How have pods impacted merger arb?

To the event driven / merger arb / special sits guys - how have the pods impacted merger arb? I have zero experience there but interested in hearing 1. how they've impacted it, and 2. evidence of pod crowding in select arb situations (how can you tell / how do you track crowding broadly)? How much of an emphasis do you put on flows / liquidity / positioning vs anti-trust and regulatory work? Can you give examples of the former?

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