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(Tribune File Photo)
Fortune Brands Inc. expects its golf business to attract a special kind of bidder in addition to the usual suspects — rich people who like playing the game.
The company announced plans late last year to sell or spin off its golf business, which makes Titleist golf equipment, and spin off its home products business, which makes Simonton windows and Moen faucets, amid pressure from activist investor William Ackman. Get the full story »
J.C. Penney Co. is closing some stores, outlets and call center locations and continuing to work on an exit from its catalog business in an effort to streamline operations and boost profits. Locally, the J.C. Penney at Spring Hill Mall in West Dundee is slated for closure.
The department store operator also said Monday that Vornado Realty Trust Chairman Steven Roth and activist investor William Ackman will become board members. Penney’s enacted a “poison pill” in October after both Ackman and Vornado took large stakes in the company. Get the full story »
Fortune Brands has hired Morgan Stanley to auction its golf division, a sale that may fetch as much as $1.5 billion, Bloomberg reported, citing four people with knowledge of the matter. Get the full story »
Since U.S. mall owner General Growth exited bankruptcy last month, its stock has gotten a nice lift. But shares of its less noticed spin-off, Howard Hughes Corp, have really soared.
Since General Growth issued about $2 billion worth of shares at $14.75 in mid-November, the mall owner’s stock price has grown more than 6 percent — trading around $15.70 on Thursday afternoon. Meanwhile, Howard Hughes’ thinly traded shares have gained nearly a third, or 32.8 percent, in roughly the same period, now trading around $54.45. Get the full story »
Fortune Brands headquarters. (AP)
Fortune brands, the Deerfield-based purveyor of golf balls, Sauza tequila and Moen faucets, announced it intends to split the company into as many as three parts.
Under a plan approved by Fortune’s board, the company expects to spin off its home and security business to shareholders, sell or spin off its golf business and become a publicly-traded spirits company. Get the full story »
Hedge fund manager William Ackman is raising his wager on bookseller Borders Group Inc, offering to help it buy larger rival Barnes & Noble Inc for $963.7 million. Get the full story »
Fortune Brands Inc., the maker of Jim Beam bourbon and Moen faucets, is growing likely to cooperate with activist shareholder William Ackman on a plan to split up the company’s three business units, people familiar with the matter said.
There is no guarantee that efforts to spin off or sell the golf equipment, spirits and home-products businesses will succeed, given the complexity inherent in untangling and valuing the three divisions, the people cautioned. Get the full story »
Some of Fortune Brands' products. (Candice C. Cusic/Chicago Tribune)
Fortune Brands touted the “value proposition” of remaining a diversified company Thursday but said it’s open to meeting with all its investors, including hedge fund manager William Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management, which has taken a 10.9 percent stake in the company.
“We’re open to constructive discussion with all our shareholders and that includes Pershing Square,” Chief Executive Bruce Carbonari said. “Our board is very engaged and very involved and along, along with management, at looking at how our business is structured.”
Added Craig Omtvedt, chief financial officer, “We’re pretty relaxed. We look forward to having a dialogue with Ackman and his team as much as we do anybody else.” Get the full story »
J.C. Penney’s board approved a “poison pill” designed to fend off potential takeover threats after hedge fund manager William Ackman acquired one-sixth of the retailer. The company’s shares fell 3 percent on the news. Get the full story »
Investor William Ackman (Reuters)
Activist investor William Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management confirmed it has built an 11 percent stake in Fortune Brands Inc. and said it plans to discuss the future of the business with the consumer conglomerate’s board and management.
Pershing, in a 13-D filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, said that it believes Fortune shares are undervalued and that it plans to also have discussions with other shareholders.
Fortune shares on Friday closed 7.4 percent higher, at $55.85.
Get the full story »
General Growth Properties Inc. on Friday named the board of its future spin-off company and appointed hedge fund manager William Ackman to become its chairman when the mall owner and property developer emerges from bankruptcy. Get the full story »
