Jack In The Box (JACK) will sell Qdoba, its Mexican themed restaurant brand, to private equity firm Apollo Global Management for $305m cash. JACK actually acquired Qdoba for $45m back in 2003, so the company was able to do some nice things with it over the years. Unfortunately, the brand has struggled to grow recently and same store… Read More »
Yum! Brands (YUM) completed the spin off of its Chinese business, Yum China Holdings (YUMC), last fall. Although it’s only been a few months, ny now most people don’t remember that it took a very, very long time to get that point, including a lengthy will they or won’t they actually spin something off. Nudging the company along… Read More »
There are a number of spinoffs scheduled to be completed at the end of this month (October) or in early November and naturally, there are a few scheduled changes to the S&P indices as a result. Here is a summary of the changes which will occur over the next week or so: HCP Inc (HCP) is spinning off Quality… Read More »
Last October, Yum Brands(YUM) finally agreed to spin off its China business under pressure from investors including Keith Meister of Corvex Management. Corvex owns 5.2% of Yum, and Meister sits on the board. Yum, parent of brands including Pizza Hut, KFC, and Taco Bell, has 7,205 restaurants in China which collectively earn over $1 billion each year. Currently,… Read More »
A few short hits to kick off a new week: Yum! Brands (YUM) decided to spin off its China business and shareholders have generally reacted pretty favorably. The WSJ walks through the potential value propositions of both companies, but one class of investors is decidedly less excited about the move: bondholders. Barron’s points out that the new parent… Read More »
Sometimes there is just no stopping an idea full of momentum. After years of a spinoff idea being tossed around and pushed by all parts of Wall Street (sell side and buy side), Yum! Brands (YUM) has finally decided to pull the trigger and will spin off its China business into a standalone entity. While resistance appeared to… Read More »
The endless speculation regarding YUM! Brands (YUM) China spinoff rages on despite management saying it’s not currently in the cards. The most recent fuel added to the fire was a sudden management shakeup in China. Long time company veteran and Chinese expansion mastermind Sam Su is retiring from his position as Yum China’s CEO after 26 years of… Read More »
Yum! Brands (YUM) has been the subject of breakup talk for some time, with both sell-side analysts (and here) and big hedge funds calling for some type of split. The company has been struggling recently, especially in China, which usually tends to give the activists a bit more clout, but that doesn’t appear to be the case here. During… Read More »
The YUM Brands (YUM) spinoff story continues to develop and it feels like a spin is becoming more a matter of ‘when’ vs. ‘if’. Breakup speculation has been rife for quite some time, but the recent ‘catalyst’ of activist funds Corvex Capital and Third Point taking sizable stakes seems to have kicked the frenzy into a new gear. Apparently… 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 »
Janney analyst Mark Kalikowsky is quite bullish on Taco Bell and recently raised his same store estimates for Taco Bell by four (4) percentage points. More interesting for us here is the fact that Mr. Kalikowsky also reiterated his thoughts that the chain should be spun off from its more globally focused parent, Yum Brands (YUM), which itself… Read More »
Despite calls by some investors to spin off its Frito-Lay snack food division, Pepsi(PEP) appears ready to continue to remain a single entity. The company has languished during CEO Indra Nooyi’s tenure, rising just 1% in 5 years. The WSJ reports that “A breakup of the company appears unlikely, although the board has looked at the idea.” Instead,… Read More »