Not for the first time, Alibaba(BABA) graces our pages with news of a cancelled spinoff. Back in 2015, it was Yahoo’s planned spinoff of Aabaco Holdings that was cancelled, due, in large part, to IRS opposition to the transaction being tax free. Aabaco would have been a vehicle to take Yahoo’s valuable Alibaba stake and move it into… Read More »
Much ink was spilled, on these pages and countless others, discussing Yahoo’s plan to spinoff its stakes in Alibaba(BABA) and Yahoo! Japan as an independent company. For much of 2015, the company planned to spin off this stake, together with a Yahoo’s small business unit as Aabaco Holdings. The small business unit was included to maintain the tax… Read More »
Lets close the week with some Odds & Ends. In this week’s edition, we provide some updates on recent and upcoming spinoffs. We also give thanks to a reader for pointing out something we missed – keep it up! Thanks to reader AH for pointing out that we missed Naspers (NPSNY) spinoff of its Pay-TV business, MultiChoice Group… Read More »
In 2015, under pressure from legendary activist investor Carl Icahn, eBay(EBAY) chose to spin off PayPal(PYPL). While PayPal stock has performed remarkably since the spin-off, eBay stock’s performance has been decidedly prosaic. With this backdrop, not one, but two activist investors have entered the stage and begun pushing for changes. Of course, most relevant to us is that… Read More »
Hedge fund TCI is going ‘active’ at Altaba (AABA), urging the company to liquidate if it can’t do a better job narrowing the fund’s discount to NAV. For those that don’t remember, Altaba is just a collection of assets left over from Verizon’s (VZ) 2017 purchase of Yahoo. The real value rests mainly in two pieces: a large… Read More »
Those hoping for the IRS to provide clear guidance on spinoff related tax issues can keep holding their breath because it’s not coming anytime soon, at least according to Robert Wellen, associate chief counsel of the U.S. tax agency. According to Mr. Wellen, these types of projects take a lot of time to complete, but on the plus… Read More »
Masayoshi Son’s Softbank (SFTBY) is shaking up its organizational structure, creating two separate, but still wholly owned, internal companies. One business will house its domestic (Japanese) businesses such as mobile and its stake in Yahoo Japan, while the other unit will contain its overseas investments. The overseas bucket will include Softbank’s investments in budding technology companies, such as… Read More »
Under pressure, once again, from Starboard following the abandonment of its plan to spin off its huge stake in Alibaba(BABA), Yahoo(YHOO) has formed an independent committee of its Board Of Directors to explore strategic alternatives. The Board has formed a Strategic Review Committee of independent directors to lead this effort, with the assistance and support of management. The… Read More »
Yahoo (YHOO) had a tough year in 2015. The core business continued declining, key employees fled and its plans to deliver shareholder value by spinning off its Alibaba (BABA) stake into a standalone company was effectively derailed by the IRS. Unfortunately for the company and its beleaguered CEO Marissa Meyer, the start of 2016 isn’t looking much better… Read More »
Congress is working hard trying to pass a comprehensive spending bill and a tax package extending numerous tax breaks. According to the WSJ, buried in these proposals is a bid to end companies’ ability to spinoff property into REITs: The bill from Rep. Kevin Brady (R., Texas), the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, would prevent… Read More »
After fighting to push forward with a spinoff of its Alibaba(BABA) stake as Aabaco Holdings since the IRS first indicated its opposition in May, Yahoo(YHOO) and its embattled CEO Marissa Mayer have finally thrown in the towel. After days of intense speculation, the company announced this morning that the Board, “after careful review and consideration of how to… Read More »
A few short hits to kick off the week: Marketfolly posts a copy of Third Point Capital’s Q3 newsletter in which chief Dan Loeb talks about the firm’s position in Baxter International (BAX). Mr. Loeb is a big fan of new CEO Jose ‘Joe’ Almeida which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise given that the fund’s board representative helped… Read More »
While Yahoo(YHOO) still persists in its hope that its spinoff of Aabaco Holdings and its Alibaba(BABA) stake will be tax free, one analyst believes that investors have not been properly evaluating the worst case. Bob Peck of SunTrust Robinson Humphrey believes that taxes may be as high as 65% of the Alibaba stake’s value. Why does he believe that?… Read More »
It’s been a rough road for Yahoo(YHOO)’s planned spinoff of its Alibaba(BABA) stake into Aabaco Holdings. After months of sniping with the IRS, culminating with the agency’s refusal to issue a private letter ruling, the company decided to move ahead anyway without the ruling and rely instead on the opinion of counsel. The company backed a Q4 date… Read More »
Yahoo’s (YHOO) planned Alibaba (BABA) stake spinoff was in serious limbo following notification from the IRS that it was declining to issue a private letter ruling blessing the planned transaction. The tricky part was that the government agency also didn’t say that it was objecting to the plan. Here is a good, easy to understand guide to the situation.… Read More »