Last week, we reported that Illinois Tool Works(ITW) had decided to sell its Industrial Packaging Unit rather than spin it off. Now, the company has reached an agreement to sell the unit to the Carlyle Group for $3.2 billion. The deal values the business at 8.5 times EBITDA. This represents a continuation of a trend where conglomerates are… Read More »
When I say furniture, you say…electronics manufacturing? Such is the odd pairing at Kimball International (KBALB) which currently operates two pretty distinct segments: furniture and electronic manufacturing services. Apparently, this diverse lineup was just too much for investors to handle, so the company announced that it would break itself up and pursue a spinoff of Kimball Electronics. I… Read More »
S&P announced yesterday that upcoming Oneok (OKE) spinoff ONE Gas will be joining the S&P Midcap 400 after the spin is completed this Friday (January 31st). The new company will be one of the largest natural gas utilities in the US and consist of the Kansas Gas Service, Oklahoma Natural Gas Company and the Texas Gas Service. ONE Gas will be giving… Read More »
Sometimes rumors and hints actually turn into reality. We noted last May that real estate wizard Barry Sternlicht, Chairman of Starwood Property Trust (STWD), hinted at a possible spinoff of a residential REIT during a company conference call. Just a few months later the company made it official and announced that its board of directors approved the spin off… Read More »
With his public battle over Dell finished, Carl Ichan didn’t take too long in drumming up a new target. The famous corporate raider is now pushing eBay (EBAY) to spin off its online transaction business, PayPal, and submitted this idea for a non-binding vote at an upcoming shareholder meeting. Along with a spinoff, Mr. Icahn is also seeking… Read More »
While Mr. Malone was busy making other news, Liberty Global (LBTYA) revealed in a filing related to a separate transaction that it was considering a spinoff of its Latin American businesses. A John Malone company thinking about a spinoff? In the words of Capt. Louis Renault ‘Im shocked, shocked’. From the 8-K filing: Liberty Global is disclosing in the offering memorandum… Read More »
Breakups and spinoff ideas are forming everywhere. The WSJ had an article this past weekend discussing a possible spinoff of Johnson Controls’ (JCI) seating business. JCI operates three different business segments – building efficiency, auto supply and power supplies (batteries) – with auto supply, which includes seating, being the largest segment in terms of revenue. The company has a strong… Read More »
With new regulations, capital requirements, lawsuits and scandals popping up, it is no surprise that the big banks have been doing some soul searching. ‘Derisking’ has become in vogue (or mandatory) and in response units have been shed and trading desks cut. Mediobanca analyst Chris Wheeler thinks UBS (UBS) might have something much bigger in the works though… Read More »
Suntory Holdings will acquire Beam Inc (BEAM) for ~$13.6b in cash or $83.50 per share, representing a 25% premium to Friday’s close. Beam, owner of Jim Beam, Makers Mark, Canadian Club and more, is the largest US based spirits maker and the combination with Suntory will create the third largest spirits player in the world. The deal has… Read More »
Agilent Technologies (A) unveiled the name of its upcoming electronic measurement spinoff company as Keysight Technologies. The name is actually a combination of the words ‘key’ and ‘insight’ although dropping the ‘in’ from insight does seem to make it lose meaning. So why those two specific words? Ahhh because the new company will have the ‘ability to see… Read More »
After obtaining the necessary approvals from numerous regulatory bodies, including most recently the Kansas Commission, ONEOK’s (OKE) board of directors officially approved the spinoff of its natural gas distribution business, One Gas. The new company will be one of the largest natural gas utilities in the US and consist of the Kansas Gas Service, Oklahoma Natural Gas Company and Texas Gas Service.… Read More »
WPX Energy (WPX) announced that its CEO & President, Ralph Hill, would be stepping down at the end of the year and that a new committee was being formed to find his replacement. No reason was reported in the press release. Mr. Hill had been with WPX and its parent company Williams (WMB) for over 30 years and… Read More »
A familiar name to readers of this site was leading the pack of top gainers for a bit last Thursday and the reason was a bit surprising. Exelis (XLS), a defense contractor freshly spun out of ITT (ITT), announced that it would pursue a spinoff of its own by separating its military and government services business into a standalone unit.… Read More »
Harvard Bioscience (HBIO) recently completed the spinoff of its regenerative medicine device subsidiary, Harvard Apparatus Regenerative Technologies (HART). As we previously noted, the parent’s CEO and other top management moved to the spinco, creating a leadership void. The posts have since been filled and the company recently announced the details of some further ‘inducement grants’ for its new management team. Here… Read More »
Ingersoll-Rand (IR) completed the spinoff of its commercial and residential security business, Allegion (ALLE). The new company started trading today on the NYSE and IR shareholders should have received 1 share of ALLE for every 3 shares of IR owned. The new company is expected to have revenues of over $2b and EBITDA of over $400m. For much… Read More »