Author Archives: Inelegant Investor
It’s a part of the economy that is not visible to many consumers, but if you have ever bought a used car, there is a good chance it passed through KAR Auction Services(KAR) at some point. Last year, the company sold approximately 5.6 million vehicles at auction. KAR consists of two distinct auction businesses. Adesa, its wholecar auction… Read More »
Maybe at Alice’s Restaurant you can get anything you want, but Arlo only makes security cameras. The buisness, which Netgear(NTGR) launched in 2014, had revenue last year of $378 million, compared to $1.03 billion for the rest of the company. This was double Arlo’s 2016 revenue, while the rest of the company is flat. Netgear management, wishing to take… Read More »
Even before Time Warner(TWX) spun it off in June 2014, Meredith(MDP) was in talks trying to effect a Reverse Morris Trust transaction. Over the subsequent years, Time repeatedly was the subject of buyout discussion, and Meredith was always in the mix. Well after five years, Meredith finally got its prize. On January 31, Meredith closed its $2.8 billion… Read More »
Boats, billiard tables and fitness equipment. Three years after the sale of its iconic bowling business, Brunswick(BC) continues to house a diverse and unconnected set of products. When a company is in such disparate businesses, it is only a matter of time before an activist investor comes along, urging a spinoff. That day arrived for Brunswick last week,… Read More »
One year after its Chapter 11 filing and a decade after a private equity buyout, Avaya(AVYA) is, once again, a public company. The company had declared bankruptcy beset by $6.3 Billion in debt and mounting losses. In December, it completed its restructuring and began trading OTC. In January, less than a month later, Avaya stock gained a listing… Read More »
It was just one year ago when Biogen(BIIB) spun off hemophilia and blood disorder specialist Bioverativ(BIVV). With the stock trading in the 40s post-spin, we highlighted some disparate analyst opinions of the spin. The most bullish, Gabelli & Company, has a price target of $58 for Bioverativ stock. This past Friday, Bioverativ stock closed at $64.11, above Gabelli’s… Read More »
Investors are taking gun and ammo manufacturer Vista Outdoor(VSTO) out back and shooting it. Vista stock, which was above $50 in July 2016, was down nearly 30% last week after an awful earnings report, and now trades just over $14. The company, which was spun off in 2015 by Alliance Techsystems as part of its Morris Trust merger… Read More »
Every schoolchild is aware of the dangers of mixing water and electricity. Perhaps with this in mind, Pentair(PNR) will be spinning off its Electric division and retaining its Flow Control division. As every spinoff needs a gut-wrenchingly bad name with an even worse explanation of its meaning, the new company will be known as nVent Electric. Why? Beth… Read More »
Autoliv(ALV) is the world’s largest manufacturer of seat belts and air bags. Now, the Swedish company wants to spin off its fast-growing Electronics business. The Electronics business focuses on Active Safety as opposed to Autoliv’s core Passive Safety business. Autoliv stock jumped over 12% on the announcement, as investors anticipated strong value creation in the Electronics division with… Read More »
In January, under pressure from Elliott Management, Marathon Petroleum(MPC) announced a formal review of the company’s strategic options for its Speedway business. At the time, it seemed that a spinoff was both Elliott’s goal and a likely outcome of the review process. After all, the industry has seen several petroleum companies spin off their convenience store divisions. Marathon… Read More »
Over 18 months since announcing plans to merge, Dow Chemical(DOW) and E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co.(DD) will complete their merger on August 31. The new company will be named DowDuPont and will trade under the new DWDP ticker. DowDuPont will be included in both the S&P 100 and S&P 500, as were both predecessor companies. Don’t… Read More »
It’s been a rough year for Akzo Nobel(AKZOY). First, Elliott Management got involved. The activist fund was pushing for a breakup of the Dutch chemicals company. However, when US rival PPG(PPG) showed up with an offer to buy the whole company, Elliott began pushing the offer over management’s resistance. AkzoNobel was successfully able to leverage Dutch protectionism to… Read More »
We don’t know much about the lithium space, but we know that if you want to understand it and get great analysis of the players involved, there is no better place than The Lithium Spot. So we asked them if they could share some thoughts with our readers about FMC Corporation’s plans to spin off its lithium business.… Read More »
Four months after its failed sale process, Time Warner(TWX) spinoff Time, Inc.(TIME) is pursuing the part of its strategy described as “selective portfolio rationalization”. Bloomberg reports that CEO Rich Battista stated in an interview that these “wonderful brands” need a new home so that Time can invest elsewhere. In the interview, Battista called the three publications “wonderful brands”… Read More »
It looks like Rich Battista will get his chance to dilate Time,Inc.(TIME) after all. After months of speculation and talks, beginning just after he began as CEO last fall, Time announced on Friday that its Board had determined not to sell the company at this time and to instead continue pursuing Battista’s strategic plan. What is the key… Read More »