Marriott Vacations Worldwide(VAC) which we discussed previously, has now completed its spinoff. Timeshares are a challenging industry; they sell a product that many buyers seem unhappy with. Goldman Sachs started the company with a Neutral rating, and in the current economic environment is likely to be challenging for the new company. The former parent, Marriott International(MAR), has… Read More »
Spinoffs take a lot of time. It really isn’t so surprising considering the plethora of regulatory and logistical issues that arise from splitting up a business. While often overlooked as one time charges, companies spend millions upon millions planning and executing these transactions. As a result, at least 6 months usually pass between the date of announcement and… Read More »
Why not catch up on some news while we await word of the potential ‘spinoff’ of countries from the Euro Zone? Activist investors have recently notched a number of wins by getting companies to agree to break up (McGraw-Hill, L-3 etc.) in order to generate shareholder value. I am sure they also don’t mind the boost in their… Read More »
After a busy Halloween, it is time to look ahead to the next spinoff opportunities. Luckily we won’t have to wait long as Marriott International’s (MAR) board of directors recently approved the spinoff of its vacation club, Marriott Vacations Worldwide. The distribution is expected to take place on November 21st (to shareholders as of Nov 10th) and shareholders… Read More »
Abbott Laboratories(ABT) is joining the parade and splitting itself into two. Like many other recent spinners, Abbott is a spinoff veteran, having spun off Hospira(HSP) in 2004. Though at times, even recently, Hospira has traded much higher, on the whole, returns for the two pieces 7 years later have been unimpressive. Hospira is now barely up 10%, and… Read More »
ITT’s(ITT) long awaited spinoffs, Xylem(XYL) and Exelis (XLS) are set to be distributed to shareholders on 10/31. Standard & Poor has announced that Xylem will take ITT’s place in the S&P 500 index. Both Exelis and ITT will join the S&P MidCap 400, replacing Eastman Kodak(EK) and Kindred Healthcare(KND). Lumos Holdings, being spun out of NTELOS(NTLS) on the… Read More »
Avoid trading on certain days? Superstitious at all? Management at Ntelos Holding (NTLS) certainly are not as the company plans on separating its wireline and wireless businesses this coming Halloween (October 31st). Maybe it was just time to close the transaction after first announcing it last December. For those who are unclear about the differences between the two… Read More »
Late October is shaping up to be a pretty busy period for spinoffs and one of the many expected separations will be IDT Corporation’s (IDT) spinoff of Genie Energy. Please read our earlier post about the spin here, but as a quick refresher, the plan is to spin out IDT’s energy assets from its telecommunications business. Yes, IDT… Read More »
The big news this morning is Kinder Morgan Inc’s (KMI) $20+b cash and stock deal to acquire El Paso Corp (EP) in a bid to become the largest natural gas pipeline operator in the US. The price represents a hefty ~37% premium to El Paso’s recent close. As a refresher, Kinder Morgan was taken private in a mega… Read More »
While speaking at a recent Barclay’s Energy Conference, ConocoPhillips (COP) CEO Jim Mulva provided an update on the company’s broad strategic repositioning plan including some additional details on its upcoming spinoff (see our earlier article on the spin here). The plan is to create a pure-play E&P company (retaining the Conoco name) along with a new downstream company.… Read More »
In stark contrast to the American people’s growing heft, American conglomerates appear to be on a steady diet, often slimming down via spinoffs. Break up expert and Swiss-conglomerate Tyco International (TYC) is the latest fad follower as the company announced plans to split itself into three separate companies. The new businesses will be: ADT North America (residential security):… Read More »
In what appears to be another ‘win’ for activist investors, defense contractor L-3 Communications (LLL) announced that it will spin out its government services business in the first half of 2012. The company faced pressure from Ralph Whitworth’s Relational Investors (who are also involved in the ITT [ITT] situation) to jettison non-core business units in order to improve… Read More »
The old rumor mill got another one right. AMR Corporation (AMR), American Airline’s (‘AA’) parent company, recently announced its intention to move ahead with a spinoff of American Eagle, its short-haul regional carrier. Eagle, the US’s third largest regional airline (at least based on aircraft operated – it’s fourth in fare-paying passengers), generates revenues from operating flights and… Read More »
Amidst the current carnage, it feels a bit disingenuous singling out one or two individual stocks for poor performance, but some spin-offs have taken quite a beating recently. Just prior to the increase in market ‘volatility’, nursing home operator and health care REIT stocks nose-dived because the CMS announced a harsher than expected (11.1%) cut in Medicare reimbursement… Read More »
Activist investors appear to be back and are once again using their clout to influence corporate decision making. Occasionally, this can lead to a spinoff such as the case with Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square and Fortune Brands (FO) or Carl Icahn and Motorola. Of course, not every company is looking for outside ‘advice’. Consider the recent news regarding… Read More »