It’s been quite the ride for Marathon Petroleum’s (MPC) planned spinoff of its convenience store business, Speedway. The idea was studied as part of a strategic review in 2017, but ultimately the board determined it wasn’t in the company’s best interests at the time. That decision was surprising given Elliott Management‘s involvement and initial support for the idea.… Read More »
We discussed one scrapped spinoff earlier this week – Brunswick’s Life Fitness – but, alas, it wasn’t an isolated incident. In this edition of Odds & Ends we catch you up on the latest in abandoned spin plans: 1. Thyssenkrupp’s Elevator Spinoff thyssenkrupp (TKAMY) shocked the markets with a stunning strategic about face ‘reset’ last week. Seven months… Read More »
The boom in spinoff activity over the past few years has been aided greatly by the boom in activist investing. In this edition of Odds & Ends we check in on some activists. Other hedge funds may be shuttering, but it seems this segment remains hot! When something works, the financial industry knows how to milk it, but… Read More »
Last month, Arconic(ARNC) announced suddenly that it had failed to find a buyer willing to pay enough for the whole company and was ending the sale process. Now, it is trying a different approach, announcing that it plans to spin off one of two businesses: Engineered Products & Forgings or Global Rolled Products. It will also attempt to sell… Read More »
With Elliott and Starboard pushing for changes at eBay (EBAY), including the spinoffs of StubHub and Classifieds, there was more than the usual focus on eBay’s earnings report last week. The company reported record earnings, initiated a dividend and increased its buyback authorization, but signs of concern remain. Elliott, for one, is unimpressed. “eBay’s fourth quarter earnings provided… 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 »
With apologies to the Beatles: Yesterday, Arconic’s stock price began to fade away An expected buyout had been pushed away Elliott needs to find another way It was this close to a deal, but Arconic(ARNC) announced yesterday that it was no longer pursuing a sale of the company. Last week, the Wall Street Journal had reported that a… Read More »
In January, under pressure from Elliott Management, Marathon Petroleum(MPC) announced a formal review of the company’s strategic options for its Speedway business. At the time, it seemed that a spinoff was both Elliott’s goal and a likely outcome of the review process. After all, the industry has seen several petroleum companies spin off their convenience store divisions. Marathon… Read More »
Citrix Systems(CTXS) stock rose 6.8% yesterday, almost all towards the end of trading, as rumors circulated that the company had hired Goldman Sachs to find a buyer. The Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based company hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to sound out buyers including private equity firms, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t… Read More »
With all the spinoff excitement, Forbes looks ahead at the next brands that might be granted independence by their corporate overlords. Ebay(EBAY)’s StubHub. StubHub dominates live event ticket reselling. On the heels of a successful spinoff of PayPal, perhaps Ebay will go back to the well and spin off StubHub. Time Warner(TWX)’s HBO. Time Warner is no stranger… Read More »
A subclass of spinoff that has proven popular, especially under activist pressure has been the spinoff of real estate assets into a publicly traded REIT. Civeo’s (CVEO) spin from Oil States (OIS) was one example, though the company has now opted against REIT status, as was Penn National Gaming’s (PENN) spin of Gaming & Leisure Properties (GLPI). Now,… Read More »
We didn’t really cover this saga, but last year Hess Corporation (HES) was embroiled in a heated proxy battle with Paul Singer’s Elliott Management. The fund argued (and put together a nice presentation) that the company was poorly managed, had lousy governance (too many cronies on the board) and was undervalued on a sum of the parts basis.… Read More »