The boom in spinoff activity over the past few years has been aided greatly by the boom in activist investing. In this edition of Odds & Ends we check in on some activists. Other hedge funds may be shuttering, but it seems this segment remains hot! When something works, the financial industry knows how to milk it, but… Read More »
With apologies to the Beatles: Yesterday, Arconic’s stock price began to fade away An expected buyout had been pushed away Elliott needs to find another way It was this close to a deal, but Arconic(ARNC) announced yesterday that it was no longer pursuing a sale of the company. Last week, the Wall Street Journal had reported that a… Read More »
Let’s kick off the week with some deal talk. Last week we touched on Apollo’s (APO) potential buyout of Arconic (ARNC) and if completed, it would just be another example of spinoff/parent company being taken out. Once the separation announcement is made or even the ‘strategic alternatives’ one, the market knows that a sale is possible. In that vein,… Read More »
The WSJ is reporting that Arconic (ARNC) is nearing a deal with private equity firm Apollo Global Management (APO) to be taken private. While the exact deal value is unknown right now, estimates peg Arconic’s value at over $10b or between $21 and $22 per share. The price represents a modest premium to recent close, but the name… Read More »
That was quick. Whitbread’s (WTBCF) CEO Allison Brittain caved to activist pressure in seemingly record time, announcing the spinoff of Costa Coffee less than two weeks after Elliott Advisors unveiled a ~6% stake in the company. Of course, Whitbread doesn’t believe it caved and in the press release announcing the demerger (British for spinoff), the company notes that… Read More »
A storm began brewing last winter for Whitbread plc (WTBCF) and its CEO Alison Brittain. Activist investor Sachem Head took a 3.4% stake in the company and began pushing for a breakup of the company. With Paul Singer’s Elliott Advisors becoming the company’s largest shareholder, it’s probably safe to upgrade that storm to hurricane status, category 5. I’m… Read More »