- What exactly is the "hidden monopolist" status that Rep. Ro Khanna dubbed Transdigm (TDG +0.4%) in Tuesday's letter to the Pentagon?
- It's a large holding company that searches for specialty parts used in heavy machinery - special panels, connectors, cables and other components - that are produced exclusively by a single company. TransDigm buys these producers and then wildly inflates their prices to exploit the monopoly, writes Zach Carter in The Huffington Post.
- For example: A "cable assembly" went from $1,737.03 to $7,863 after being acquired by TDG, while the price of a "motor rotor" soared from $654.46 to $5,474.