Serial acquirers & holdings

Name: Michael Gielkens

Country of residence: The Netherlands

Record date: August 14th, 2025

In this episode, we sit down with Michael Gielkens, co-founder of Tresor Capital and one of the most knowledgeable investors on serial acquirers and holding companies.

Michael shares how he went from early investing mistakes to building a strategy around capital allocation champions, companies like: Berkshire Hathaway, Investor AB, and Constellation Software. We talk about what makes a great serial acquirer, how to screen for quality, and why Sweden is a breeding ground for these businesses.

We also dive into:

• How to identify red flags in serial acquirers

• What goodwill is and how it works and distorts

• What separates a value-creating holding from a value-destroying one

• How to think about incentives, decentralization, and skin in the game

• And investor communities

We think you'll enjoy this one! Enjoy.

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