With the economy improving, markets roaring and volatility seemingly subsiding, companies are no longer afraid of approaching the capital markets. As a result, previously shelved spinoffs are now resurfacing. The latest is this week’s IPO of CVR Partners, the nitrogen fertilizer MLP subsidiary of CVR Energy (CVI). The IPO idea was first floated in 2008, but market conditions… Read More »
Sunoco (SUN) announced that the spinoff of SunCoke Energy took another step towards completion last week, as the company filed an S-1 registration statement with the SEC. Many were nervous that the spin would be derailed due to litigation with ArcelorMittal (MT), one of SunCoke’s largest customers, however that issue appears to have been resolved via settlement. From… Read More »
Spinoffs have been relatively popular recently and you know how ‘fads’ go. Once a trend begins, people (in this case companies) try to one up another by going bigger. Better. Bolder. One spinoff isn’t enough anymore so Fortune Brands (FO), ITT (ITT) and even Carrefour (CRERY) went for two. Please give a hearty welcome to the newest member… Read More »
A brief summary of spinoff news with a dash of the rumor mill mixed in – enjoy the first Spinoff Roundup. Readers – what is the interest level (if any) in non-US traded spinoffs? Newscorp (NWS) announced plans to spin off Sky News in order to gain government approval for its takeover of British Sky Broadcasting. The spin… Read More »
Maybe it’s not so good to be the king. While announcing its Q4 and FY 2010 earnings, Carrols Restaurant Group (TAST) announced plans to separate its Hispanic brands from its Burger King franchises (Q&A transcript here). The new company will operate the Pollo Tropical and Taco Cabana restaurants while Carrols will continue to run Burger King franchises, where,… Read More »
In an attempt to mimic the company’s lifesaving products, Medtronic (MDT) announced that plans to divest its Physio-Control subsidiary have been revived. While overshadowed by broader restructuring plans, the Physio announcement was made during the company’s Q3 earnings release and elaborated on (a bit) during the conference call by the company’s CFO, Gary Ellis (Q&A portion here). Unfortunately,… Read More »
The final chapter of the Pride International (PDE)/Seahawk Drilling (HAWK) spinoff is nearly complete. Our earlier post noted that both companies were struggling and considering their respective strategic options. Two companies with the same goal, yet oh so different outcomes. Here is a quick update: Pride, an offshore rig contractor with a deep-water focus and international exposure, agreed… Read More »
Anyone else have this experience? A friend suggests a fantastic trip and the best part of all is that he ‘found’ a cheap stay at a nice hotel. The catch? Wasting half of a precious vacation day sitting through a hard sell for a timeshare. Ouch. While it’s fun to see how many freebies the company will throw… Read More »
What an exciting month January was for Sara Lee (SLE). To recap: Brazilian meat processor JBS SA’s bid of $17.50/share is rejected by the board as too low. Rumors of a spinoff begin to surface, but private equity buyers begin to circle and JBS SA plans on increasing their offer. A short while later, the board rejects the… Read More »
Image via Wikipedia Just weeks after its debut, Motorola Mobility(MMI) warned that sales were slowing in the face of Verizon’s iPhone introduction. Despite reporting a profit and beating analyst estimates by $.01, the stock traded down sharply as the company projected a loss for the current quarter. Analysts had, on average expected earnings of $.01 for the current… Read More »
Image via Wikipedia Not surprisingly, an ‘overwhelming majority’ of ArcelorMittal (MT) shareholders approved the spinoff of its stainless and specialty steel businesses today. The new company, Aperam, will be a global leader in stainless steel production, an industry which has been plagued with overcapacity and hurt by the global slowdown. The spin is more conducive to industry consolidation… Read More »
Image via Wikipedia Another day, another spinoff. Marathon Oil (MRO) announced today that its Board of Directors has approved spinning off its downstream operations. The new company will be called the Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC – also its expected ticker) and will be one of the largest refiners in the United States with assets concentrated mainly in the… Read More »
Image via Wikipedia After rejecting JBS SA‘s offer of $17.50/share, Sara Lee (SLE) was rumored to be favoring a breakup strategy which would likely involve the spinoff of either its coffee or meats division. It is believed that a spinoff would unlock the value of the unrelated businesses and facilitate the sale of each individual unit. While JBS,… Read More »
While some companies are new to spinning off divisions, others are known for their serial spinoffs. Few however, can match the fecundity of ITT(ITT)(nee International Telephone & Telegraph). ITT was born out of the Puerto Rico Telephone Company in 1920. Over the next half century, ITT was the classic conglomerate, buying such diverse companies as The Hartford Insurance,… Read More »
Image via Wikipedia Experienced traders and seasoned investors often mention discipline as one of the keys to success in this industry. While some speculation is encouraged, drawing the distinction between ‘the good’ and ‘the bad’ kind can be difficult. A common misconception is that this only applies to ‘investors’ however, corporations face similar dilemmas when deploying their capital.… Read More »