Acacia Research Corporation

Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to your Acacia Research Second Quarter Financial Results Conference. All lines have been placed in a listen-only mode, and the floor will be open for your questions and comments following the presentation. If you should require assistance throughout the conference, please press star, then zero. As a reminder, today's call is being recorded. At this time, it is my pleasure to turn the floor over to your host, Jeff Standless with FNKIR. Sir? The floor is yours.

Thank you, Melinda. Hosting the call today are Clifford Press Chief Executive Officer, Al Tobia Chief Investment Officer, and Rich Rosenstein Chief Financial Officer. Before beginning, I would like to remind you that the information provided during this call may contain forward-looking statements relating to current expectations, estimates, forecasts, and projections about future events that are forward-looking as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements generally relate to the company's plans, objectives, and expectations for future operation and are based on the current estimates and projections, future results, or trends. Actual results may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, please see the risk factors described in Acacia's annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC. I'd like to remind everyone that a press release disclosing the company's financial results was issued this morning before the market opened. This release may be accessed on the company's website at acaciaresearch.com under the News and Events tab. Clifford and Al will provide a business update, and Rich will review the quarterly financial results. With all that said, I would now like to turn the call over to Clifford Press. Mr. Press, the call is yours.

Thank you, Jeff, and good morning, everyone. At the end of the second quarter... Our capital base consisting of cash, private and public investments, and availability pursuant to our partnership with Starboard Value LP stood at $770 million. We continue to pursue acquisitions of operating businesses through a tightly coordinated research process, leveraging our team's experience in public and private markets. We focus on mature technology, life sciences, healthcare, and industrials, and certain segments of financial services, including insurance. Our primary opportunity set remains with companies that are sub $2 billion in equity market cap. As we have said in the past, we view this segment as the least efficient area of the public markets and one that favors our primary research approach and permanent capital structure. We've now positioned Acacia in an opportune part of the market. Specifically, we operate at the interface between private and public market valuations, making us an ideal partner for a variety of sellers and investors. We are able to deploy permanent capital to navigate complex multi-factor transactions. We are a corporate acquirer and are positioned to be an attractive partner to counterparties such as private equity funds and large enterprises. This approach leverages our rigorous investment process with Starboard, strong balance sheet and ready access to committed capital. We have active relationships with private equity investors who may find underperforming public companies where our involvement can be constructive and will continue to build this network. In summary, we remain committed to our strategy, which benefits from the inherent flexibility we have created, enabling us to pursue a range of potential transactions. I'll now turn the call over to Altabier our Chief Investment Officer, to speak to our existing holdings. Al?