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 »
When we last checked in on Dan Loeb’s Third Point it was mid 2017 and the fund was cruising while also singing the praises of Baxter International (BAX). Unfortunately, 2018 was a rough year for the firm and performance, at -11.3%, lagged the overall S&P 500. Market Folly shares the fund’s recent Q4 mea culpa letter which offers… Read More »
Over 18 months since announcing plans to merge, Dow Chemical(DOW) and E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co.(DD) will complete their merger on August 31. The new company will be named DowDuPont and will trade under the new DWDP ticker. DowDuPont will be included in both the S&P 100 and S&P 500, as were both predecessor companies. Don’t… Read More »
Let’s kickoff the week with a few links: Yet Another Value Blog takes a look at the Liberty Braves Group (BATRA/BATRK) and sees some nice upside potential. Apparently, he also notes, so does Gabelli. It’s a good piece and among other things, includes a long section (which I tend to agree with) on why sports teams are undervalued. In… Read More »
The WSJ is reporting that Dow Chemical (DOW) and DuPont (DD) are in advanced merger talks to create a chemical behemoth with leading positions across the chemical spectrum including ag, plastics and a host of other markets. Both companies have been shedding non-core and non-performing assets over the past few years, including some via spinoffs and exchange offers.… 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 »
A few links for a rain soaked Friday: Baxalta (BXLT) is getting a lot of attention in the press and this blog due to Shire’s(SHPG) hostile approach, but things haven’t been so quiet at parent Baxter International (BAX) either. Shortly after the spinoff, Dan Loeb’s Third Point unveiled a massive stake (close to 10%) in the healthcare product company. While… 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 »
Sorry, Mr. Loeb, it looks like it’s only going to be $219 per share for Amgen (AMGN). The biotech leader hosted a business update session yesterday and CEO Robert Bradway wasted no time in addressing the proverbial 800lb gorilla in the room. Within his opening remarks, Mr. Bradway noted that although they understood the pressure to break up, the company… Read More »
Speculation began almost immediately after Dan Loeb’s Third Point impressively raised $2.5b in just two weeks this summer. Who would the new targets be? Existing investments? Foreign companies? One new mark was just identified in the fund’s most recent quarterly letter as Amgen (AMGN), the $100b+ market cap biotech giant. The letter, which is worth a read in its entirety, suggests that… Read More »
You may not know Masco (MAS) but they’re in your bathroom, they’re in your kitchen, they’re even in and on your walls. With brands such as Delta faucets, Behr paints, KraftMaid cabinets, and one of the largest installers of insulation products, Masco grossed $8.2 billion in revenue in last year, down from a 2006 peak of $12.7 billion.… Read More »
13F season is always fun as it provides a rare (albeit delayed) glimpse into the thinking of large money managers and hedge funds. Of course, due to the significant time lag (~45 days), the exclusion of certain securities (shorts, derivatives etc.) and varying investment strategies and holding periods, the usefulness of such data is…questionable in many cases. Not… Read More »
In separate filings today, Dan Loeb, fresh off his successful fight for Yahoo(YHOO) board seats, revealed that he had increased his Sara Lee(SLE) stake, and John Paulson announced a new stake in the disappearing conglomerate. Sara Lee will be paying a special dividend of $3 per share and spinning off its coffee and tea business by June 30.… Read More »
The energy and E&P business has been no stranger to spinoffs and over the past few years numerous companies have pursued this strategy to unlock shareholder value. So it was no big surprise when in February Williams Companies (WMB) announced plans to split itself into two. To be fair, another reason the announcement wasn’t much of a surprise… Read More »