn't need to be at a certain level - just needs room to charge).
Let's get nerdy:
I got a copy of the diagnostic report it showed the following:

• Battery 1 & 8 @ 3.80V
• Battery 9 @ 3.85V
• The rest of the 32 batteries were at either 3.82V or 3.83V

He pointed out battery 9 as the outlier and said especially since it's in the middle of the pack so it's not near anything that would cause the increase in voltage.
I looked up how thermal runaway happens here are 3 possibilities:

• Overcharging: Charging a lithium-ion battery beyond its recommended voltage limit can cause the deposition of metallic lithium on the anode. This can create microscopic metal dendrites or "whiskers" that can penetrate the separator between the electrodes, causing an internal short circuit and leading to thermal runaway.
• Overdischarging: Discharging a lithium-ion battery below its recommended voltage limit can also lead to thermal runaway. Overdischarge causes the formation of copper or other metallic deposits on the cathode, which can cause internal short circuits upon subsequent charging.
• Elevated temperatures: Lithium-ion batteries are sensitive to high temperatures. Exposure to elevated ambient temperatures, excessive heat generated during charging or discharging, or external heat sources can increase the internal temperature of the battery. If the heat generated exceeds the battery's ability to dissipate it, a thermal runaway reaction can occur.
  • This can happen on batteries with higher voltages because they will discharge faster (more watts / more heat) compared to the other batteries.

One of the key reactions that can occur during thermal runaway is the breakdown of the electrolyte. The electrolyte in a lithium-ion battery is typically a flammable organic solvent that contains lithium salts. When the battery undergoes thermal runaway, the high temperature can cause the electrolyte to decompose or vaporize, releasing flammable gases such as ethylene and propylene. These gases can further contribute to the heat buildup and increase the severity of the thermal runaway event.
As the temperature continues to rise, the decomposition of the electrolyte and other active materials in the battery can accelerate. For example, the breakdown of the cathode material, which often includes a nickel-based compound, can release oxygen. Oxygen can react with other battery components, such as the electrolyte or the graphite anode, resulting in additional heat generation and the production of more flammable gases.
The release of flammable gases, combined with the high temperature, can create a self-sustaining chain reaction within the battery. The heat generated by the exothermic reactions can further accelerate the decomposition of the electrolyte and other materials, releasing more gases and causing a feedback loop. This feedback loop leads to an increase in temperature, pressure, and the release of additional flammable gases, exacerbating the severity of the thermal runaway event.
In closing:
I learned a lot and ordered an OBD reader from Amazon.
Bonus
The tech informed me if I were to try to change my own 12V battery whenever it needs it, there are some contactors that disengage and make a noise when the negative side is disconnected (always remove the negative side first). When putting in the new battery, if the contactors don't re-engage, you may need to have it towed in.

To folks asking about research opportunities, this lab is hiring a part-time position this summer.
Posted on the Plant & Microbial Biology bulletin board in Gardner Hall. To folks looking for research positions, checking out these department bulletin boards can be a good way to find opportunities. They may not be in the same buildings as your classes, but you can usually find the address on the department webpage.
Ad on bulletin board for a part-time summer research tech

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Des variantes génétiques similaires semblent être à l'origine d'un certain nombre de troubles psychiatriques. Dans une étude portant sur 200 000 personnes (8), la schizophrénie présentait une corrélation significative avec la plupart des autres troubles. En revanche, certains troubles tels que le syndrome de stress post-traumatique (PTSD) ne présentaient que de faibles corrélations avec d'autres pathologies. - Marshall, M. (2020). The hidden links between mental disorders. Nature, 581(7806), 19–21. doi:10.1038/d41586-020-00922-8
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Je trouve intéressant de vous partager l'article publié dans Nature en 2020 en lien avec cette carte :

Les racines de la maladie mentale.

Les chercheurs commencent à démêler la biologie commune qui relie des troubles psychiatriques supposés distincts. Par Michael Marshall
En 2018, le psychiatre Oleguer Plana-Ripoll s'est heurté à un fait déroutant concernant les troubles mentaux. Il savait que de nombreuses personnes souffraient de plusieurs maladies - anxiété et dépression, par exemple, ou schizophrénie et troubles bipolaires. Il a donc mis la main sur une base de données contenant les informations médicales d'environ 5,9 millions de citoyens danois.
Il a été stupéfait par ce qu'il a découvert. Chaque trouble mental prédisposait le patient à tous les autres troubles mentaux, quelle que soit la différence des symptômes¹. "Nous savions que la comorbidité était importante, mais nous ne nous attendions pas à trouver des associations pour toutes les paires", explique Plana-Ripoll, qui travaille à l'université d'Aarhus au Danemark.
L'étude aborde une question fondamentale qui préoccupe les chercheurs depuis plus d'un siècle. Quelles sont les racines de la maladie mentale ?
Dans l'espoir de trouver une réponse, les scientifiques ont accumulé une énorme quantité de données au cours de la dernière décennie, en étudiant les gènes, l'activité cérébrale et la neuroanatomie. Ils ont découvert que de nombreux gènes identiques sont à l'origine de troubles apparemment distincts, tels que la schizophrénie et l'autisme, et que des changements dans les systèmes de prise de décision du cerveau pourraient être impliqués dans de nombreuses affections.
Les chercheurs sont également en train de repenser radicalement les théories sur la façon dont notre cerveau se dérègle. L'idée selon laquelle les maladies mentales peuvent être classées dans des catégories distinctes et discrètes, telles que l'"anxiété" ou la "psychose", a été largement réfutée. Au contraire, les troubles se fondent les uns dans les autres et il n'existe pas de lignes de démarcation nettes, comme l'a clairement démontré l'étude de Plana-Ripoll.
Aujourd'hui, les chercheurs tentent de comprendre la biologie qui sous-tend ce spectre de psychopathologie.
Ils ont formulé quelques théories. Il existe peut-être plusieurs dimensions de la maladie mentale, de sorte que, selon les résultats obtenus pour chacune d'entre elles, une personne serait plus encline à souffrir de certains troubles que d'autres. Une autre idée, plus radicale, est qu'il existe un facteur unique qui rend les personnes sujettes aux maladies mentales en général : le trouble qu'elles développent est alors déterminé par d'autres facteurs. Les deux idées sont prises au sérieux, bien que le concept de dimensions multiples soit plus largement accepté par les chercheurs.
Les détails sont encore flous, mais la plupart des psychiatres s'accordent à dire qu'une chose est claire : l'ancien système consistant à classer les troubles mentaux dans des catégories précises ne fonctionne pas. Ils espèrent également qu'à long terme, le remplacement de ce cadre par un autre fondé sur la biologie débouchera sur de nouvelles drogues et de nouveaux traitements. Les chercheurs visent à révéler, par exemple, les gènes clés, les régions du cerveau et les processus neurologiques impliqués dans la psychopathologie, et à les cibler avec des thérapies. Bien qu'il faille un certain temps pour y parvenir, Steven Hyman, du Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard à Cambridge (Massachusetts), déclare : "Je suis optimiste à long terme si le domaine fait vraiment son travail".

Un florilège de troubles.

Le défi le plus immédiat est de savoir comment diagnostiquer les personnes. Depuis les années 1950, les psychiatres utilisent un ouvrage exhaustif appelé Manuel diagnostique et statistique des troubles mentaux, qui en est actuellement à sa cinquième édition. Il répertorie tous les troubles reconnus, de l'autisme aux troubles obsessionnels compulsifs en passant par la dépression, l'anxiété et la schizophrénie. Chaque trouble est défini par des symptômes. L'hypothèse inhérente est que chaque trouble est distinct et survient pour des raisons différentes.
Cependant, avant même la publication du DSM-5 en 2013, de nombreux chercheurs affirmaient que cette approche était erronée. "N'importe quel clinicien aurait pu vous dire que les patients n'avaient pas lu le DSM et ne s'y conformaient pas", explique M. Hyman, qui a participé à la rédaction de la cinquième édition du manuel.
Peu de patients correspondent à un ensemble de critères précis. Au contraire, les personnes présentent souvent un mélange de symptômes liés à différents troubles. Même si une personne a reçu un diagnostic assez clair de dépression, elle présente souvent des symptômes d'un autre trouble, comme l'anxiété. "Si vous souffrez d'un trouble, vous avez beaucoup plus de chances d'en souffrir d'un autre", explique Ted Satterthwaite, neuropsychiatre à l'université de Pennsylvanie, à Philadelphie.
Cela implique que la façon dont les cliniciens ont divisé les troubles mentaux est erronée. Les psychiatres ont tenté de résoudre ce problème en divisant les troubles en sous-types de plus en plus fins. "Si l'on observe l'évolution du DSM au fil du temps, le livre devient de plus en plus épais", explique M. Satterthwaite. Mais le problème persiste : les sous-types reflètent encore mal l'ensemble des symptômes que présentent de nombreux patients.
C'est pourquoi l'Institut national américain de la santé mentale, le plus grand bailleur de fonds de la science de la santé mentale au monde, a modifié son mode de financement de la recherche. À partir de 2011, il a commencé à exiger davantage d'études sur les fondements biologiques des troubles, plutôt que sur leurs symptômes, dans le cadre d'un programme appelé "Research Domain Criteria" (critères de domaine de recherche). Depuis, la recherche sur les fondements biologiques de la psychopathologie a explosé, les études se concentrant notamment sur la génétique et la neuroanatomie. Mais si les chercheurs espéraient démystifier la psychopathologie, ils ont encore un long chemin à parcourir : la principale découverte a été la complexité de la psychopathologie.

Des clusters controversés.

D'un point de vue clinique, les preuves que les symptômes recoupent plusieurs troubles - ou que les personnes présentent souvent plus d'un trouble - n'ont fait que se renforcer. C'est pourquoi, bien que des symptômes individuels tels que les changements d'humeur ou les troubles du raisonnement puissent être diagnostiqués de manière fiable, il est difficile d'attribuer les patients à un diagnostic global tel que le "trouble bipolaire".
Même des troubles apparemment distincts sont liés. En 2008, la généticienne Angelica Ronald, qui travaillait alors à l'Institut de psychiatrie du King's College de Londres, et ses collègues ont découvert que l'autisme et le trouble déficitaire de l'attention avec hyperactivité (TDAH) se chevauchaient. "À l'époque, il n'était pas possible d'être diagnostiqué comme souffrant de ces deux troubles", explique Angelica Ronald, en raison d'une règle figurant dans une version antérieure du DSM. Mais elle et son équipe ont découvert que les caractéristiques de l'autisme et du TDAH étaient fortement corrélées et en partie sous contrôle génétique².
En outre, il semble y avoir des groupes de symptômes qui dépassent les limites des troubles. Une étude de 2018³ a examiné des personnes chez qui on avait diagnostiqué soit une dépression majeure, soit un trouble panique, soit un trouble de stress post-traumatique (PTSD). Les volontaires ont été évalués sur la base de leurs symptômes, de leurs performances cognitives et de leur activité cérébrale. Les chercheurs ont constaté que les participants se répartissaient en six groupes, caractérisés par des humeurs distinctes telles que la "tension" et la "mélancolie". Les groupes recoupent les trois catégories diagnostiques comme si elles n'existaient pas. Beaucoup s'accordent aujourd'hui à dire que les catégories diagnostiques sont erronées. La question qui se pose est la suivante : avec la biologie comme guide, à quoi devraient ressembler le diagnostic et le traitement psychiatriques ?

Dimensions multiples.

L'un des principaux modèles consiste à dire qu'il existe un certain nombre de traits neuropsychologiques ou "dimensions" qui varient d'une personne à l'autre. Chaque trait détermine notre susceptibilité à certains types de troubles. Par exemple, une personne peut être sujette à des troubles de l'humeur tels que l'anxiété, mais pas à des troubles de la pensée tels que la schizophrénie.
Cette approche est similaire à la façon dont les psychologues conçoivent la personnalité. Dans un modèle, cinq traits de personnalité, tels que le caractère consciencieux et le névrosisme, décrivent la plupart des variations de la personnalité humaine.
Certains psychiatres tentent déjà de réimaginer leur discipline en tenant compte des dimensions. Au début des années 2010, des pressions ont été exercées pour éliminer les catégories de troubles du DSM-5 au profit d'une approche "dimensionnelle" basée sur des symptômes individuels. Cette tentative a échoué, en partie parce que le financement des soins de santé et les soins aux patients ont été construits autour des catégories du DSM. Toutefois, d'autres catalogues de troubles ont évolué vers la dimensionnalité. En 2019, l'Assemblée mondiale de la santé a approuvé la dernière classification internationale des maladies (appelée CIM-11), dans laquelle certaines psychopathologies ont été décomposées en symptômes dimensionnels plutôt qu'en catégories.
Le défi posé par l'hypothèse de la dimensionnalité est évident : combien y a-t-il de dimensions et quelles sont-elles ? Satterthwaite parle d'un "très gros problème".
Une théorie populaire⁴, soutenue par de nombreuses études au cours de la dernière décennie, plaide en faveur de deux dimensions seulement. La première comprend tous les troubles "intériorisés", tels que la dépression, dont les symptômes primaires affectent l'état interne de la personne. Elle s'oppose aux troubles "extériorisés", tels que l'hyperactivité et le comportement antisocial, qui affectent la réaction d'une personne au monde. Si une personne a été diagnostiquée avec deux troubles ou plus, les études suggèrent qu'il s'agit probablement de la même catégorie.
Mais des études combinant de grandes quantités de données d'imagerie cérébrale avec l'apprentissage automatique ont abouti à des chiffres différents, même dans des études réalisées par le même laboratoire. L'année dernière, Satterthwaite et son groupe ont publié une étude⁵ portant sur 1 141 jeunes présentant des symptômes d'intériorisation et ont constaté qu'ils pouvaient être divisés en deux groupes sur la base de leur structure et de leur fonction cérébrale. En 2018, Satterthwaite a mené une étude similaire⁶ et a identifié quatre dimensions, chacune associée à un modèle distinct de connectivité cérébrale.
À terme, une future version du DSM pourrait comporter des chapitres consacrés à chaque dimension, explique M. Hyman. Ces chapitres pourraient énumérer les troubles qui se regroupent dans chaque dimension, ainsi que leurs symptômes et tout biomarqueur dérivé de la physiologie et de la génétique sous-jacentes. Deux personnes présentant des symptômes similaires mais des mutations ou des altérations neuroanatomiques différentes pourraient alors être diagnostiquées et traitées différemment.

Dans les gènes.

L'un des piliers de cette approche future est une meilleure compréhension de la génétique des maladies mentales. Au cours de la dernière décennie, les études sur la génétique psychopathologique sont devenues suffisamment importantes pour permettre de tirer des conclusions solides.
Ces études révèlent qu'aucun gène individuel ne contribue fortement au risque de psychopathologie ; au contraire, des centaines de gènes ont chacun un petit effet. Une étude de 2009⁷ a révélé que des milliers de variantes génétiques constituaient des facteurs de risque pour la schizophrénie. Nombre d'entre elles étaient également associées au trouble bipolaire, ce qui suggère que certains gènes contribuent aux deux troubles.
Cela ne veut pas dire que les mêmes gènes sont impliqués dans tous les troubles cérébraux, loin de là. Une équipe dirigée par le généticien Benjamin Neale du Massachusetts General Hospital de Boston et le psychiatre Aiden Corvin du Trinity College de Dublin a découvert en 2018 que les troubles neurologiques tels que l'épilepsie et la sclérose en plaques sont génétiquement distincts des troubles psychiatriques tels que la schizophrénie et la dépression⁸ (voir la "Carte mentale").
Ces études ont toutes porté sur des variantes communes, qui sont les plus faciles à détecter. Certaines études récentes se sont plutôt concentrées sur des variantes extrêmement rares, qui suggèrent des différences génétiques entre les troubles. Une étude portant sur plus de 12 000 personnes⁹ a révélé que les personnes atteintes de schizophrénie présentaient un taux anormalement élevé de mutations ultra-rare - et que celles-ci étaient souvent propres à un seul individu.
Le résultat est un véritable gâchis. Il est difficile de prédire quels sont les facteurs de risque qui s'appliquent à toutes les maladies. "Certains d'entre eux sont largement partagés par l'ensemble des psychopathologies", déclare Neale, "tandis que d'autres sont un peu plus spécifiques à une ou quelques formes de psychopathologie".

Le facteur p

Certains psychiatres ont avancé une hypothèse radicale qui, espèrent-ils, leur permettra de donner un sens à ce chaos. Si les troubles partagent des symptômes, ou cooccurrent, et si de nombreux gènes sont impliqués dans de multiples troubles, il existe peut-être un facteur unique qui prédispose les personnes à la psychopathologie.
Cette idée a été proposée pour la première fois en 2012 par Benjamin Lahey, spécialiste de la santé publique à l'université de Chicago, dans l'Illinois¹⁰. Lahey et ses collègues ont étudié les symptômes de 11 troubles. Ils ont utilisé des statistiques pour déterminer si le modèle pouvait être expliqué au mieux par trois dimensions distinctes, ou par ces trois dimensions combinées à une prédisposition "générale". Le modèle fonctionnait mieux si le facteur général était inclus.
L'année suivante, l'hypothèse a reçu plus de soutien - et un nom accrocheur - de la part des psychologues Avshalom Caspi et Terrie Moffitt de l'université Duke à Durham, en Caroline du Nord. Ils ont utilisé les données d'une étude à long terme portant sur 1 037 personnes et ont constaté que la plupart des variations des symptômes pouvaient être expliquées par un seul facteur¹¹.
Caspi et Moffitt ont appelé ce facteur le "facteur p". Depuis 2013, de nombreuses études ont reproduit leur principale découverte. Caspi et Moffitt ont clairement indiqué que le facteur p ne pouvait pas tout expliquer et n'ont fait aucune supposition quant à sa biologie sous-jacente, se contentant d'émettre l'hypothèse qu'un ensemble de gènes pourrait jouer un rôle de médiateur. D'autres ont proposé que le facteur p soit une prédisposition générale à la psychopathologie, mais que d'autres facteurs - expériences stressantes ou autres altérations génétiques - poussent une personne vers différents symptômes¹². Mais si ce facteur est réel, il a une implication surprenante : il pourrait y avoir une cible thérapeutique unique pour les troubles psychiatriques.
Certains indices laissent déjà penser que les traitements généralisés pourraient être aussi efficaces que les thérapies ciblées. Une étude réalisée en 2017¹³ a assigné au hasard des personnes souffrant de troubles anxieux, tels que le trouble panique ou le trouble obsessionnel-compulsif, à recevoir soit une thérapie pour leur trouble spécifique, soit une approche généralisée. Les deux thérapies se sont avérées aussi efficaces l'une que l'autre.
Trouver une base physiologique au facteur p serait la première étape vers des thérapies basées sur ce facteur, mais ce n'est que ces dernières années que les chercheurs en ont trouvé des indices dans les données génétiques et neuroanatomiques. Une étude¹⁴ sur la génétique de la psychopathologie dans une population britannique, par exemple, a identifié un "facteur génétique p" - un ensemble de gènes dont les variations contribuaient au risque de psychopathologie.
Dans le même temps, d'autres groupes ont cherché un changement neuroanatomique qui se produit dans de multiples psychopathologies. Les résultats sont intrigants, mais contradictoires.
Une étude¹⁵ portant sur six psychopathologies a révélé que la matière grise du cerveau diminuait dans trois régions impliquées dans le traitement des émotions : le cingulum antérieur dorsal, l'insula droite et l'insula gauche. Mais des études ultérieures menées par Adrienne Romer, psychologue clinicienne à la Harvard Medical School et à l'hôpital McLean de Belmont (Massachusetts), ont permis d'identifier un trio de régions totalement différent, dont le rôle consiste notamment à gérer les fonctions corporelles de base et les mouvements¹⁶ : le pons, le cervelet et une partie du cortex. Pour y voir plus clair, il faut peut-être se concentrer sur la fonction exécutive du cerveau : la capacité à réguler le comportement en planifiant, en prêtant attention et en résistant à la tentation, qui s'appuie sur de nombreuses régions du cerveau. Romer et Satterthwaite ont indépendamment constaté des perturbations des fonctions exécutives dans une série de psychopathologies^17,18 - le soupçon étant que ces perturbations pourraient être à l'origine du facteur p.
La plupart des scientifiques s'accordent à dire qu'il faut davantage de données, et nombre d'entre eux ne sont pas convaincus par des explications aussi simples. "Je suis un peu moins sûr que c'est ce qui va se passer", déclare Neale. Au niveau génétique au moins, dit-il, de nombreux troubles, tels que le PTSD et le trouble anxieux généralisé, restent mal compris.
Toutes ces hypothèses générales sont prématurées, selon Hyman. "Je pense que l'heure est à la recherche empirique plutôt qu'aux grandes théories."
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5 : Kaczkurkin, A. N., Sotiras, A., Baller, E. B., Barzilay, R., Calkins, M. E., Chand, G. B., ... & Satterthwaite, T. D. (2020). Neurostructural heterogeneity in youths with internalizing symptoms. Biological psychiatry, 87(5), 473-482.
6 : Xia, C. H., Ma, Z., Ciric, R., Gu, S., Betzel, R. F., Kaczkurkin, A. N., ... & Satterthwaite, T. D. (2018). Linked dimensions of psychopathology and connectivity in functional brain networks. Nature communications, 9(1), 3003.
7 : International Schizophrenia Consortium Manuscript preparation. (2009). Common polygenic variation contributes to risk of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Nature, 460(7256), 748-752.
8 : Brainstorm Consortium. (2018). Analysis of shared heritability in common disorders of the brain. Science (New York, NY), 360(6395).
9 : Genovese, G., Fromer, M., Stahl, E. A., Ruderfer, D. M., Chambert, K., Landén, M., ... & McCarroll, S. A. (2016). Increased burden of ultra-rare protein-altering variants among 4,877 individuals with schizophrenia. Nature neuroscience, 19(11), 1433-1441.
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11 : Caspi, A., Houts, R. M., Belsky, D. W., Goldman-Mellor, S. J., Harrington, H., Israel, S., ... & Moffitt, T. E. (2014). The p factor: one general psychopathology factor in the structure of psychiatric disorders?. Clinical psychological science, 2(2), 119-137.
12 : Lahey, B. B., Krueger, R. F., Rathouz, P. J., Waldman, I. D., & Zald, D. H. (2017). A hierarchical causal taxonomy of psychopathology across the life span. Psychological bulletin, 143(2), 142.
13 : Barlow, D. H., Farchione, T. J., Bullis, J. R., Gallagher, M. W., Murray-Latin, H., Sauer-Zavala, S., ... & Cassiello-Robbins, C. (2017). The unified protocol for transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders compared with diagnosis-specific protocols for anxiety disorders: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA psychiatry, 74(9), 875-884.
14 : Selzam, S., Coleman, J. R., Caspi, A., Moffitt, T. E., & Plomin, R. (2018). A polygenic p factor for major psychiatric disorders. Translational psychiatry, 8(1), 205.
15 : Goodkind, M., Eickhoff, S. B., Oathes, D. J., Jiang, Y., Chang, A., Jones-Hagata, L. B., ... & Etkin, A. (2015). Identification of a common neurobiological substrate for mental illness. JAMA psychiatry, 72(4), 305-315.
16 : Romer, A. L., Knodt, A. R., Houts, R., Brigidi, B. D., Moffitt, T. E., Caspi, A., & Hariri, A. R. (2018). Structural alterations within cerebellar circuitry are associated with general liability for common mental disorders. Molecular psychiatry, 23(4), 1084-1090.
17 : Elliott, M. L., Romer, A., Knodt, A. R., & Hariri, A. R. (2018). A connectome-wide functional signature of transdiagnostic risk for mental illness. Biological psychiatry, 84(6), 452-459.
18 : Shanmugan, S., Wolf, D. H., Calkins, M. E., Moore, T. M., Ruparel, K., Hopson, R. D., ... & Satterthwaite, T. D. (2016). Common and dissociable mechanisms of executive system dysfunction across psychiatric disorders in youth. American journal of psychiatry, 173(5), 517-526.

This is part 2 and a continuation from this post (unable to link, see my post history for "GMERICA: SEC & BK Court Filings Reveal Carl Icahn As The Mystery Buyer & TEDDY IPO Coming") about Unitholders or should I say Unithodlers?
Disclaimer: I am not a financial advisor and this is not financial advice.

Preface: GMERICA Bull Thesis

What are units?
In part 1 (see post hx GMERICA: TEDDY IPO), I discovered how a unit may contain multiple securities combining GME and IEP and that the transaction is currently being handled by Jefferies which links all 3 companies: GME, IEP, BBBY = GMERICA.
Furthermore, I believe these units will be used in the $BBBYQ chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring for a leveraged buyout (LBO) deal involving cash and a [unit] share swap to either (1) purchase BBBY, or (2) just the subsidiary asset buybuyBABY, the crown jewel -- towards the end of this post, I will clarify what will most likely happen as a result.
Upon completion of the LBO, a carve-out of buybuyBABY will then initiate a SPAC IPO to launch TEDDY into a new public company. This is the end goal.
According to the SEC: Warrants. A SPAC IPO is often structured to offer investors a unit of securities consisting of (1) shares of common stock and (2) warrants.
Common stock and warrants are currently involved in the buyout of Bed, Bath, and Beyond and has been mentioned in the ch11 court docs. Basically, the SPAC IPO is a vehicle that will deliver the units to the buyer of BBBY.
This carve-out of buybuyBABY from BBBY will force shorts to close.
How? Shorts will be forced to deliver units (shares of $GME x $IEP x $BBBYQ) and new TEDDY shares to the shareholders at all 3 parent companies: Bed, Bath, & Beyond, GameStop, and Icahn Enterprises LP.
Moving forward, I will now refer to these future shareholders as Unithodlers or simply GMERICANs, who will become owners in the new company TEDDY in a post-SPAC IPO.
This is my bull thesis for GMERICA.
Now for the endgame play.

The King's Empire Under Siege

Carl Icahn's $IEP empire is directly under attack by shorts, MSM, and SEC investigation.

FYI- IEP is a holding company that directly controls and owns companies in 7 industries with 14 board members in other public companies.
It is a conglomerate and makes me think of the Iron Bank from the Free City of Braavos in Game of Thrones. And Icahn will have its due.

The attacks on IEP are playing out exactly as Dr. Patrick Byrne once said (credit EnvironmentalPlan870):
​
OSTK CEO confirms everything that is currently happening to IEP
​
But why are they attacking?
See part 1 (see post hx GMERICA: TEDDY IPO) and the section under "A Master Fund for Handling Units", then this next part will make sense.

The HindenNothingBurger & its Blitzkrieg Report of Destruction

A shorting-selling hedge fund named Hindenburg Research released a self-serving report on IEP claiming that the company is operating a pyramid scheme which has caused the stock price to collapse -- to All-Time 5 year lows.
​
IEP stock collapsed by -70% to 5 year lows
On the outset, it looks like a classic short and distort campaign but the motives are actually much more nefarious.
First, IEP is majority owned by Carl Icahn where he holds a staggering 84% stake in the company which would make one wonder - where are shorts getting shares if Icahn owns most of it?
The simplest answer: Illegal naked shorting, or selling shares in a company you don't own. It's called stealing.
Second, the real reason why shorts have laid siege to Carl Icahn's empire is out of desperation and a feeble attempt to dethrone the King. Here, this will explain, from IEP's 10Q filing:
​
From IEP 10Q filing, pg 48 - Depository Units & Risk Factors
​
TLDR; 10Q Summary

• Carl Icahn controls the publicly traded company $IEP LP (limited partners) through a private company called IEP GP (general partner, or the controlling manager of the LP)
• Carl has pledged 202M depository units from $IEP to get a loan worth up to $4.17B (for LBO)
• $IEP is aware of the shorts attack on the company and have released this 'Risk Factor' notice
• Shorts are trying to force a Margin Call on Carl's position on the loan
• Shorts are attempting to lower the Unit share price of $IEP in hopes of triggering a Forced Liquidation and removing Carl, the controlling person as GP of $IEP

The siege began on May 2, 2023, at the same time Hindenburg's Short Report was released:
​
The Blitzkreig Short Report masking the Swap that has been Activated
​
And of course, now it looks like a swap has been setup to anchor the $BBBYQ rocket while suppressing $IEP stock price. Credit for technical chart to Charoenlai:
​
Shorts setup a swap on $IEP & $BBYQ, kinda like the meme stock basket of $GME vs. the world to prevent these rocket(s) from flying
Basically, Icahn knows. Pulte knows. And Cohen knows:
​
Ryan Cohen likes Pulte's tweet on the Shorts Strike Back (simulation confirmed)
In my first post that seeded GMERICA (see my post history for GMERICA: Whale-Financed), I wrote about Carl Icahn the OG Activist Ape aka MSM-dubbed Corporate Raider:
​

Icahn has a track record of success and here's what he said in a letter to shareholders of his company on June 6, 2022:
"My activist engagements have generally produced exceptional results. To elaborate, our activist activities have created close to $1 Trillion in value for all shareholders in the aggregate who’ve held or purchased stock when we did and sold stock when we did. I believe our record unquestionably proves that holding CEOs and boards accountable to shareholders manifests great results."

This man fucks and shorts are about feel it:
​
Carl Icahn hits back: \"He's planning something that these guys will never forget.\" -oops, MOASS
But will it be the Bull King that raids these shorts or will it be someone else?

Enter: The Prince of 69D Chess

Much focus has been on Carl Icahn but few know about his son, Brett Icahn:
​
The father, master strategist and the protégé son playing Chess
The image above is from an HBO documentary & movie called: The Restless Billionaire. The movie details the life of activist investor Carl Icahn and the story behind all the companies that he acquired. It truly is inspiring and I highly recommend watching.
In one scene, Carl says the following:

"I'll say this about Brett, he's much more low-key than I am. But he's one of the most obsessive characters, and he'll work very hard at something, extremely hard, especially if it means beating me at something."

The movie also reveals how Brett and Carl used to routinely play chess but stopped because Brett became too good, and kept winning against Carl.
Brett introduced Carl to tech stocks, starting with Netflix then Apple and now GMERICA (more on this below). Brett admits he received a privileged start but learned to swim on his own when Carl gave him a challenge.
Brett wanted to manage money but had to prove himself by working for free: no salary, no bonus, and no income until he could generate a 7% return, first for Carl, then Brett would get paid later.
In 2012, Carl invested into Netflix on behalf of Brett's recommendation and later in 2015 generated a return of $2.2 Billion, one of Carl's best investments. That success enabled Brett to launch his own fund and start the Sargon Portfolio.
​
https://fortune.com/2015/06/25/how-much-icahn-made-on-netflix/
Carl tweeted at 7:41am and Netflix did a 7 for 1 stock split. This is 741 on 741 and might just be the best Fortune I've come across.
Now, back to the SEC filings, so you can see how this Saga took form.

The Succession Plan Where Only The Young Can Ascend

Brett continued to gain success and at one point, he wanted to go independent. However, Carl made him an offer to take over the family Empire and on October 1, 2020 the succession plan began:
​
Succession plan initiated for Brett Icahn, the Princes of 69D Chess to take over $IEP Empire
I will TLDR summarize these filings in the next section.
​
Terms of the succession plan and Manager Agreement
Again, I will TLDR summarize these filings in the next section.
​
https://preview.redd.it/kynqdqko2y2b1.png?width=1160&format=png&auto=webp&s=9b51ca3fe21fa491a4e150ef20b04f019335f6d4

TLDR; Summary of Succession Plan & Ascension to the Throne

• Brett Icahn enters into a Manager Agreement where he becomes the "employee" under a single-member LLC known as Isthmus and serves the "employer" $IEP LP to direct investments
• Brett becomes the Investment Fund ("Fund") manager and controls all investments as General Partner via Icahn Capital.
• The Funds are comprised of IEP depository units put up as collateral for loans, including other private investments or entities, and funds from Affiliate parties to IEP -- remember this part for later.
• Simply said: there's a lot of money involved in the Billions as a massive pooled investment by private equity. This a raid party of Activist Investors that you don't wanna fuck with it.
• Brett purchases $10M of depository units from $IEP to start his fund via Mesa & River Portfolios.
• Icahn Capital hires 3 portfolio managers (PMs) to assist Brett, they are: Gary Hu, Andrew Teno, and Steven Miller. Each have designated roles to assist in research, analysis, and evaluating investments. These hired PMs have extensive backgrounds in finance, debt, and special or complex transactions. Additionally, the PMs graduated top of the class from Ivy league colleges and have sat on boards of companies like Xerox, Bausch + Lomb, Newell Brands -- so they know their shit.
• The Buying Ratio sets the investment terms with a $39:1 ratio which caps out per transaction. For the "employee" Isthmus, that is $7.5M investment with a matching "employer" investment up to $292.5M for combined $300M maximum per investment transaction -- remember this for $BBBYQ later. Think of this like working for an employer and every time you contribute to a 401k, then your employer matches, except this is for investing into public companies and your company co-invests with you.
• The succession plan requires Brett to work for free again, to prove that he is capable of generating a return for the company and he must complete the task in 7 years or less to become Chairman.
• Brett is promoted to a director in IEP GP which is the private and controlling company to $IEP. Therefore, Brett directs how the Funds are invested on behalf of his father's empire, and/or with his father.
• Bottomline: The Prince is in control of the Empire, its vast resources, and he must prove his worthiness to the King. Now, let the Activist Raids begin.

With a succession plan in place and structure set up, the next step was to find a target company that desperately needed saving from the abusive naked shorting hedge funds.

Activist Raiders Set Sail to GMERICA

Somewhere along the way, Ryan Cohen and Brett Icahn met. Perhaps long before the succession plan was activated:
​
Brett Icahn was involved in the gaming industry in 2010
Brett was a board member of Take-Two Interactive, makers of the Grand Theft Auto game franchise, so it would be safe to say that Brett knew a thing or two about the Gaming Industry and its growth-rate.
This is supported by the fact that Carl admitted he was not into tech stocks therefore Brett likely suggested Take-Two as an investment to his father, just like Netflix.
The Apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
​
Robbie Ferguson of IMX tweets an infographic of 10% YoY growth-rate of Gaming
I wonder if Brett and Robbie know each other, probably.
Then there's this timeline of cohencidences too (Brett has a detailed history of involvement and familiarity with NFTs, crypto, and blockchain tech):
​
Unverified Brett Icahn twitter account but the timeline is interesting. Still, I kinda like this Brett, no chill on tweets and out there blasting everyone.
P.S. someone had to take that photo of Ryan Cohen and Carl Icahn, guess who?
You're goddamn right.

Enter GameStop: Prelude to GMERICA

One month after IEP's succession plan (Oct 1, 2020), Ryan Cohen writes a letter to GameStop board on November 16, 2020:
​
RC Ventures letter to GameStop board
Take notice of the first sentence: RCV with AFFILIATES - like the same Affiliates that just raised a massive Multi-Billion Dollar pool of Investment Funds for Investor Activism and acquiring companies.
Are you starting to see where this is all going?
With a turnaround plan successfully implemented into GameStop, the company was able to escape Cellar Boxing. However, it was not entirely free due to swaps as covered by criand's meme stock basket DD.
I believe in the first half of 2021 and post-sneeze, most of the Activism plans were just formulating since GameStop was still in dire straits up until June 2021. And that's when a second sneeze occurred which allowed GME management to conduct an At-The-Market share offering with Jefferies as the handler which generated a $1 Billion Dollar War Chest to finance the development of GameStop NFT marketplace and create the foundation to build a Web 3.0 Metaverse world in 2022.
With one target company acquired and stabilized, it was then time to move onto the next.

Enter Blood, Bath, Beyond: 69D Rugpull

When systemic corruption in the markets were exposed from the Jan 2021 $GME sneeze, an international community of diamond-handed apes were borne from the aftermath, and were ready to gobble up entire company stock floats then Direct Register the Shares in their name (DRSGME.org & WhyDRS.org).
After GameStop, the Activist Investors set their sights on the next target company $BBBY and once again, RC Ventures wrote a letter to the board at Bed, Bath, and Beyond on March 6, 2022:
​
RC Ventures letter to $BBBY board
There it is again, the Activist Investors and their Affiliates show up to acquire another company.
Except this time they want to spin-off the buybuyBABY to pay off debt in the parent company, with a goal to evaluate a Full Sale to a Well-Capitalized Acquirer.

FYI- as of 4/23/23 from court docket 10 on page 27, it revealed that $BBBY had $1.8 Billion in total debt so they would need a massive pooled investment to buy out the entire company and then spin-off buybuyBABY (but a carve-out is the real plan).

After RCV sent the letter to $BBBY board, it was also around the same time when a bunch of GameStop NFT creators hoisted the flag 🏴‍☠️ and started tweeting in unison.
I won't dive into details since my other GMERICA posts (see my history) cover everything up to this point so I will focus on this event which is relevant:
RC Ventures sells his $BBBY shares on August 18, 2022.
Recently, it was discovered in $BBBYQ ch11 court docs that when RCV "sold" the $BBBY position that it in fact DID NOT return those shares back to the public markets.
Now, if you combine your newfound knowledge about Investment Funds and Affiliates then it becomes pretty clear that RCV "sold" or most likely transferred the shares to an unnamed party and who might that be?
It is Lazard Ferres, an investment bank, which was pointed out in a post titled "The juice is in the fruit. BBBY engaged Lazard Freres in August... one week before RC sold his stake**"** by travis_b13.

Lazard has been utilized to carry out LBO transactions for IEP's takeover of HP & Xerox by working with Carol Flaton of AlixPartners. Carol was hired as an independent director of $BBBY in late January 2023 and later appointed to $BBBY board.

TLDR summary of Travis_b13's post:

• In $BBBYQ chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, it was recently revealed on docket 345 that Lazard Freres, an investment bank was retained for any sales transactions and restructuring.
• Lazard Freres entered into an Indemnification Letter on August 10, 2022 which enabled Lazard to buy, sell, underwrite, place or purchase any securities in a financing or otherwise placement agency or purchase agreement -- basically Lazard had free reign to do ANYTHING with the shares that it was about to receive from RC Ventures on August 18, 2022
• Furthermore, docket 345 revealed that Lazard and BBBY had an engagement letter and also a Dealer Manager Agreement dated on October 18, 2022.
• What is a Dealer Manager Agreement? It is an agreement that governs the relationship between the offeror (BBBY) and the dealer-managers (the Activist Investors & Affiliates) and is signed by the parties to the commencement of a debt tender offer -- a signature LBO move by Icahn to acquire companies.
• Within the same docket 345, discovered in this other post, it mentions Lazard wanting a percentage fee of buybuyBABY when the sale consummates between debtor (parent company BBBY) and the buyer (IEP).
• Lazard is holding the shares it received from RC Ventures and entered into another deal via Dealer Manager Agreement with a different party on Oct 18, 2022.

Guess what also happened around October 18, 2022?
Ryan Cohen tweeted this -- perhaps there was a meeting and signatures were required:
​
OG Activist Investor & The Young
Before we wrap this up, let's tie up some loose ends.

Forced to split post, continue part 2 here: https://www.reddit.com/DRSyourGME/comments/13vhlbe/gmerica_activists_affiliates_the_return_of_icahn/

This is part 2 and a continuation from this post about Unitholders (or should I say Unithodlers?).
Disclaimer: I am not a financial advisor and this is not financial advice.

Preface: GMERICA Bull Thesis

What are units?
In part 1, I discovered how a unit may contain multiple securities combining GME and IEP and that the transaction is currently being handled by Jefferies which links all 3 companies: GME, IEP, 3xBY = GMERICA.
Furthermore, I believe these units will be used in the $3xBYQ chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring for a leveraged buyout (LBO) deal involving cash and a [unit] share swap to either (1) purchase 3xBY, or (2) just the subsidiary asset buybuyBABY, the crown jewel -- towards the end of this post, I will clarify what will most likely happen as a result.
Upon completion of the LBO, a carve-out of buybuyBABY will then initiate a SPAC IPO to launch TEDDY into a new public company. This is the end goal.
According to the SEC: Warrants. A SPAC IPO is often structured to offer investors a unit of securities consisting of (1) shares of common stock and (2) warrants.
Common stock and warrants are currently involved in the buyout of Bed, Bath, and Beyond and has been mentioned in the ch11 court docs. Basically, the SPAC IPO is a vehicle that will deliver the units to the buyer of 3xBY.
This carve-out of buybuyBABY from 3xBY will force shorts to close.
How? Shorts will be forced to deliver units (shares of $GME x $IEP x $3xBYQ) and new TEDDY shares to the shareholders at all 3 parent companies: Bed, Bath, & Beyond, GameStop, and Icahn Enterprises LP.
Moving forward, I will now refer to these future shareholders as Unithodlers or simply GMERICANs, who will become owners in the new company TEDDY in a post-SPAC IPO.
This is my bull thesis for GMERICA.
Now for the endgame play.

The King's Empire Under Siege

Carl Icahn's $IEP empire is directly under attack by shorts, MSM, and SEC investigation.

FYI- IEP is a holding company that directly controls and owns companies in 7 industries with 14 board members in other public companies.
It is a conglomerate and makes me think of the Iron Bank from the Free City of Braavos in Game of Thrones. And Icahn will have its due.

The attacks on IEP are playing out exactly as Dr. Patrick Byrne once said (credit u/EnvironmentalPlan870):
​
OSTK CEO confirms everything that is currently happening to IEP
But why are they attacking?
See part 1 and the section under "A Master Fund for Handling Units", then this next part will make sense.

The HindenNothingBurger & its Blitzkrieg Report of Destruction

A shorting-selling hedge fund named Hindenburg Research released a self-serving report on IEP claiming that the company is operating a pyramid scheme which has caused the stock price to collapse -- to All-Time 5 year lows.
​
IEP stock collapsed by -70% to 5 year lows
On the outset, it looks like a classic short and distort campaign but the motives are actually much more nefarious.
First, IEP is majority owned by Carl Icahn where he holds a staggering 84% stake in the company which would make one wonder - where are shorts getting shares if Icahn owns most of it?
The simplest answer: Illegal naked shorting, or selling shares in a company you don't own. It's called stealing.
Second, the real reason why shorts have laid siege to Carl Icahn's empire is out of desperation and a feeble attempt to dethrone the King. Here, this will explain, from IEP's 10Q filing:
​
From IEP 10Q filing, pg 48 - Depository Units & Risk Factors
TLDR; 10Q Summary

• Carl Icahn controls the publicly traded company $IEP LP (limited partners) through a private company called IEP GP (general partner, or the controlling manager of the LP)
• Carl has pledged 202M depository units from $IEP to get a loan worth up to $4.17B (for LBO)
• $IEP is aware of the shorts attack on the company and have released this 'Risk Factor' notice
• Shorts are trying to force a Margin Call on Carl's position on the loan
• Shorts are attempting to lower the Unit share price of $IEP in hopes of triggering a Forced Liquidation and removing Carl, the controlling person as GP of $IEP

Another ape u/alebubu noticed too, in this post.
The siege began on May 2, 2023, at the same time Hindenburg's Short Report was released:
​
The Blitzkreig Short Report masking the Swap that has been Activated
And of course, now it looks like a swap has been setup to anchor the $3xBYQ rocket while suppressing $IEP stock price. Credit for technical chart to u/Charoenlai:
​
Shorts setup a swap on $IEP & $BBYQ, kinda like the meme stock basket of $GME vs. the world to prevent these rocket(s) from flying
Basically, Icahn knows. Pulte knows. And Cohen knows:
​
Ryan Cohen likes Pulte's tweet on the Shorts Strike Back (simulation confirmed)
In my first post that seeded GMERICA, I wrote about Carl Icahn the OG Activist Ape aka MSM-dubbed Corporate Raider:
​

Icahn has a track record of success and here's what he said in a letter to shareholders of his company on June 6, 2022:
"My activist engagements have generally produced exceptional results. To elaborate, our activist activities have created close to $1 Trillion in value for all shareholders in the aggregate who’ve held or purchased stock when we did and sold stock when we did. I believe our record unquestionably proves that holding CEOs and boards accountable to shareholders manifests great results."

This man fucks and shorts are about feel it:
​
Carl Icahn hits back: \"He's planning something that these guys will never forget.\" -oops, MOASS
But will it be the Bull King that raids these shorts or will it be someone else?

Enter: The Prince of 69D Chess

Much focus has been on Carl Icahn but few know about his son, Brett Icahn:
​
The father, master strategist and the protégé son playing Chess
The image above is from an HBO documentary & movie called: The Restless Billionaire. The movie details the life of activist investor Carl Icahn and the story behind all the companies that he acquired. It truly is inspiring and I highly recommend watching.
In one scene, Carl says the following:

"I'll say this about Brett, he's much more low-key than I am. But he's one of the most obsessive characters, and he'll work very hard at something, extremely hard, especially if it means beating me at something."

The movie also reveals how Brett and Carl used to routinely play chess but stopped because Brett became too good, and kept winning against Carl.
Brett introduced Carl to tech stocks, starting with Netflix then Apple and now GMERICA (more on this below). Brett admits he received a privileged start but learned to swim on his own when Carl gave him a challenge.
Brett wanted to manage money but had to prove himself by working for free: no salary, no bonus, and no income until he could generate a 7% return, first for Carl, then Brett would get paid later.
In 2012, Carl invested into Netflix on behalf of Brett's recommendation and later in 2015 generated a return of $2.2 Billion, one of Carl's best investments. That success enabled Brett to launch his own fund and start the Sargon Portfolio.
​
https://fortune.com/2015/06/25/how-much-icahn-made-on-netflix/
Carl tweeted at 7:41am and Netflix did a 7 for 1 stock split. This is 741 on 741 and might just be the best Fortune I've come across.
Now, back to the SEC filings, so you can see how this Saga took form.

The Succession Plan Where Only The Young Can Ascend

Brett continued to gain success and at one point, he wanted to go independent. However, Carl made him an offer to take over the family Empire and on October 1, 2020 the succession plan began:
​
Succession plan initiated for Brett Icahn, the Princes of 69D Chess to take over $IEP Empire
I will TLDR summarize these filings in the next section.
​
Terms of the succession plan and Manager Agreement
Again, I will TLDR summarize these filings in the next section.
​
https://preview.redd.it/zb9waesi0y2b1.png?width=1160&format=png&auto=webp&s=967ad1f16126b4bb8093dbc30db8f10e014be9a0

TLDR; Summary of Succession Plan & Ascension to the Throne

• Brett Icahn enters into a Manager Agreement where he becomes the "employee" under a single-member LLC known as Isthmus and serves the "employer" $IEP LP to direct investments
• Brett becomes the Investment Fund ("Fund") manager and controls all investments as General Partner via Icahn Capital.
• The Funds are comprised of IEP depository units put up as collateral for loans, including other private investments or entities, and funds from Affiliate parties to IEP -- remember this part for later.
• Simply said: there's a lot of money involved in the Billions as a massive pooled investment by private equity. This a raid party of Activist Investors that you don't wanna fuck with it.
• Brett purchases $10M of depository units from $IEP to start his fund via Mesa & River Portfolios.
• Icahn Capital hires 3 portfolio managers (PMs) to assist Brett, they are: Gary Hu, Andrew Teno, and Steven Miller. Each have designated roles to assist in research, analysis, and evaluating investments. These hired PMs have extensive backgrounds in finance, debt, and special or complex transactions. Additionally, the PMs graduated top of the class from Ivy league colleges and have sat on boards of companies like Xerox, Bausch + Lomb, Newell Brands -- so they know their shit.
• The Buying Ratio sets the investment terms with a $39:1 ratio which caps out per transaction. For the "employee" Isthmus, that is $7.5M investment with a matching "employer" investment up to $292.5M for combined $300M maximum per investment transaction -- remember this for $3xBYQ later. Think of this like working for an employer and every time you contribute to a 401k, then your employer matches, except this is for investing into public companies and your company co-invests with you.
• The succession plan requires Brett to work for free again, to prove that he is capable of generating a return for the company and he must complete the task in 7 years or less to become Chairman.
• Brett is promoted to a director in IEP GP which is the private and controlling company to $IEP. Therefore, Brett directs how the Funds are invested on behalf of his father's empire, and/or with his father.
• Bottomline: The Prince is in control of the Empire, its vast resources, and he must prove his worthiness to the King. Now, let the Activist Raids begin.

With a succession plan in place and structure set up, the next step was to find a target company that desperately needed saving from the abusive naked shorting hedge funds.

Activist Raiders Set Sail to GMERICA

Somewhere along the way, Ryan Cohen and Brett Icahn met. Perhaps long before the succession plan was activated:
​
Brett Icahn was involved in the gaming industry in 2010
Brett was a board member of Take-Two Interactive, makers of the Grand Theft Auto game franchise, so it would be safe to say that Brett knew a thing or two about the Gaming Industry and its growth-rate.
This is supported by the fact that Carl admitted he was not into tech stocks therefore Brett likely suggested Take-Two as an investment to his father, just like Netflix.
The Apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
​
Robbie Ferguson of IMX tweets an infographic of 10% YoY growth-rate of Gaming
I wonder if Brett and Robbie know each other, probably.
Then there's this timeline of cohencidences too (Brett has a detailed history of involvement and familiarity with NFTs, crypto, and blockchain tech):
​
Unverified Brett Icahn twitter account but the timeline is interesting. Still, I kinda like this Brett, no chill on tweets and out there blasting everyone.
P.S. someone had to take that photo of Ryan Cohen and Carl Icahn, guess who?
You're goddamn right.

Enter GameStop: Prelude to GMERICA

One month after IEP's succession plan (Oct 1, 2020), Ryan Cohen writes a letter to GameStop board on November 16, 2020:
​
RC Ventures letter to GameStop board
Take notice of the first sentence: RCV with AFFILIATES - like the same Affiliates that just raised a massive Multi-Billion Dollar pool of Investment Funds for Investor Activism and acquiring companies.
Are you starting to see where this is all going?
With a turnaround plan successfully implemented into GameStop, the company was able to escape Cellar Boxing. However, it was not entirely free due to swaps as covered by u/criand's meme stock basket DD.
I believe in the first half of 2021 and post-sneeze, most of the Activism plans were just formulating since GameStop was still in dire straits up until June 2021. And that's when a second sneeze occurred which allowed GME management to conduct an At-The-Market share offering with Jefferies as the handler which generated a $1 Billion Dollar War Chest to finance the development of GameStop NFT marketplace and create the foundation to build a Web 3.0 Metaverse world in 2022.
With one target company acquired and stabilized, it was then time to move onto the next.

Enter Blood, Bath, Beyond: 69D Rugpull

When systemic corruption in the markets were exposed from the Jan 2021 $GME sneeze, an international community of diamond-handed apes were borne from the aftermath, and were ready to gobble up entire company stock floats then Direct Register the Shares (DRS) in their name.
After GameStop, the Activist Investors set their sights on the next target company $3xBY and once again, RC Ventures wrote a letter to the board at Bed, Bath, and Beyond on March 6, 2022:
​
RC Ventures letter to $3xBY board
There it is again, the Activist Investors and their Affiliates show up to acquire another company.
Except this time they want to spin-off the buybuyBABY to pay off debt in the parent company, with a goal to evaluate a Full Sale to a Well-Capitalized Acquirer.

FYI- as of 4/23/23 from court docket 10 on page 27, it revealed that $3xBY had $1.8 Billion in total debt so they would need a massive pooled investment to buy out the entire company and then spin-off buybuyBABY (but a carve-out is the real plan).

After RCV sent the letter to $3xBY board, it was also around the same time when a bunch of GameStop NFT creators hoisted the flag 🏴‍☠️ and started tweeting in unison.
Pepperidge Farm remembers.
I won't dive into details since my other GMERICA posts (see my history) cover everything up to this point so I will focus on this event which is relevant:
RC Ventures sells his $3xBY shares on August 18, 2022.
Recently, it was discovered in $3xBYQ ch11 court docs that when RCV "sold" the $3xBY position that it in fact DID NOT return those shares back to the public markets.
Now, if you combine your newfound knowledge about Investment Funds and Affiliates then it becomes pretty clear that RCV "sold" or most likely transferred the shares to an unnamed party and who might that be?
It is Lazard Ferres, an investment bank, which was pointed out in this post by u/travis_b13.

Lazard has been utilized to carry out LBO transactions for IEP's takeover of HP & Xerox by working with Carol Flaton of AlixPartners. Carol was hired as an independent director of 3xBY in late January 2023 and later appointed to 3xBY board.

TLDR summary of Travis_b13's post:

• In $3xBYQ chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, it was recently revealed on docket 345 that Lazard Freres, an investment bank was retained for any sales transactions and restructuring.
• Lazard Freres entered into an Indemnification Letter on August 10, 2022 which enabled Lazard to buy, sell, underwrite, place or purchase any securities in a financing or otherwise placement agency or purchase agreement -- basically Lazard had free reign to do ANYTHING with the shares that it was about to receive from RC Ventures on August 18, 2022
• Furthermore, docket 345 revealed that Lazard and 3xBY had an engagement letter and also a Dealer Manager Agreement dated on October 18, 2022.
• What is a Dealer Manager Agreement? It is an agreement that governs the relationship between the offeror (3xBY) and the dealer-managers (the Activist Investors & Affiliates) and is signed by the parties to the commencement of a debt tender offer -- a signature LBO move by Icahn to acquire companies.
• Within the same docket 345, discovered in this other post, it mentions Lazard wanting a percentage fee of buybuyBABY when the sale consummates between debtor (parent company 3xBY) and the buyer (IEP).
• Lazard is holding the shares it received from RC Ventures and entered into another deal via Dealer Manager Agreement with a different party on Oct 18, 2022.

Guess what also happened around October 18, 2022?
Ryan Cohen tweeted this -- perhaps there was a meeting and signatures were required:
​
OG Activist Investor & The Young
Before we wrap this up, let's tie up some loose ends.

Forced to split post, continue part 2 here: https://www.reddit.com/GME/comments/13viikm/gmerica_activists_affiliates_the_return_of_icahn/

This is part 2 and a continuation from this post about Unitholders (or should I say Unithodlers?).
Disclaimer: I am not a financial advisor and this is not financial advice.

Preface: GMERICA Bull Thesis

What are units?
In part 1, I discovered how a unit may contain multiple securities combining GME and IEP and that the transaction is currently being handled by Jefferies which links all 3 companies: GME, IEP, BBBY = GMERICA.
Furthermore, I believe these units will be used in the $BBBYQ chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring for a leveraged buyout (LBO) deal involving cash and a [unit] share swap to either (1) purchase BBBY, or (2) just the subsidiary asset buybuyBABY, the crown jewel -- towards the end of this post, I will clarify what will most likely happen as a result.
Upon completion of the LBO, a carve-out of buybuyBABY will then initiate a SPAC IPO to launch TEDDY into a new public company. This is the end goal.
According to the SEC: Warrants. A SPAC IPO is often structured to offer investors a unit of securities consisting of (1) shares of common stock and (2) warrants.
Common stock and warrants are currently involved in the buyout of Bed, Bath, and Beyond and has been mentioned in the ch11 court docs. Basically, the SPAC IPO is a vehicle that will deliver the units to the buyer of BBBY.
This carve-out of buybuyBABY from BBBY will force shorts to close.
How? Shorts will be forced to deliver units (shares of $GME x $IEP x $BBBYQ) and new TEDDY shares to the shareholders at all 3 parent companies: Bed, Bath, & Beyond, GameStop, and Icahn Enterprises LP.
Moving forward, I will now refer to these future shareholders as Unithodlers or simply GMERICANs, who will become owners in the new company TEDDY in a post-SPAC IPO.
This is my bull thesis for GMERICA.
Now for the endgame play.

The King's Empire Under Siege

Carl Icahn's $IEP empire is directly under attack by shorts, MSM, and SEC investigation.

FYI- IEP is a holding company that directly controls and owns companies in 7 industries with 14 board members in other public companies.
It is a conglomerate and makes me think of the Iron Bank from the Free City of Braavos in Game of Thrones. And Icahn will have its due.

The attacks on IEP are playing out exactly as Dr. Patrick Byrne once said (credit u/EnvironmentalPlan870):
​
OSTK CEO confirms everything that is currently happening to IEP
​
But why are they attacking?
See part 1 and the section under "A Master Fund for Handling Units", then this next part will make sense.

The HindenNothingBurger & its Blitzkrieg Report of Destruction

A shorting-selling hedge fund named Hindenburg Research released a self-serving report on IEP claiming that the company is operating a pyramid scheme which has caused the stock price to collapse -- to All-Time 5 year lows.
​
IEP stock collapsed by -70% to 5 year lows
On the outset, it looks like a classic short and distort campaign but the motives are actually much more nefarious.
First, IEP is majority owned by Carl Icahn where he holds a staggering 84% stake in the company which would make one wonder - where are shorts getting shares if Icahn owns most of it?
The simplest answer: Illegal naked shorting, or selling shares in a company you don't own. It's called stealing.
Second, the real reason why shorts have laid siege to Carl Icahn's empire is out of desperation and a feeble attempt to dethrone the King. Here, this will explain, from IEP's 10Q filing:
​
From IEP 10Q filing, pg 48 - Depository Units & Risk Factors
​
TLDR; 10Q Summary

• Carl Icahn controls the publicly traded company $IEP LP (limited partners) through a private company called IEP GP (general partner, or the controlling manager of the LP)
• Carl has pledged 202M depository units from $IEP to get a loan worth up to $4.17B (for LBO)
• $IEP is aware of the shorts attack on the company and have released this 'Risk Factor' notice
• Shorts are trying to force a Margin Call on Carl's position on the loan
• Shorts are attempting to lower the Unit share price of $IEP in hopes of triggering a Forced Liquidation and removing Carl, the controlling person as GP of $IEP

Another ape u/alebubu noticed too, in this post.
The siege began on May 2, 2023, at the same time Hindenburg's Short Report was released:
​
The Blitzkreig Short Report masking the Swap that has been Activated
​
And of course, now it looks like a swap has been setup to anchor the $BBBYQ rocket while suppressing $IEP stock price. Credit for technical chart to u/Charoenlai:
​
Shorts setup a swap on $IEP & $BBYQ, kinda like the meme stock basket of $GME vs. the world to prevent these rocket(s) from flying
Basically, Icahn knows. Pulte knows. And Cohen knows:
​
Ryan Cohen likes Pulte's tweet on the Shorts Strike Back (simulation confirmed)
In my first post that seeded GMERICA, I wrote about Carl Icahn the OG Activist Ape aka MSM-dubbed Corporate Raider:
​

Icahn has a track record of success and here's what he said in a letter to shareholders of his company on June 6, 2022:
"My activist engagements have generally produced exceptional results. To elaborate, our activist activities have created close to $1 Trillion in value for all shareholders in the aggregate who’ve held or purchased stock when we did and sold stock when we did. I believe our record unquestionably proves that holding CEOs and boards accountable to shareholders manifests great results."

This man fucks and shorts are about feel it:
​
Carl Icahn hits back: \"He's planning something that these guys will never forget.\" -oops, MOASS
But will it be the Bull King that raids these shorts or will it be someone else?

Enter: The Prince of 69D Chess

Much focus has been on Carl Icahn but few know about his son, Brett Icahn:
​
The father, master strategist and the protégé son playing Chess
The image above is from an HBO documentary & movie called: The Restless Billionaire. The movie details the life of activist investor Carl Icahn and the story behind all the companies that he acquired. It truly is inspiring and I highly recommend watching.
In one scene, Carl says the following:

"I'll say this about Brett, he's much more low-key than I am. But he's one of the most obsessive characters, and he'll work very hard at something, extremely hard, especially if it means beating me at something."

The movie also reveals how Brett and Carl used to routinely play chess but stopped because Brett became too good, and kept winning against Carl.
Brett introduced Carl to tech stocks, starting with Netflix then Apple and now GMERICA (more on this below). Brett admits he received a privileged start but learned to swim on his own when Carl gave him a challenge.
Brett wanted to manage money but had to prove himself by working for free: no salary, no bonus, and no income until he could generate a 7% return, first for Carl, then Brett would get paid later.
In 2012, Carl invested into Netflix on behalf of Brett's recommendation and later in 2015 generated a return of $2.2 Billion, one of Carl's best investments. That success enabled Brett to launch his own fund and start the Sargon Portfolio.
​
https://fortune.com/2015/06/25/how-much-icahn-made-on-netflix/
Carl tweeted at 7:41am and Netflix did a 7 for 1 stock split. This is 741 on 741 and might just be the best Fortune I've come across.
Now, back to the SEC filings, so you can see how this Saga took form.

The Succession Plan Where Only The Young Can Ascend

Brett continued to gain success and at one point, he wanted to go independent. However, Carl made him an offer to take over the family Empire and on October 1, 2020 the succession plan began:
​
Succession plan initiated for Brett Icahn, the Princes of 69D Chess to take over $IEP Empire
I will TLDR summarize these filings in the next section.
​
Terms of the succession plan and Manager Agreement
Again, I will TLDR summarize these filings in the next section.
​
https://preview.redd.it/uwh66mjsvw2b1.png?width=1160&format=png&auto=webp&s=1d50a38dfb5c7d0a3ff2f7e8af6a6aacd212be5d

TLDR; Summary of Succession Plan & Ascension to the Throne

• Brett Icahn enters into a Manager Agreement where he becomes the "employee" under a single-member LLC known as Isthmus and serves the "employer" $IEP LP to direct investments
• Brett becomes the Investment Fund ("Fund") manager and controls all investments as General Partner via Icahn Capital.
• The Funds are comprised of IEP depository units put up as collateral for loans, including other private investments or entities, and funds from Affiliate parties to IEP -- remember this part for later.
• Simply said: there's a lot of money involved in the Billions as a massive pooled investment by private equity. This a raid party of Activist Investors that you don't wanna fuck with it.
• Brett purchases $10M of depository units from $IEP to start his fund via Mesa & River Portfolios.
• Icahn Capital hires 3 portfolio managers (PMs) to assist Brett, they are: Gary Hu, Andrew Teno, and Steven Miller. Each have designated roles to assist in research, analysis, and evaluating investments. These hired PMs have extensive backgrounds in finance, debt, and special or complex transactions. Additionally, the PMs graduated top of the class from Ivy league colleges and have sat on boards of companies like Xerox, Bausch + Lomb, Newell Brands -- so they know their shit.
• The Buying Ratio sets the investment terms with a $39:1 ratio which caps out per transaction. For the "employee" Isthmus, that is $7.5M investment with a matching "employer" investment up to $292.5M for combined $300M maximum per investment transaction -- remember this for $BBBYQ later. Think of this like working for an employer and every time you contribute to a 401k, then your employer matches, except this is for investing into public companies and your company co-invests with you.
• The succession plan requires Brett to work for free again, to prove that he is capable of generating a return for the company and he must complete the task in 7 years or less to become Chairman.
• Brett is promoted to a director in IEP GP which is the private and controlling company to $IEP. Therefore, Brett directs how the Funds are invested on behalf of his father's empire, and/or with his father.
• Bottomline: The Prince is in control of the Empire, its vast resources, and he must prove his worthiness to the King. Now, let the Activist Raids begin.

With a succession plan in place and structure set up, the next step was to find a target company that desperately needed saving from the abusive naked shorting hedge funds.

Activist Raiders Set Sail to GMERICA

Somewhere along the way, Ryan Cohen and Brett Icahn met. Perhaps long before the succession plan was activated:
​
Brett Icahn was involved in the gaming industry in 2010
Brett was a board member of Take-Two Interactive, makers of the Grand Theft Auto game franchise, so it would be safe to say that Brett knew a thing or two about the Gaming Industry and its growth-rate.
This is supported by the fact that Carl admitted he was not into tech stocks therefore Brett likely suggested Take-Two as an investment to his father, just like Netflix.
The Apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
​
Robbie Ferguson of IMX tweets an infographic of 10% YoY growth-rate of Gaming
I wonder if Brett and Robbie know each other, probably.
Then there's this timeline of cohencidences too (Brett has a detailed history of involvement and familiarity with NFTs, crypto, and blockchain tech):
​
Unverified Brett Icahn twitter account but the timeline is interesting. Still, I kinda like this Brett, no chill on tweets and out there blasting everyone.
P.S. someone had to take that photo of Ryan Cohen and Carl Icahn, guess who?
You're goddamn right.

Enter GameStop: Prelude to GMERICA

One month after IEP's succession plan (Oct 1, 2020), Ryan Cohen writes a letter to GameStop board on November 16, 2020:
​
RC Ventures letter to GameStop board
Take notice of the first sentence: RCV with AFFILIATES - like the same Affiliates that just raised a massive Multi-Billion Dollar pool of Investment Funds for Investor Activism and acquiring companies.
Are you starting to see where this is all going?
With a turnaround plan successfully implemented into GameStop, the company was able to escape Cellar Boxing. However, it was not entirely free due to swaps as covered by u/criand's meme stock basket DD.
I believe in the first half of 2021 and post-sneeze, most of the Activism plans were just formulating since GameStop was still in dire straits up until June 2021. And that's when a second sneeze occurred which allowed GME management to conduct an At-The-Market share offering with Jefferies as the handler which generated a $1 Billion Dollar War Chest to finance the development of GameStop NFT marketplace and create the foundation to build a Web 3.0 Metaverse world in 2022.
With one target company acquired and stabilized, it was then time to move onto the next.

Enter Blood, Bath, Beyond: 69D Rugpull

When systemic corruption in the markets were exposed from the Jan 2021 $GME sneeze, an international community of diamond-handed apes were borne from the aftermath, and were ready to gobble up entire company stock floats then Direct Register the Shares in their name (DRSGME.org & WhyDRS.org).
After GameStop, the Activist Investors set their sights on the next target company $BBBY and once again, RC Ventures wrote a letter to the board at Bed, Bath, and Beyond on March 6, 2022:
​
RC Ventures letter to $BBBY board
There it is again, the Activist Investors and their Affiliates show up to acquire another company.
Except this time they want to spin-off the buybuyBABY to pay off debt in the parent company, with a goal to evaluate a Full Sale to a Well-Capitalized Acquirer.

FYI- as of 4/23/23 from court docket 10 on page 27, it revealed that $BBBY had $1.8 Billion in total debt so they would need a massive pooled investment to buy out the entire company and then spin-off buybuyBABY (but a carve-out is the real plan).

After RCV sent the letter to $BBBY board, it was also around the same time when a bunch of GameStop NFT creators hoisted the flag 🏴‍☠️ and started tweeting in unison.
Pepperidge Farm remembers.
I won't dive into details since my other GMERICA posts (see my history) cover everything up to this point so I will focus on this event which is relevant:
RC Ventures sells his $BBBY shares on August 18, 2022.
Recently, it was discovered in $BBBYQ ch11 court docs that when RCV "sold" the $BBBY position that it in fact DID NOT return those shares back to the public markets.
Now, if you combine your newfound knowledge about Investment Funds and Affiliates then it becomes pretty clear that RCV "sold" or most likely transferred the shares to an unnamed party and who might that be?
It is Lazard Ferres, an investment bank, which was pointed out in this post by u/travis_b13.

Lazard has been utilized to carry out LBO transactions for IEP's takeover of HP & Xerox by working with Carol Flaton of AlixPartners. Carol was hired as an independent director of $BBBY in late January 2023 and later appointed to $BBBY board.

TLDR summary of Travis_b13's post:

• In $BBBYQ chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, it was recently revealed on docket 345 that Lazard Freres, an investment bank was retained for any sales transactions and restructuring.
• Lazard Freres entered into an Indemnification Letter on August 10, 2022 which enabled Lazard to buy, sell, underwrite, place or purchase any securities in a financing or otherwise placement agency or purchase agreement -- basically Lazard had free reign to do ANYTHING with the shares that it was about to receive from RC Ventures on August 18, 2022
• Furthermore, docket 345 revealed that Lazard and BBBY had an engagement letter and also a Dealer Manager Agreement dated on October 18, 2022.
• What is a Dealer Manager Agreement? It is an agreement that governs the relationship between the offeror (BBBY) and the dealer-managers (the Activist Investors & Affiliates) and is signed by the parties to the commencement of a debt tender offer -- a signature LBO move by Icahn to acquire companies.
• Within the same docket 345, discovered in this other post, it mentions Lazard wanting a percentage fee of buybuyBABY when the sale consummates between debtor (parent company BBBY) and the buyer (IEP).
• Lazard is holding the shares it received from RC Ventures and entered into another deal via Dealer Manager Agreement with a different party on Oct 18, 2022.

Guess what also happened around October 18, 2022?
Ryan Cohen tweeted this -- perhaps there was a meeting and signatures were required:
​
OG Activist Investor & The Young
Before we wrap this up, let's tie up some loose ends.

Forced to split post, continue part 2 here: https://www.reddit.com/edwinbarnesc/comments/13vcix1/gmerica_activists_affiliates_the_return_of_icahn/