Category Archives: Uncategorized

FMC Continues To Plan On Spinning Off Its Lithium Assets in 2018

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 »

MetLife(MET) Completes Brighthouse(BHF) Spinoff, Boots AutoNation From S&P 500

After a long gestational period, MetLife (MET) finally completed the spinoff of its life insurance & annuity business, Brighthouse Financial (BHF) this week. MetLife shareholders as of July 19th should have received 1 share of BHF for every 11 MET shares owned. Brighthouse trades on the NASDAQ and was also added to the S&P 500 Index, replacing auto dealer… Read More »

Do You Like Sunsets, Coastal Living And Golf? Time, Inc. Has Some Magazines It Would Like To Sell

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 »

Dollars From Donuts- Is There Enough Upside In Offer for Rightside?

Privately held Donuts Inc is acquiring Rightside Group (NAME) for $10.60 per share or approximately $213m in cash. With the deal signed, the company will now control top level domains such as ‘.sale’ and ‘.dance’ in addition to its portfolio of names like ‘.movie’ and ‘.group’. Personally, I am puzzled that a company named Donuts has nothing to do… Read More »

Spinoff Odds & Ends: M&A For South32 , IRS To Issue Some Private Letter Rulings

It’s Thursday before Memorial Day Weekend which means it’s a perfect time for some Spinoff Odds & Ends: Thanks to Paul Singer’s Elliott Advisors there is a lot of drama swirling around BHP Billiton (BHP) (we will get to that shortly hopefully), but Bloomberg’s Gadfly checks in South32 (SOUHY), the mining giant’s 2015 spinoff. That mishmash of unloved… Read More »

Cleaning Up The Table: Sealed Air, Fiesta Restaurant Spinoff Plans Are No More

Even once a spinoff is announced it’s not a given that it will be completed. Things change – the company can change its mind, a buyer could emerge and so on and so forth. It’s really not surprising to see a bunch of sales in an environment of rich valuations. Although we try our best to stay on… Read More »

Oil Change- Ashland(ASH) Distributes Remaining Shares Of Valvoline(VVV) To Shareholders

Although Valvoline’s (VVV) IPO was last September, it was still majority owned by its parent company, Ashland Global Holdings (ASH). Not anymore though. The specialty chemical manufacturer completed Step 2 of its Valvoline spinoff on May 12th by distributing its remaining stake in the company to shareholders. Ashland shareholders as of May 5th, should have received 2.745338 shares of Valvoline… Read More »

TEGNA To Complete Cars.com Spinoff May 31st, Receive Big Dividend

TEGNA’s (TGNA) Board of Directors officially approved the spinoff of Cars.com and expects the transaction to be completed on May 31st. TEGNA shareholders as of May 18th should receive 1 share of the new company for every 3 TGNA shares owned. Cars.com is expected to trade on the NYSE under the ticker ‘CARS’, which I think we can… Read More »

There’s Something About A Powertrain That’s Magic- Delphi(DLPH) To Spin Off Powertrain Business

In case you haven’t noticed, the automotive space is undergoing a few changes. New players are muscling in and the entire supply chain – from the OEMs all the way down to the Tier 3s – are under siege. As a result, everyone is scrambling to secure their part in the automobile of the future which many expect… Read More »

With No Buyer For Time, Battista Buys Time For Time Strategy

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 »

BCG Has Some Advice For ‘Sustainably Successful Spinoffs’

If there is a big corporate trend, you can bet that high priced consultants were behind the idea or have since hopped on board offering advice on how to do it better. As spinoffs have become more popular, BCG has penned a number of articles on spinoffs and corporate divestitures. Their most recent piece notes that although spinoffs… Read More »

Actelion Spinoff To Be Called Idorsia, But How Easy Will It Be To Get A Reservation?

In American Psycho, Christian Bale’s character Patrick Bateman famously struggles to get a table at New York restaurant Dorsia. Hopefully brokers will be more accommodating to investors looking to get their hands on stock in Idorsia, which is to be spun out of Actelion (ALIOY) in the second quarter of 2017. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) announced a deal… Read More »

Not Even Time Enough For Love- Meredith(MDP) Runs With The Pamplona Bulls In Pursuit Of Time, Inc.

Time, Inc.’s(TIME) brief interlude as a public company following its 2014 spinoff from Time Warner(TWX) appears to be coming to a close. Rumors about Meredith(MDP) interest in some or all of Time have been rampant for years.  Speculation that  a sale was near increased dramatically with reports last November that a group led by Edgar Bronfman, Jr. had… Read More »

Pipeline Spinoff In the Spinoff Pipeline?- Potential PetroChina(PTR) Pipeline Spinoff Has Analysts Abuzz

With oil prices remaining in the doldrums, what are oil & gas companies supposed to do to keep share prices up? Some companies have been pursuing asset sales while others are actually expanding into ‘hot’ shale geographies. Investors in PetroChina (PTR), China’s largest oil & gas company, aren’t focused on M&A to boost the struggling company though. Instead… Read More »

Sad Soon-Shiong(Says So Much)- Fight For Control Of Tronc(TRNC) Intensifies

In discussing what became Tronc’s(TRNC) failed bid for Us Weekly, we mentioned that LA billionaire  and Tronc Vice Chairman Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong was not being renominated to Tronc’s Board.  At the time we speculated as to why this was and whether it signified a rift between former allies Soon-Shiong and Tronc Chairman Michael Ferro, Jr. Subsequent event have… Read More »