In this issue of the Index Change roundup, Noble Corporation’s (NE) upcoming standard spec rig spinoff, Paragon Offshore, will be added to the S&P Smallcap 600. Noble will remain in the big boy S&P 500 index so there is the possibility of forced selling in this case. As a result of the transaction, Paragon will boot #600 ranked… Read More »
Tribune (TRBAA) is all set to spin off its publishing assets, Tribune Publishing, after the company’s board of director’s formally approved the move a few weeks ago. The spinoff is set to take place on August 4th to shareholders as of July 28th. The new company will trade on the NYSE under the ticker ‘TPUB’ and both Tribune shareholders and warrant… Read More »
Titans of the hedge fund industry, including John Paulson, Carl Icahn, Nelson Peltz (and many more), gathered at the Pierre Hotel this past Wednesday for CNBC’s Delivering Alpha conference. There was a lot of Fed talk (Stanley Druckenmiller is not a fan), musings on the economy and of course, the proverbial ‘talking up the book’. It took a… Read More »
August’s spinoff calendar keeps getting busier. Demand Media (DMD) recently announced that its board of directors has approved the spinoff of its domain name business, Rightside Group. The distribution will take place on August 1st, to shareholders as of July 25th. A ‘When Issued’ market will also emerge on or about the 25th. The new company will trade… Read More »
Occidental Petroleum (OXY) is making progress on its upcoming California asset spinco. The company recently began filling out the leadership team at California Resources Company and it’s worth noting that it turned to company veterans to fill the top posts. Todd Stevens, currently VP of Corporate Development, will become President and CEO and William Albrecht, President of the company’s… Read More »
Noble Corporation’s (NE) board of directors approved the spinoff of its standard spec drilling units, Paragon Offshore. The distribution is expected to take place on August 1st, which is just a few months after the company decided to scrap its plans to IPO the unit. Impressive turnaround on Plan B. The new company will trade on the NYSE… Read More »
Just a few days before officially notching a victory at Timken (TKR), Relational Investors unveiled its latest target: The Manitowoc Company (MTW). The activist firm announced that it had acquired over 8.5% of the historic manufacturer of ice machines and crane equipment and urged the company to consider a spinoff of its foodservice business. The company operates under two business segments, foodservice and… Read More »
REITs have been extremely popular investments over the past few years as investors desperately thirst for yield. Not surprisingly, the space has attracted the interest of some ‘non traditional’ companies including data storage titan Iron Mountain (IRM), whose board of directors just approved REIT conversion plans following a favorable IRS ruling. Some other ‘non traditional’ companies, such as billboard… Read More »
The end of June is shaping up to be another busy period in the spinoff world. That means S&P has also been very busy rejiggering its indexes in order to accommodate the new companies. Here is a roundup of the recent activity: 1) Rayonier (RYN) completed the spinoff of its advanced materials company, Rayonier Advanced Materials, on Friday.… Read More »
‘Resistance is futile’ – The Borg Star Trek fans will no doubt recognize the famed motto of those nasty, robotic, intergalactic conquerors hell-bent on assimilation. What they won’t know is that the phrase is also rumored to be frequently muttered at company board meetings after Ralph Whitworth’s Relational Investors announces a stake. The activist firm has been quite a… Read More »
Companies constantly change their plans and just because a spinoff gets announced doesn’t mean it actually gets done. It’s (unfortunately) quite common for plans to get scrapped or altered in some way and sometimes the unit to be spun off is just sold instead. While we try our best to stay on top of the news, some names get… Read More »
Merger Mondays are back. The latest mega deal announced is Medtronic’s (MDT) ~$42.9b takeover of device maker Covidien (COV). The deal price represents a ~30% premium and includes $35.19 of cash and 0.956 Medtronic shares. While Medtronic’s management is out touting the numerous cost savings and synergies gained through the deal, the main motivation behind the deal appears to… Read More »
CBS (CBS) finally released details on its plan to ‘split off’ its remaining 81% stake in CBS Outdoors (CBSO). After successfully raising ~$2b selling 19% of the outdoor advertising company in an IPO a few months ago, the company is offering a voluntary exchange offer to dispose of its remaining shares. CBS Class B shareholders will be able… Read More »
We didn’t really cover this saga, but last year Hess Corporation (HES) was embroiled in a heated proxy battle with Paul Singer’s Elliott Management. The fund argued (and put together a nice presentation) that the company was poorly managed, had lousy governance (too many cronies on the board) and was undervalued on a sum of the parts basis.… Read More »
We are big fans of Jana Partners here. Although the fund describes its investment approach as ‘value plus catalyst’, it’s not afraid to get vocal and create its own catalyst. Just ask Agrium’s (AGU) management team. While that situation didn’t achieve the desired result, the firm has notched numerous activist victories including the spinoffs (or possible spins) at… Read More »