Mergers, Acquisitions , Splits & Spinoffs.......

[The Virginian]

Charter agrees to buy Time Warner Cable for $195 a share

www.cnbc.com/id/102706004

[The Virginian]

Hormel goes organic with latest big food acquisition

Hormel Foods is paying $775 million to buy organic processed meats maker Applegate Farms, the latest deal by a food giant for a smaller rival in the grocery aisle.

“A growing number of consumers are choosing natural and organic products,” said Hormel Foods Chief Executive Jeffrey Ettinger.

www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/hormel-goes-organic-with-latest-big-food-acquisition/ar-BBkgWSd

[The Virginian]

Cellectis (NASDAQ:CLLS) is in talks about a potential sale to Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) (which already owns 9.5% of the company), in a move would strengthen the latter's push to become a serious player in the immuno-oncology market.
A deal could value Cellectis at as much as €1.5B, FT reports, and would mark Pfizer's second big move into immuno-oncology in the last six months - following a $2.85B development deal with Merck.

seekingalpha.com/news/2550556-cellectis-in-takeover-talks-with-pfizer

[Deleted]

May 27, 2015 5:28:37 GMT -5 The Virginian said:

Hormel goes organic with latest big food acquisition

Hormel Foods is paying $775 million to buy organic processed meats maker Applegate Farms, the latest deal by a food giant for a smaller rival in the grocery aisle.

“A growing number of consumers are choosing natural and organic products,” said Hormel Foods Chief Executive Jeffrey Ettinger.

www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/hormel-goes-organic-with-latest-big-food-acquisition/ar-BBkgWSd

Crap. I love Applegate Farms... I hope this doesn't do anything to change their quality...

[The Virginian]

Crap. I love Applegate Farms... I hope this doesn't do anything to change their quality...

Mainstream food companies are starting to see that people want organics and real quality food instead of the chemical junk they have been producing. I also hope they don't mess with the quality, if they do then the acquisition will have been for naught.

[The Virginian]

Johnson Controls Becomes Its Own Activist As It Contemplates Automotive Split..........................




www.forbes.com/sites/antoinegara/2015/06/10/johnson-controls-becomes-its-own-activist-as-it-contemplates-automotive-split/

[Value Buy]

This one is interesting.

CVS buying all the Target store pharmacies.
Wondering how this affects Walgreens Boots Alliance in the market.

[The Virginian]

Jun 15, 2015 8:01:12 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

This one is interesting.

CVS buying all the Target store pharmacies.
Wondering how this affects Walgreens Boots Alliance in the market.

I saw that too. Seems like soon there will be three major pharmacy players : Rite Aid, CVS, & Walgreens. I guess they will all start competing to buyout pharmacies of Supermarket chains.

[The Virginian]

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE: AWK) today announced that it has agreed to acquire Keystone Clearwater Solutions (Keystone) from Rex Energy Corporation. The transaction values the company at $130 million.

Keystone, headquartered in Hershey, Pa., is a water service provider offering a range of water related services to the oil and gas industry primarily in the Appalachian region of Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia.

“Keystone Clearwater Solutions provides turn-key water solutions to the shale gas industry in a safe and environmentally responsible manner,” said Susan Story, president and CEO of American Water. “We are excited because Keystone’s offerings are in line with American Water’s core competencies – supplying, transmitting, pumping and storing water and building the infrastructure required to do so. Keystone’s commitment to its customers, its operational focus and its commitment to environmental responsibility and safety are also aligned with American Water’s values and have allowed Keystone to grow into a market leader in the shale gas water services segment in only a few years. We will continue leveraging the expertise of the talented team of Keystone employees who have built this successful organization.”

Story added, “This acquisition delivers on one of our growth strategies to develop complementary businesses. Coupled with our existing activity in shale, the Keystone acquisition will enhance our ability to provide additional water services solutions to shale development companies."

Upon completion of the acquisition, Keystone will operate as a separate, independent subsidiary of American Water.

“We are excited about this acquisition by American Water,” said Ned Wehler, founder and chief executive officer of Keystone, who will continue to lead the organization. “American Water’s commitment to its customers, safety, the development of its employees and environmental protection is consistent with Keystone’s philosophy. We look forward to a bright future together.”

American Water anticipates closing on the transaction in July.

www.streetinsider.com/Management+Comments/American+Water+Works+%28AWK%29+to+Acquire+Keystone+in+$130M+Deal/10664087.html

[Value Buy]

Nisource will be spinning off Columbia Pipeline Group this coming week.
Just finished reading the 189 page info statement on the spin off.

I know absolutly no more about the spin off than I did before reading it. There are so many "clarifications" protecting both companies from shareholder "disappointments" if both companies come out poorer for the transaction.

I am beginning to think upper management is doing it for a big payday, and the remaining gutted Nisource company will be picked off by a larger electric utility within two years. 
The main management team are left overs from other mergers and aquisitions of utilities by Nisource, over the years, and they are going to the new CPG.
In fairness, this mgmt team came over from natural gas transmission companies and will be going back to their "roots" of ng transmission utilities. 
I have owned NI for decades, and not sure if I should remain with them.
That said, I assume if they are struggling a little, they will be picked up by someone like Duke, or another Midwest/eastern electric utility at a good premium.
Nisource shareholders are receiving one share of CPG for every share of NI in the spin off.

Right now all I see is duplication of high level top heavy management at both companies, taking away from earnings.
Top man at NI received over nine million dollars in compensation in 2014, AND he is transferring to CPG. Info states no mgmt person shall receive more than 15 million per year in compensation.........
I would assume the new CEO at NI would NOT receive anything close to nine million as the company is now about half it's original size, but I cannot find any new compensation level listed for NI.
CPG transmission lines cover most of the eastern states from Michigan to NY state, down through Virginia, with a line going to Gulf of Mexico, so they are in a good market for ng.
They are also pumping ng through the lines from the Marcellus and Attica strata, and I believe another line is bringing ng in from Canada for NY area.
Just very scary......
Utilities are supposed to be rather safe.
Not sure any more.

[ModE98]

Aetna (NYSE:AET) has agreed to buy Humana (NYSE:HUM) for about $37B, or about $230 per share. The deal will see Humana shareholders receive $125 in cash and 0.8375 Aetna shares for each share held, representing a premium of 23% from July 2nd's close. Following the merger, Aetna shareholders will own about 74% of the combined company.

[The Virginian]

Nice deposit from the Kraft buyout which now is KHC (Kraft Heinz Company) - 16.50 per share special Dividend

[ModE98]

Nice, indeed!  Those special dividends are good.

[ModE98]

Anthem has agreed to buy Cigna in a deal valued at $54.2B, wrapping up a year of negotiations and creating the largest health insurer in the U.S. Cigna (NYSE:CI) shareholders will get $103.40 per share in cash and 0.5152 Anthem (NYSE:ANTM) shares. The deal comes three weeks after Aetna (NYSE:AET) struck a deal to buy Humana (NYSE:HUM) for $37B and is part of an industry-wide consolidation following the roll-out of Obamacare.
Source:  Seeking Alpha "Wall Street Breakfast"

[Value Buy]

Teva announced July 27th they are buying Allergan's generic division.

[The Virginian]

Power producer Southern to buy AGL Resources in $12B deal

www.cnbc.com/2015/08/24/power-producer-southern-to-buy-agl-resources-in-12b-deal.html

[The Virginian]

Exelon, Pepco proposed merger blocked by commission

Just dumb luck that I sold this one about three weeks ago and used the proceeds to buy COP & KMI yesterday.

www.cnbc.com/2015/08/25/exelon-pepco-proposed-merger-blocked-by-commission-reuters.html

[The Virginian]

Abbott denies report of St. Jude takeover


seekingalpha.com/news/2748526-ft-abbott-prepping-25b-takeover-offer-for-st-jude

[The Virginian]

General Mills sells Green Giant business to B&G Foods

Comment : I don't like the direction General Mills is headed !
Why sell a nationally recognized brand?


seekingalpha.com/news/2761426-general-mills-sells-green-giant-business-to-b-and-g-foods

[The Virginian]

InBEV making a purchase move for Miller Brewing !

www.cnbc.com/2015/09/16/sabmiller-confirms-anheuser-busch-inbev-intends-to-make-purchase-approach-.html

[The Virginian]

There are Rumors that Activist Investor Carl Ichan is making a play a Corning Glass -( GLW) This reported on Charles Schwab and has not been substantiated as of yet !

[The Virginian]

Major Announcement !!
Alcoa to split into two separate companies in 2016

[Deleted]

The Virginian

Very interesting read, when looking at the press release directly from Alcoa's investor website. The only unfortunate thing at this point is that there are no details of what the action is in total; is it a 1 for 1 spin, or 1 for a partial, or 1 for 2?

Alcoa hasn't yet said. And additionally the tax status of the corporate action is fuzzy, says expected to be tax free, but not definitive.

[The Virginian]

Sept 28, 2015 12:52:28 GMT -5 @di said:

The Virginian

Very interesting read, when looking at the press release directly from Alcoa's investor website. The only unfortunate thing at this point is that there are no details of what the action is in total; is it a 1 for 1 spin, or 1 for a partial, or 1 for 2?

Alcoa hasn't yet said. And additionally the tax status of the corporate action is fuzzy, says expected to be tax free, but not definitive.

No details on the structure but this might help a little:


seekingalpha.com/article/3536776-alcoas-split-trying-to-add-value

I think the comment section is more valuable than the article itself.

[Value Buy]

Okay, they are messing with my beers

www.cnbc.com/2015/10/13/ab-inbevsabmiller-reach-agreement-in-principle-on-key-terms-of-offer.html

This is the end of any free trade in beers.
Then again, this is possibly the best thing that can happen to microbrewers.
Look for regular beer pricing to go higher, due to NO COMPETITION, and the micro brewers will be able to compete with the big guy.

[The Virginian]

You are correct VB - I am surprised the regulators will allow this merger.

[Value Buy]

Oct 13, 2015 13:09:22 GMT -5 The Virginian said:

You are correct VB - I am surprised the regulators will allow this merger.

My understanding is, they would sell off some of the major brands in the U.S. but why thrrow out the big winners to keep the smaller brands. I understand they are looking at the world market of beer, but it was the big brands that got them to where they are in the market today.
I also believe no company spins off big brands and does not somehow stick it to the consumer in the end.

[The Virginian]

Yum brands is splitting into two separate traded companies .

[The Virginian]

One will sell Original KFC & The other Extra Crispy KFC  ( OK Just Joking ! )

[The Virginian]

Here is the real plan :



Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM), the owner of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, is preparing to separate its Chinese and U.S. businesses in a major restructuring of the $31B fast-food group, Bloomberg reports.

The move follows calls from activist investor Keith Meister, who has suggested Yum could boost its worth by $16/share by exiting China (an increase of about $7B in market value).

Plans to break up the company are advanced and could be announced before the end of the month.

Previously: Yum down 16.8% on FQ3 miss, EPS guidance cut; China and India weigh (Oct. 06 2015)

Previously: Yum names new China chief amid spinoff calls; shares +2.3% (Aug. 18 2015)


seekingalpha.com/news/2838736-bloomberg-yum-poised-to-separate-china-business