Image via Wikipedia Another day, another spinoff. Marathon Oil (MRO) announced today that its Board of Directors has approved spinning off its downstream operations. The new company will be called the Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC – also its expected ticker) and will be one of the largest refiners in the United States with assets concentrated mainly in the… Read More »
Image via Wikipedia After rejecting JBS SA‘s offer of $17.50/share, Sara Lee (SLE) was rumored to be favoring a breakup strategy which would likely involve the spinoff of either its coffee or meats division. It is believed that a spinoff would unlock the value of the unrelated businesses and facilitate the sale of each individual unit. While JBS,… Read More »
While some companies are new to spinning off divisions, others are known for their serial spinoffs. Few however, can match the fecundity of ITT(ITT)(nee International Telephone & Telegraph). ITT was born out of the Puerto Rico Telephone Company in 1920. Over the next half century, ITT was the classic conglomerate, buying such diverse companies as The Hartford Insurance,… Read More »
Image via Wikipedia Experienced traders and seasoned investors often mention discipline as one of the keys to success in this industry. While some speculation is encouraged, drawing the distinction between ‘the good’ and ‘the bad’ kind can be difficult. A common misconception is that this only applies to ‘investors’ however, corporations face similar dilemmas when deploying their capital.… Read More »
Tyco International(TYC) has canceled plans, announced in April, to spin off its Electrical & Metal Products unit to shareholders. Instead, Tyco announced on November 9 that it would be selling 51% of the unit, bow called Atkore, to private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier, & Rice for $720 million in cash. Tyco plans to use the cash to repurchase… Read More »
It looks like the SunCoke spinoff from Sunoco (SUN) might not be completed by the initial target date set by the company of 1H 2011. Ongoing litigation with one of their biggest customers, ArcelorMittal (MT – also a company on our spinoff radar), is the reason for the potential delay. Apparently, ArcelorMittal is claiming that SunCoke subsidiary Jewell… Read More »
Image by Getty Images via @daylife ArcelorMittal’s (MT) board confirmed its plan to spin-off the company’s stainless steel division in the hope of ‘maximizing shareholder value’ and capturing the division’s growth potential. The new company, which will be called APERAM, will be listed on several international exchanges (including Euronext Paris and Amsterdam), but will only trade OTC in… Read More »
Image via Wikipedia In October, when Bill Ackman and Pershing Square Capital disclosed an 11% stake in Fortune Brands(FO), there was speculation that he would push the conglomerate to break up. Today, Fortune announced plans to break into three companies. Fortune itself would retain its Premium Spirits business, led by venerable brands such as Jim Beam, Maker’s Mark,… Read More »
Jim Royal, one of The Motley Fool’s “Rising Stars”, sure has taken a liking to spinoffs. He recently penned a brief note pegging recent spinoff Sabra Healthcare REIT(SBRA), and future spinoffs Rainbow Media and Northrup Grumman’s(NOC) shipbuilding unit as “Spinoff Stocks Worth Watching“. In a followup piece, Royal recommends buying Sabra, which recently spun out from Sun Healthcare(SUNH).… Read More »
Cover via Amazon A corporate conglomerate is truly a wonderful thing. Growth through acquisitions often leaves these companies quite bloated and operating in unexpected areas though. Sometimes this is done on purpose in order to diversify exposure by investing in unrelated areas. These ancillary businesses surrounding the ‘core’ can be quite surprising and make you go ‘Really?’ –… Read More »
Image via Wikipedia Cablevision Systems Corporation(CVC) which spun off Madison Square Garden(MSG) earlier this year is back at it, announcing that it plans to spin off its Rainbow Media Holdings business in mid-2011. Rainbow Holdings owns such popular cable channels as AMC, WE, IFC, and Sundance. Investors appeared enthused about the move, with the stock moving up 6.84%… Read More »
Just came across a bullish write up on Furiex Pharmaceuticals(FURX), which was recently spun off from PPDI, and has since dropped significantly in share price. Above Average Odds points out the indiscriminate selling, strong management, large cash hoard, and pipeline in making a case for “a wonderful asymmetric risk reward opportunity.” Definitely worth reading and considering. Disclosure: Author… Read More »
Image via Wikipedia Despite the optimism of spinoff investors, not every spin is a success story…at least when measured by stock price appreciation. In late August of 2009, offshore rig contractor Pride International (PDE) spun off its shallow water operations into the newly formed Seahawk Drilling (HAWK). The great ticker could not overcome the poor industry fundamentals and… Read More »
The GGP drama is finally nearing its end and time is running out to jump aboard the Howard Hughes Corporation prior to its spinoff from General Growth Properties (GGP). With GGP’s emergence from bankruptcy around the corner, the company announced November 1st as the date for distribution of shares of the two separate publicly traded corporations. According to… Read More »
Image via CrunchBase Ever since eBay (EBAY) unloaded its stake in Skype last year, there has been fierce speculation that they would do the same with PayPal, the popular online transaction company. Here is a piece in the New York Times from earlier this year making the case that a spinoff is needed in order for PayPal to… Read More »