Inelegant Investor

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JDS Uniphase Stock(JDSU) Disappeared- What Happened And What Two Companies Did It Become? Viavi(VIAV) And Lumentum(LITE) Solider On

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JDS Uniphase,(JDSU) Dot Com Boom And Bust Survivor: What Happened to it? Many investors still wonder what happened to JDS Uniphase after the dot-com boom. The once high-flying fiber optics stock was broken up into Viavi and Lumentum, and the story didn’t stop there. Here’s how the pieces fit together today. Judging by search queries and questions that… Read More »

Bioverativ(BIVV) Proves Attractive To Former Valeant(VRX) Patron ValueAct Capital

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Even before Biogen(BIIB) completed its spinoff of Bioverativ(BIVV), ValueAct Capital began buying “when-issued” stock in the new company. The hedge fund has continued to buy both stock and forward contracts and has now accumulated a 7.1% position in Bioverativ. The shares were purchased at between $40 and $45 per share. As Bioverativ stock has now risen above $50,… Read More »

Fraud Alleged In 2016 Community Health Systems(CYH) Spinoff Of Quorum Health(QHC)

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In April 2016, Community Health Systems(CYH) spun off Quorum Health Corp(QHC).  Quorum borrowed $1.2 billion and paid it as a dividend to Community Health prior to the spinoff, a large sum considering Quorum’s current market cap of $245 million, down precipitously from its debut, but more than double its November lows. Reuters reports that hedge fund Q Investments… Read More »

Will Nelson Peltz’s Procter & Gamble(PG) Stake Lead To Spinoffs?

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Nelson Peltz is legendary for successfully pushing for structural change at large companies.  This has often resulted in spinoffs of disparate divisions. Last week, Peltz’s investment vehicle, Trian Fund Management, disclosed a $3.5 billion stake in Procter & Gamble(PG). Peltz steps into the shoes of Bill Ackman, who several years ago took an activist position in P&G, only… Read More »

La Quinta Holdings Looking To Spin Off Real Estate

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La Quinta Holdings(LQ) announced last month that it “is pursuing the separation of its businesses into two stand-alone publicly traded companies, which could involve spinning off our owned real estate assets as a separate company.”  La Quinta further stated “There is no assurance that the separation of the Company’s business will occur. ” CEO Keith Cline waxed on… Read More »

Biostage(BSTG) Engineers New Financing At Desperate Terms

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The good news for Biostage(BSTG) shareholders is that the company is not quite dead yet. With cash set to run out in the second quarter and several quarters away from early stage clinical trials for its esophageal implant , Biostage stock has been swiftly moving downward. From over $2 per share last May, to over $0.70 at Wednesday’s… Read More »

Peruvian Cement Company Cementos Pacasmayo(CPAC) To Spinoff FOSSAL On March 1

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What’s that? Not familiar with Cementos Pacasmayo(CPAC)? That’s ok, neither were we, until we came across it during a late night googling session. All of the slides below are taken from the Cementos Pacasmayo’s investor presentation. Cementos Pacasmayo is the dominant cement company in Northern Peru. Spinoff of Fosfatos del Pacifico In partnership with a subsidiary of Mitsubishi,… Read More »

Might Lemann Team With Buffett To Put Kraft(KHC) And Mondelez(MDLZ) Together Again?

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Humans are nothing if not pattern recognition machines. Even in random data, we see patterns. So Bloomberg’s report that Jorge Paulo Lemann’s 3G is expected by some to be ready to do another large deal is no surprise. Never mind that the supposition is based on a mere two data points: two years separated 3G’s 2013 acquisition of… Read More »

Investors Urge Teva To Split Up After CEO’s Abrupt Departure

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Teva Pharmaceuticals(TEVA), the world’s largest producer of generic drugs, is in turmoil. Last week, the company lost a key patent ruling regarding its blockbuster drug, Copaxone. Copaxone, which can maintain remission for multiple sclerosis patients, accounts for one-fifth of Teva’s revenue. The introduction of generic competition, which now seems likely, will result in a major drop in revenue… Read More »

Which Way Is Biogen(BIIB) Headed After Spinoff Of Bioverativ(BIVV)?

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Last week, Biogen(BIIB) completed its spinoff of Bioverativ(BIVV). The Bioverativ spinoff included Biogen’s hemophilia assets and a $325 million pile of cash. What remains at Biogen is, depending on who you listen to, either poised for great growth, or struggling with it. Barrons reports on two analysts with positive views on Biogen: RBC Capital Markets analyst Michael Yee… Read More »

Gabelli & Co Call Bioverativ(BIVV) Stock A Buy With A Value Of $58, Morgan Stanley Disagrees

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Bioverativ(BIVV), a drug company focused on hemophilia and other blood disorders, was spun off by Biogen(BIIB) last week. Gabelli & Co initiated Bivoerativ stock as a buy with a value of $58, citing the company’s strong balance sheet(no debt, $325 million in cash), its limited exposure to Medicare, its potential to benefit from corporate tax reform, and its… Read More »

Miracle On 34th Street- Is Starboard’s Plan To Unlock Value Back On The Table At Macy’s (M)?

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As we discussed back in November 2015, Starboard Value Partners, led by the brash Jeffrey Smith, had acquired a stake in Macy’s(M) and pushed for a spinoff of the real estate into a REIT(Real Estate Investment Trust). Now, with the stock down 60% from Starboard’s purchase price and longtime Macy’s CEO Terry Lundgren stepping down, the plan may… Read More »

CBS Radio To Merge With Entercom(ETM) In Reverse Morris Trust Transaction

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Last March, we reported that CBS(CBS) was considering ‘strategic options’ for its radio business.  After it was unable to find a buyer, the company moved forward with plans for an IPO and spinoff of CBS Radio. Today, the company again announced a change of plans. Instead of an IPO, the company will be spun off and immediately merge… Read More »

After Completion Of Spinoff From Biogen(BIIB), Bioverativ(BIVV) Aims To Stop The Bleeding

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On February 1, Biogen(BIIB) completed the spinoff of its Hemophilia business, Bioverativ(BIVV).  Biogen shareholders woke up on February 2 to find one share of Bioverativ in their portfolio for every two shares of Biogen that they had owned. Biogen has had a tumultuous year, with the departure of its longtime CEO George Scangos in January amidst stalling sales. Xconomy’s… Read More »

Cable One(CABO) To Acquire NewWave Communications

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In June 2015, when we wrote about Graham Holdings(GHC) spinning off Katherine Graham’s “best acquisition ever”, we noted that Cable One(CABO), then trading at $430, would make an interesting acquisition target as one of the few smaller independent public companies. Instead, Cable One, now trading at $639, is purchasing a smaller competitor, NewWave Communications, for $735 million in… Read More »