We recently took a look at Genie Energy’s (GNE) exchange offer. While I highly recommend checking out our earlier piece and related comments for some background info (and to boost our traffic), here is a brief summary: Shareholders of Class B common units can swap shares on a 1 for 1 basis for newly created preferred shares which would trade… Read More »
Normally, there is plenty of time to dig into spinoff opportunities. It often feels like the process goes on forever. There are a few occasions though where that luxury does not exist, such as when a company moves quickly or, more likely, when you simply just found out about the situation at a later date. That seems to… Read More »
‘$135,000!!! For one share! Soooo expensive!’ – a friend’s response to Berkshire Hathaway’s share price. To be sure, it is a lot of money and intimidating when pulling up a ticker. Expensive though? Not enough information there to determine whether or not that is the case. This reaction is typical though and is one reason I have always… Read More »
Well, it’s official now as Tyco’s (TYC) shareholders approved the latest dismemberment of the former conglomerate earlier this week. I’m still waiting for a shareholder surprise veto to take place…now that would be something. Anyways…continuing its long history of spins, Tyco will distribute its North American ADT business and its flow control business on September 28th to shareholders… Read More »
Well that was quick. In what looks to be the briefest stint in modern history (maybe even of all time?), Kraft Food’s (KFT) days as a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average are coming to an end. A mere four years after usurping AIG’s (AIG) spot in the index, the food conglomerate will be replaced by the… Read More »
After denying spinoff plans for its gift-card subsidiary Blackhawk at its investor day earlier this year, supermarket giant Safeway (SWY) unveiled plans last week for…a spinoff of its Blackhawk subsidiary. Further proof that you can always take a CEO or politician’s word to the bank. For those who are unfamiliar with the business, Blackhawk Network Holdings is a… Read More »
The next round of corporate action at Sears Holding (SHLD) is about to begin as the board of directors set today as the distribution date of the rights offerings to purchase shares of its Hometown & Outlet store spinoff. The new company is expected to trade under the ticker ‘SHOS’ and each SHLD shareholder will receive one rights offering, good for… Read More »
Anyone have any new ideas? I know we have mentioned this numerous times – sorry – but the business and investing world is chock full of followers. We recently wrote about one example in the defense industry, but alas, it is not an isolated case. Take the PC business. IBM (IBM) successfully converted itself into a very profitable software business by dumping… Read More »
Investors in hedge funds, private equity firms, start ups and even some public companies often need to be aware of ‘Key Man’ risk. This refers to the over-reliance on or importance of a few select individuals (or even just one) to the business. Think Warren Buffet and Berkshire Hathaway (no matter what he says). About a year and half… Read More »
If a certain investing strategy delivers returns then you can count on followers and imitators joining the party. Just google ‘how to invest like buffett’. Even this site is an offshoot of Joel Greenblatt’s successful investment strategy. Corporate strategy is the same, especially in the minds of analysts in the investing world – if an idea worked for one company then every company in the… Read More »
Time for a little housecleaning as we catch up on some old news regarding a few potential spins which ended up as sales instead. Can’t win them all. Loral Space & Communications (LORL) had long talked about spinning off its Space Systems/Loral (SSL) unit to shareholders, but instead sold the division to MacDonald, Dettwiler & Associates (TSX:MDA) for $875m. The… Read More »
It only took about a year since the idea was first publicly floated, but Kraft Food’s (KFT) board of directors formally approved the spinoff of its North American grocery business last week. The tax-free spin is expected to be completed after the close on October 1st and shareholders of KFT will receive 1 share of the new Kraft Foods… Read More »
This author wonders what activists will do once the market’s conglomerates have all been broken up. Nelson Peltz of Trian Group gaining a board seat at Ingersoll Rand may be the latest harbinger of yet another spinoff on the horizon. Peltz had been trying to get a board seat and push for change but the company up to this point… Read More »
It’s been a scant three months since Fiesta Restaurant Group(FRGI) was spun out of Carroll’s(TAST) but the new company has already produced impressive results in its first reported quarter. The stock, which began trading in May below $13, closed at $16.16 yesterday. Last week, Fiesta reported its results for the second quarter. The company showed strong comparable store… Read More »
For followers of John Malone and his family of companies, frequent restructurings are nothing new. And he continues to provide special situation investors plenty to do. On the heels of the announced Starz spin, Liberty Interactive executed a previously announced splitoff of the company into new tracking stocks Liberty Interactive (LINTA) and Liberty Ventures (LVNTA). Since the company is remaining one… Read More »