The M&A market remains hot and the latest billion dollar deal is Verizon’s(VZ) proposed $4.4 billion takeover of AOL Inc. (AOL). The deal expands Verizon’s video and advertising ambitions while also providing AOL a larger platform to compete against the big boys in the space such as Google (GOOG). The WSJ has a nice piece laying out the possible… Read More »
We have written about British pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) a number of times over the past few years, but so far, none of the rumored spinoffs have ever come to fruition. It seems that will remain the case, as CEO Andrew Witty announced that the company would not be pursuing a spinoff of its HIV-centric Viiv. GSK owns over 80%… Read More »
Given its ubiquitous products and tremendous success, it isn’t surprising that everyone seems to have an opinion about Apple (AAPL). There are haters and fanboys and those in between, but all seem to get emotional when discussing the company’s products. Even the stock brings about heated conversations. One area of the company that has gotten a lot of… Read More »
Back in March, United Technologies (UTX) announced that it was exploring its strategic options for its Sikorsky aircraft business. Naturally, a tax free spinoff is one of the options currently under consideration and was the only one called out by name in the press release. The company is famous for its helicopters and is one of the largest ‘primes’ in… Read More »
All the way back in December 2012, pure play copper mining giant Freeport McMoran (FCX) decided to diversify its asset base by moving into the energy space. The company offered rich premiums to acquire both McMoran Exploration (which it had spun off back in the 90’s) and Plains Exploration & Productions in a widely panned move. It didn’t help that there were numerous ethical… Read More »
YUM! Brands (YUM) has been getting a lot of attention recently and it seems lots of people have ideas on how the company can deliver more shareholder value. Earlier this year, Janney analyst Mark Kalikowsky argued for setting Taco Bell free in a bid to unlock value, given Taco Bell’s purely North American exposure. It hasn’t just been the sell side… Read More »
Countering published reports that Symantec(SYMC) was shopping its Veritas unit for sale despite a previous announcement of a spinoff, CEO Michael Brown said in an interview that he is moving ahead with the spin. It is thought that the tax implications of a sale make it an unattractive option for shareholders. “That’s the plan, to spin it,” Chief… Read More »
Last year, Gannett (GCI) finally decided to follow the pack and spin off its publishing assets into a standalone company. Given its storied history, the publishing group will retain both the Gannett name and GCI ticker, so the corporate braintrust had the opportunity to pick an exciting original name for its new digital and broadcasting business. Most people… Read More »
Less than 3 years after being spun off from then Kraft Foods (now the ill-named Mondelez [MDLZ]), Kraft Foods Group (KRFT) has agreed to a merger with Heinz. Heinz was taken private in 2013 by Brazilian private equity firm 3G capital, with backing from Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway(BRKA,BRKB). Berkshire Hathaway and 3G will be injecting an additional $10 billion… Read More »
While we are on the topic of Sandell Asset Management, it’s worth noting that firm suffered a setback earlier this month in one of its other major holdings, Bob Evans Farms (BOBE). The restaurant and refrigerated foods company dropped almost 20% after reporting a disappointing quarter and slashing rest of the year guidance due to weakness in its… Read More »
After disappointing guidance for this past quarter, Brookdale Senior Living (BKD) is under public assault from event driven firm Sandell Asset Management. Brookdale is one of the largest senior housing and care providers in the United States. Not to fear though, Mr. Sandell, head of the firm, has ideas and sent an open letter to the company suggesting: 1) the… Read More »
Last week, Starwood Hotels(HOT) announced it would be spinning off its timeshare business. One week later, CEO Frits van Paasschen “resigned by mutual agreement with the Board of Directors as President, Chief Executive Officer and a Director.” The company has appointed director Adam Aron as interim CEO and has stated that they wanted to see more growth than… Read More »
While releasing strong Q4 results, Starwood Hotels (HOT) also announced plans to spinoff its timeshare business, Starwood Vacation Ownership. The timeshare unit reported revenues of $640m in 2014, representing a little over 10% of the overall company’s total. According to the press release, the company ‘has successfully sold more than $6 billion of vacation ownership intervals to over… Read More »
Harris’ (HRS) announced acquisition of smaller defense player Exelis (XLS) last week means that another spinoff has been scooped up and taken off the market, this time just a few years after achieving independence. Exelis is a unique example though as it was spun out of ITT (ITT) as part of a mega-spinoff that saw the creation of not… Read More »
For nearly four million customers in seven states NiSource (NI) is a utility providing gas and electricity. At the same time, the company operates a large non-regulated gas pipeline, storage and midstream business. In September, the company announced plans to spin off this business as the Columbia Pipeline Group. The company expects that the spinoff will be completed… Read More »