We thought it was unusual that Dow and Dupont merged into DowDuPont(DWDP) with the plan from the start being to break back up into three companies: Dow(DOW), DuPont, and Corteva. Yet here we are not a month later discussing a similar situation. Last year, Tenneco(TEN) purchased Federal Mogul from Carl Icahn with plans to spinoff the combined aftermarket… Read More »
Tenneco (TEN) has agreed to purchase Federal Mogul from Carl Icahn for the hefty price of $5.4b. The total tag includes the assumption of debt and a mix of both cash and stock. Mr. Icahn is expected to remain a shareholder of Tenneco into the future and will own approximately 36% of the company. The deal is expected to… Read More »
Every year Barron’s gathers a group of asset management luminaries for a roundtable discussion. The group collectively manages many many billions of dollars and includes people like Jeffrey Gundlach, Mario Gabelli and Meryl Witmer. While the discourse includes a bit about the overall macro environment, the focus is mainly on each individual’s top investments for the coming year.… Read More »
After years of accounting related delays and management changes, Hertz’s (HTZ) spinoff of its equipment rental business, Herc Holdings, has finally been approved by the company’s board of directors. The mechanics and distribution ratios of the transaction are a bit kooky due to Hertz’s complex corporate structure: Stockholders of record as of the close of business on the record… Read More »
File this under totally expected news: Freeport-McMoran (FCX) has officially withdrawn its registration statement for the planned IPO of its oil & gas business. Although no official reason was provided, I can’t imagine investor appetite for an oil & gas IPO was especially strong in the current environment. In fact, it seems much more likely that we will see… Read More »
Sadly, not every announced spinoff actually ends up executed. For example, earlier this week we highlighted Fidelity National Venture’s (FNFV) postponement of its restaurant group spinoff while it exercises patience and awaits better ‘market conditions’. Another recently scrapped spinoff was Federal-Mogul Holding’s (FDML) planned separation of its Motorparts business from its Powertrain unit. The decision shouldn’t have come… Read More »
A quick update now that the transaction is official. The Manitowoc Company (MTW) completed the tax-free spinoff of Manitowoc Foodservice (MFS) on Friday, with shareholders receiving one share of MFS for every share of MTW owned. Expectations were for the legacy crane business, which kept the company name, to languish amidst a severe downcycle and for the foodservice… Read More »
Farewell Foodservice! Manitowoc’s (MTW) board of directors formally approved the spinoff of Manitowoc Foodservice, its foodservice equipment segment, last week. The new company will trade on the NYSE under the ticker ‘MFS’ and on March 4th, shareholders will receive one share of MFS for every MTW share owned. A ‘When-Issued’ market is expected to begin on or around February… Read More »
Hertz (HTZ) first announced the idea of spinning off its rental equipment business back in March of 2014 after facing severe activist pressure. The plan was to have the equipment company pay a big dividend which would fund a large buyback at the parent. A few months later, the company even managed to settle its fight with Carl… Read More »
One of the highlights of the ‘Summer of Spin’ was eBay’s (EBAY) spin off of payments processor PayPal (PYPL). Several activists had been pushing hard for the spin, including Carl Icahn, who at one point, engaged in a heated war of words with the company and then CEO John Donahoe. Although he ultimately struck a deal with a… Read More »
For most Americans months away from their 80th birthday, life has long since settled into a post-retirement routine. For Carl Icahn, who will turn 80 in February, he’s just getting started, going after larger targets than ever. Last week, Icahn announced he was forming a Super PAC with $150 million of his own money to promote legislation to… Read More »
When Federal Mogul Holdings (FDML) first announced that it was separating its Motorparts division from the Powertrain business, the plan was for the spin to be completed in the first half of 2015. The problem was that the company was in the midst of an acquisition boom, acquiring three different businesses – TRW’s engine components, Affinia’s chassis business and… Read More »
Less than seven years after turning itself into a more diversified conglomerate with the purchase of Enodis, Manitowoc (MTW) reversed course and announced that it would separate its foodservice business from its crane equipment unit. The move comes after severe pressure from several activist investors, beginning with Relational Investors last summer and more recently from Carl Icahn who seemed… Read More »
In the middle of 2014, Relational Investors was busy notching another activist victory, this time at Timken (TKR), while also building up the case on its newest target, The Manitowoc Company (MTW). In short, the firm argued that a foodservice business selling machinery to restaurants didn’t have any reason to be paired with a crane equipment business. As… Read More »
Two years after successfully fending off legendary activist Carl Icahn and his plan to break up the company, some think that Oshkosh Corp(OSK) management may be planning a spinoff of its own. Maureen Farrell of the Wall Street Journal reports on a recent note by CreditSights analyst Jeff Wichmann. Wichmann suggested that Oshkosh may be considering a spinoff… Read More »