When it comes to spinoffs, investors often focus on the management teams. One area of interest is compensation. Is management incentivized with long term options or stock to deliver strong performance? Another key issue is location. Who ends up where? There is a belief that top execs know the business best and want to be where the real… Read More »
Could we be losing one of the most anticipated spins of the year? Might be, as McGraw-Hill (MHP) entered into exclusive negotiations with Apollo Global Management (APO) regarding the possible sale of its education unit. The company had been preparing itself for a spinoff, but was simultaneously running a bidding process for the unit. Final offers were submitted… Read More »
United Online (UNTD) reported solid Q3 results last week and also provided a brief update on the status of its upcoming spinoff. According to Chairman, President & CEO (all 3? corporate governance issue anyone?) Mark Goldston the company is “continuing to make progress in our plan to spin-off FTD as an independent, publicly-traded company,” and expects the process… Read More »
Marchex Inc (MCHX) announced that it would spin off its domain and advertising name marketplace into a new company called Archeo. The company enables the buying, selling and development of digital properties and ad inventory. Although it has been slowly unloading its portfolio, it still has a healthy pipeline of domain names for sale and as a standalone… Read More »
Maybe life isn’t so easy for corporate activists these days. After acquiring a ~9.5% stake in specialty truck maker Oshkosh Corporation (OSK), Carl Icahn has so far been unsuccessful in his push for a spinoff of lift equipment maker JLG. Even after his slate of directors lost at the most recent election, Mr. Icahn has not given up… Read More »
Nothing like a hurricane to catch up on some old news. At an investor day in early September, Covidien (COV) announced that the spinoff of its pharmaceutical group was on track for 2013 and would likely be completed by June of that year. The company also unveiled the new name for the company: Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals. The name choice… Read More »
The excitement over Dean Foods’ (DF) spinoff of its organic segment WhiteWave Foods Company (WWAV) was easy to see. Dean’s stock price quickly shot up on the announcement and the stock was able to hold onto those outsized gains. Another sign was that investor demand for the IPO was so strong that underwriters exercised the over-allotment clause adding… Read More »
It took AMR (AAMRQ) years to give up on selling American Eagle, its regional air unit, and decide to spin it off to shareholders. Unfortunately, soon thereafter, the company voluntarily entered bankruptcy. Talk about bad timing. Throughout the process though, and most recently earlier this month, American Eagle CEO Dan Garton has reiterated that he expects American Eagle to be spun… Read More »
Activist investors have been notching so many wins recently that victory over management almost feels inevitable. Have corporate executives just thrown in the towel? Don’t be so quick to write them off, as Agrium (AGU), the Canadian fertilizer company and Jana Partners’ most recent target, is fighting back. Before delving any deeper, it is worth noting that Agrium… Read More »
Most investors in spinoffs realize it is important to look into the reasoning behind the transaction. Is it a dump of bad assets? Regulatory pressures? If Tessera Technologies (TSRA) ends up executing a spinoff between now and March 2015, I can assure you it won’t take much detective work to uncover its CEO’s rationale: $$$$$. Tessera’s board of directors… Read More »
After close to a year of deliberation, Murphy Oil (MUR) announced that its board of directors approved the spin off of its downstream subsidiary, Murphy Oil USA. The transaction is expected to be completed in 2013 and is a continuation of the process started earlier this year when Murphy announced that it was ‘considering its strategic options’ for its retail unit. As a… Read More »
ADT(ADT) is home, even when you’re not, and Fitch thinks they’re reasonably likely to pay back any money you might lend them. The home security giant, which was spun off from Tyco(TYC) on September 28, has strong free cash flow and market share and is easily able to service its significant debt. Said Fitch: ADT’s ratings and Outlook… Read More »
The unofficial tally is in and the turnout was somewhat disappointing. No, we are not talking about any primary or the upcoming election, but rather about Genie Energy’s (GNE) recent exchange offer to swap common B shares for newly formed preferred ownership on a 1:1 basis. In the end, only ~1.6 million shares of Class B common stock… Read More »
As we discussed previously, Microsoft(MSFT) had agreed to invest $300 million for a 17.6% stake in NOOK Media, which includes the digital and College assets of Barnes & Noble(BKS) including the NOOK device business. Barnes & Noble continues to own the remainder of the business. In today’s release, the company was careful to note that “As previously announced,… Read More »
Who needs the Dow Jones Industrial Average anyways? Shortly after parent company Kraft Foods (KFT) got the boot from the DJIA, it was announced that post spinoff, the Kraft Foods Group (the North American Grocery spinoff) will become a member of the S&P 500. Kraft will replace coal producer Alpha Natural Resource (ANR) which just happens to be one of the worst… Read More »