After failing to secure a buyer for the unit, CBS Corporation (CBS) announced that it had some new plans for its outdoor segments. The company plans on converting its Americas Outdoor unit into a REIT while the Asian & European Outdoor piece will be divested and treated as a discontinued operation. The Outdoor segment, which is focused on… Read More »
Amidst our exhaustive coverage of the Abbott (ABT)/AbbVie (ABBV) separation, there has been no consensus as to which company is the ‘better’ one to own. Some people like AbbVie’s higher dividend yield while others prefer Abbott’s growth prospects. Ahhh what is an uninformed investor to do? Luckily, the self-appointed people’s champion stockpicker, CNBC’s Jim Cramer, has weighed in… Read More »
With the high profile Abbott/Abbvie separation completed, it’s time to look forward to the next ‘big’ spin. It’s not always so easy to predict which name that will be, but one thing I do know for certain is that the upcoming News Corporation (NWSA) spinoff of its publishing assets will certainly be getting a lot of press. In… Read More »
After deciding to pursue a spinoff, one of the next big decisions facing a company is figuring out who will lead the new company. After all, one of the ‘value drivers’ of a spin is highly focused management…but that only helps if they know what they are doing. That is why most companies just end up promoting from… Read More »
I was first introduced to General Growth Partners (GGP) several years ago at a small alumni gathering featuring Pershing Square’s Bill Ackman as the keynote speaker. Amongst other topics, he spoke about the then bankrupt (trading at <$1) company as his ‘top’ idea at the time. This ‘idea’ turned out to be quite profitable for him as he… Read More »
Spinoffs take awhile to execute and the world doesn’t just pause for these companies. Murphy Oil USA, the downstream arm of Murphy Oil (MUR) set to be spun out next year, announced that it entered into an agreement with Wal-Mart (WMT) to open up over 200 new locations at existing Walmart stores. The program is expected to be… Read More »
Another year has come and gone which means that we have all been inundated with a million ‘Look Back’ and ‘Best Of/Worst Of’ pieces for the past few weeks. I always found this to be an interesting and immensely boring phenomenon as we just lived through it. Should be pretty fresh in our memories. We are nothing but… Read More »
Despite the claims of ‘super activist’ Rick Shottenfeld, it certainly looks like the Nook is the more attractive part of Barnes & Noble (BKS) these days. After partnering with Microsoft (MSFT) earlier this year, the company has sold a 5% stake in Nook Media LLC to Pearson (PSO) for ~$89.5 million in cash, valuing the company at ~$1.79b.… Read More »
Tim Armstrong, CEO of AOL (AOL), recently sat down with Business Insider’s Henry Blodget for a little chat and self-congratulations. I think he must have had his arm checked out post-interview after patting himself on the back so much for his performance in unraveling one of the ‘worst mergers in history’. To be fair, Mr. Armstrong certainly deserves… Read More »
Nobody is safe these days from activist investors, not even 100+ year old family businesses. Relational Investors, who successfully pushed for a spinoff at L-3 Communications (LLL), has set its sights on a new target, specialty steel and bearings maker Timken Co. (TKR). The investment firm, headed by Ralph Whitworth, announced in a recent 13D filing that it… Read More »
Elan (ELN) shareholders approved the separation of its drug discovery business, Prothena, at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) last week. The company also released an updated timetable for the transaction and the distribution will take place on December 20th, with shareholders of Elan receiving 1 share of Prothena for every 41 shares of Elan owned as of the… Read More »
You can’t win them all. Activist investor Carl Icahn suffered another defeat yesterday in his war on the Oshkosh Corporation (OSK) as only 22% of shareholders agreed to his tender offer. As you will recall (or if you don’t, check out our earlier pieces here and here), Mr. Icahn wanted the company to spin off its lift equipment… Read More »
Cookson Group (CKSNY) shareholders overwhelmingly approved the planned demerger of the company’s performance material division, Alent, at the shareholder meeting earlier this week. What a surprise! The demerger will be effective on December 19th and Cookson shareholders will receive one share of Alent and one share of the newly named Vesuvius for every share of Cookson owned. Both… Read More »
‘If at first you don’t succeed, wait for a spinoff then try, try again’ Not how I remember it either, but that seems to have been ConAgra’s (CAG) approach in its pursuit of Ralcorp (RAH). After three prior takeover attempts were rebuffed, the company finally succeeded in reeling in its prey for the tidy sum of $90 per… Read More »
Petrobank Energy (PBG.TO) is officially cutting the cord with its majority owned subsidiary Petrobakken (PBN.TO). While the company first listed a piece of PetroBakken back in 2009, it only recently announced plans to spin off its remaining 57% stake. The transaction seems a bit complex, but in the end, there will be two companies: a new Petrobank and… Read More »