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 »
Hilton Worldwide Holdings(HLT) announced this morning that it has filed Form 10 registration statements for two previously announced spinoffs of its real estate and timeshare businesses. CEO Christopher J. Nassetta said the spins will be completed later this year. Following the transactions, Nassetta will continue to lead Hilton, which will be an asset-lite fee-based business. On a pro forma… 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 »
Last week, Starwood Hotels(HOT) announced it would be spinning off its timeshare business. One week later, CEO Frits van Paasschen “resigned by mutual agreement with the Board of Directors as President, Chief Executive Officer and a Director.” The company has appointed director Adam Aron as interim CEO and has stated that they wanted to see more growth than… Read More »
Barry Sternlicht of Starwood Capital has a long history of real estate success. Nearly two decades ago, he built Starwood Hotels(HOT) from scratch into one of the world’s largest hotel companies. More recently, as Chairman and CEO of Starwood Propert Trust(STWD) he has assembled the country’s largest commercial mortgage REIT. The firm has financed some of the most… Read More »
While some companies are new to spinning off divisions, others are known for their serial spinoffs. Few however, can match the fecundity of ITT(ITT)(nee International Telephone & Telegraph). ITT was born out of the Puerto Rico Telephone Company in 1920. Over the next half century, ITT was the classic conglomerate, buying such diverse companies as The Hartford Insurance,… Read More »