Even before Time Warner(TWX) spun it off in June 2014, Meredith(MDP) was in talks trying to effect a Reverse Morris Trust transaction. Over the subsequent years, Time repeatedly was the subject of buyout discussion, and Meredith was always in the mix. Well after five years, Meredith finally got its prize. On January 31, Meredith closed its $2.8 billion… Read More »
Four months after its failed sale process, Time Warner(TWX) spinoff Time, Inc.(TIME) is pursuing the part of its strategy described as “selective portfolio rationalization”. Bloomberg reports that CEO Rich Battista stated in an interview that these “wonderful brands” need a new home so that Time can invest elsewhere. In the interview, Battista called the three publications “wonderful brands”… Read More »
It looks like Rich Battista will get his chance to dilate Time,Inc.(TIME) after all. After months of speculation and talks, beginning just after he began as CEO last fall, Time announced on Friday that its Board had determined not to sell the company at this time and to instead continue pursuing Battista’s strategic plan. What is the key… Read More »
Time, Inc.’s(TIME) brief interlude as a public company following its 2014 spinoff from Time Warner(TWX) appears to be coming to a close. Rumors about Meredith(MDP) interest in some or all of Time have been rampant for years. Speculation that a sale was near increased dramatically with reports last November that a group led by Edgar Bronfman, Jr. had… Read More »
It’s hump day. Here are some links to help you get through it: Marketfolly published some notes on a panel titled ‘The Future of Shareholder Activism’ at the Reuters Live Newsmaker Event. The panel featured some currently ‘active’ managers including ValueAct’s Jeffrey Ubben, Mantle Ridge’s Paul Hilal, Blackrock’s Zach Oleksiuk and Cadwalader’s Richard Brand (lawyer). Mr. Ubben has been… Read More »
Time, Inc.(TIME) CEO Rich Battista has big plans for the transformation of the venerable magazine publisher, but it is doubtful that he will be given the time to execute on them. Battista became CEO late last year, replacing Joe Ripp, who had led the company since its 2014 spinoff from Time Warner(TWX). Rich Battista, the new chief executive… Read More »
Speculating about spinoffs – it’s not just for us, John Malone and deadline-driven journalists: 1) The Motley Fool handicaps the odds of a Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) spinoff in 2017. The basic premise is that JNJ has multiple segments with diverging sales trends (at least recently) so why not set one free. After playing through a few scenarios, the author ultimately suggests… Read More »
To everything there is a season, and the season for magazines has passed and will not return. In the summer of 2014, Time Warner(TWX) spun off Time, Inc.(TIME), its magazine publishing division. Joe Ripp, the CEO who presided over the spinoff, valiantly tried to cut costs and move to digital, but his efforts fell short. This summer, he… 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 »
One does not need a particular gift for forecasting the future to know that magazines are in the midst of an inexorable decline. No doubt, there is still some profit left to be made, but it will be less and less each year. Joe Ripp certainly knows this. As CEO of Time, Inc.(TIME), his job is to transform… Read More »
Verizon(VZ) is a proto-spinoff. At its core rest two of the original baby bells, Bell Atlantic and NYNEX, although it didn’t take on the Verizon moniker until after its merger with GTE(as part of that merger, GTE spun off Genuity). Verizon later purchased other spinoff related companies such as Alltel, which had spun off its wireline business into… Read More »
Forbes continues to pump out the spinoff ideas. The other week, we highlighted a Forbes piece nominating five companies ripe for a spinoff, including big names such as Disney (DIS) and Time Warner (TWX). That wasn’t all though. A recent idea in Forbes by Richard Stiennon was that chip powerhouse Intel (INTC) should spin off McAfee, its internet security… Read More »
In a nod to ‘Throwback Thursday’, lets take a look at a recent spin that has been in the news recently. Last June, following a broader market trend, Time Warner (TWX) spun off its magazine business into Time Inc (TIME). After a year of independence the new company’s stock is mostly flat, which is not too shabby considering… 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 »
The unprecedented number of spins this week has kept the folks at S&P working overtime making changes to their indexes. Last week, AOL(AOL), a spinoff of Time Warner(TWX) was acquired by Verizon(VZ), a conglomeration of several spinoffs of the original AT&T(T). As a result, Casey’s General Stores(CASY) will move from the S&P SmallCap 600 to take its spot in… Read More »