New York, New York. It’s a tune Vornado Realty Trust (VNO) shareholders should get used to humming once the company’s upcoming Washington DC property spinoff is completed. The spinoff will actually be executed via Reverse Morris Trust, with the company spinning out its properties into a separate entity and subsequently merging them into the privately held JBG Properties.… 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 »
Last March, we reported that CBS(CBS) was considering ‘strategic options’ for its radio business. After it was unable to find a buyer, the company moved forward with plans for an IPO and spinoff of CBS Radio. Today, the company again announced a change of plans. Instead of an IPO, the company will be spun off and immediately merge… Read More »
Citrix Systems(CTXS) is finally letting go of GetGo. The company first announced plans for the spinoff of its GetGo division in November 2015. Last July, an agreement was reached with LogMeIn(LOGM) to merge with GetGo immediately post spin off in a Reverse Morris Trust transaction. Citrix announced that shareholders of record on January 20 will receive approximately .1718… Read More »
What is a Reverse Morris Trust? You may have heard the terms Reverse Morris Trust or Morris Trust used in regards to a spinoff transaction. These terms describe two related types of transactions in which a company is able to sell assets without triggering a tax liability for either the company or shareholders. Naturally, this can be quite… Read More »
As we near the end of the month, the completion of three spinoff transactions will be driving changes in various S&P Indexes. Citrix Systems(CTXS) will be spinning off its GetGo division which will then merge with LogMeIn(LOGM) in a reverse Morris Trust transaction. After the transaction is completed on January 31st, Citrix will remain in the S&P 500.… Read More »
Last November, Citrix Systems(CTXS) announced plans to spin off its GoTo business. This week, it announced that the spinoff would culminate in a merger with LogMeIn(LOGM) in a Reverse Morris Trust transaction. The transaction, which is expected to be tax-free, will leave Citrix shareholders owning 50.1% of the new company. LogMeIn’s management team, led by CEO Bill Wagner,… Read More »
With all of the world focused on Starwood’s (HOT) buyout and the exciting bidding war between Anbang and Marriott International (MAR) it was easy to forget about the planned spinoff of Vistana, its timeshare business. It always seemed to get lumped into the bids, but as a reminder, the company will merge into the Interval Leisure Group (IILG)… Read More »
After successfully spinning off J. Alexanders (JAX) late last year, Fidelity National Ventures (FNFV) was set to spin off the rest of its restaurant assets under the holding company American Blue Ribbon Holding. Then plans changed. The headline was that the spin was delayed due to ‘market conditions’, a catchall phrase that is especially useful during market volatility, but… 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 »
In July, as Lockheed Martin(LMT) announced its acquisition of Sikorsky helicopter from United Technologies(UTX), it also announced it was considering a sale or spinoff of its IT business. A decision had been expected by year end. Last week, the company said that although it was still very likely to divest the division, the decision would be pushed into… Read More »
Last month, we reported speculation that Starwood Hotels(HOT) would be acquired by one of three Chinese hoteliers or Hyatt Hotels(H). An acquisition was indeed in the offing, but by a company unmentioned in those previous reports- Marriott International(MAR). Marriott announced yesterday that it would be acquiring Starwood for $12.2 billion. Not to worry, spinoff fans. Starwood’s spinoff of… Read More »
Computer Sciences Corporation(CSC) announced that its Board had approved the spinoff and subsequent merger of CSRA, as well as a $10.50 special dividend. After the market close on Friday, November 27(which is the day after Thanksgiving and will be at 1PM), CSC shareholders as of November 18 will receive one share of CSRA for each share of CSC held.… Read More »
It looks a bidding war has emerged for Starwood Hotels (HOT), with three Chinese players and Hyatt Hotels (H) all chasing the well respected hospitality brand. Kudos to those i-bankers for drumming up the interest, especially given the fact that the Chinese government rarely lets its corporate citizens get into bidding wars. While M&A is always exciting to… Read More »
Some activist funds like to work behind the scenes and then there are the others which seem to be in the news almost every day. A day after making waves at Yahoo (YHOO), Jeffrey Smith’s Starboard Value fund was back in the news after long time target MeadWestvaco (MWV) announced plans to spin off its specialty chemical business… Read More »