Pinnacle Foods Could be Sold

Three years ago, Pinnacle Foods agreed to a takeover of $4.3 billion by Hillshire Brands. That deal was canceled after Hillshire agreed to sell itself to Tyson Foods.

 Hillshire was led at the time by Sean Connolly, who is now chief executive of Conagra. 

Reuters reports that ConAgra Brands (CAG) has approached Pinnacle Foods (PF) for a takeover.

Conagra’s approach to Pinnacle Foods took place in the last few weeks. There is no assurance that Pinnacle Foods will choose to walk down the alter, or that Conagra will pursue a potential deal further, the report said.

Pinnacle Foods operates through four segments: Frozen, Grocery, Boulder, and Specialty. The Frozen segment offers brands such as the Bird’s Eye,  Van de Kamp’s, Mrs. Paul’s, Lender’s, Celeste, Hungry-Man, and Aunt Jemima names. The Grocery segment brands include the Duncan Hines, Vlasic, Wish-Bone, and Mrs. Butterworth’s.

Conagra Brands, Inc. (CAG) operates as a food company in North America. It operates through five segments: Grocery & Snacks, Refrigerated & Frozen, International, Foodservice, and Commercial.  The company markets its products primarily under the Healthy Choice, Hunt’s, Slim Jim, Reddi-wip, Alexia, Blake’s, Frontera, Bertolli, P.F. Chang’s, and Marie Callender’s brands.

What Goes Around, Comes Around

Three years ago, Pinnacle Foods agreed to a takeover of $4.3 billion by Hillshire Brands. That deal was canceled after Hillshire agreed to sell itself to Tyson Foods Inc for $7.7 billion.  Hillshire was led at the time by Sean #Connolly, who is now chief executive of Conagra.

Connolly’s second attempt at an acquisition of Pinnacle Foods underscores the need for further consolidation in the frozen food and condiments sectors, as sales continue to decline with consumers opting for healthier choices.

Conagra has been seeking to reinvent itself since selling its private label unit for $2.7 billion in 2016 to focus on its branded food business. Last year it spun off its $6.9 billion frozen potato business, Lamb Weston Holdings Inc. This week it agreed to sell its Wesson oil brand to Folgers coffee maker J.M. Smucker for $285 million.

Conagra has a market cap of $17 billion while Pinnacle has a market cap of less than $8 billion.

Price Action

PF shares last traded at $62.31. It has a 52-week trading range of $42.09 – $66.50

CAG last traded at $39.78. CAG has a 52-week trading range of $33.08 – $41.68.

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The article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility.

Praxair to merge with Linde

Linde and Praxair produce and distribute industrial gases

The combined company is expected to benefit from approximately $1.2B in annual synergies and cost reductions

 

 

Linde (LNEGY) has signed a legally binding business combination agreement with Praxair (PX) governing the terms and conditions of a merger of equals between the two companies.

The agreement provides for a combination of the businesses of the Linde group and the Praxair group under a publicly traded new holding company, which will bear the Linde name.

The new holding company will be incorporated in Ireland while its principal governance activities, including board meetings, will primarily be based in the United Kingdom.

Group corporate functions will be appropriately split between Danbury, Connecticut and Munich, Germany.

The company will apply for an admission for the trading of its shares on the New York Stock Exchange and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and will seek inclusion in the S&P 500 and the DAX 30 indices.

Praxair will become a subsidiary of “New Holdco” through a merger and Linde will become a subsidiary of New Holdco through a public exchange offer to all shareholders of Linde.

Linde shareholders will be offered 1.54 shares in New Holdco for each Linde share and Praxair shareholders will receive one share in New Holdco for each Praxair share.

Upon completion, former Praxair shareholders and former Linde shareholders will each own approximately 50% of the outstanding shares of New Holdco. The membership in the board of directors of New Holdco will also be split 50:50.

Linde’s current Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Wolfgang Reitzle, will become Chairman of the new holding company’s board. Praxair’s current Chairman and CEO, Steve Angel, will become CEO and a member of the board of #NewHoldco.

The management team of New Holdco will also be appropriately split between #Linde and #Praxair executives.

The combined company is expected to benefit from approximately $1.2B in annual synergies and cost reductions, targeted to be achieved in approximately three years following closing. The figures include existing cost reduction programs already initiated by the two companies, including an amount of approximately $310 million from Linde’s existing LIFT program.

“Linde understands that the combined company intends to achieve the total amount of synergy and efficiency savings irrespective of the allocation to the respective underlying drivers,” the company noted.

The expected one-time costs of achieving these cost reductions and synergies are estimated to be approximately $1B including transaction costs. The consummation of the business combination is subject to certain conditions, including the acceptance of the exchange offer to Linde shareholders by a minimum of 75% of the outstanding Linde shares. Closing of the transaction is expected to occur in the second half of 2018.

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Palo Alto Results Lift Cyber Security Stocks

The company’s revenue came in at $432M, versus the consensus outlook of $412M

The company provided Q4 EPS guidance of 78c-80c, versus expectations of 74c

 

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The shares of Palo Alto (PANW) are climbing, and lending a boost to some peers, after the IT security company last night reported stronger than expected third quarter results and provided fourth quarter profit guidance that exceeded expectations.

A number of analysts were more upbeat about Palo Alto in the wake of its results.

RESULTS:

Palo Alto reported third quarter earnings per share, excluding certain items, of 61c, versus the consensus outlook of 55c. The company’s revenue came in at $432M, versus the consensus outlook of $412M.

“We reported record revenue…in our fiscal third quarter and added the second highest number of new customers in the company’s history,” said Palo Alto CEO Mark McLaughlin.

The company $PANW provided fourth quarter EPS guidance, excluding some items, of 78c-80c, versus the consensus outlook of 74c.

ANALYST REACTION:

Palo Alto’s business metrics “improved modestly” last quarter compared with the previous quarter, wrote #Jefferies analyst John #DiFucci. The company’s recent slowdown was primarily caused by the stage of its product cycle, the analyst stated. He thinks that the company’s Q4 guidance is “likely prudent” and could be conservative. DiFucci raised his price target on the name to $155 from $150 and kept a Buy rating on the stock.

#Gabelli analyst Hendi #Susanto upgraded Palo Alto Networks to Buy, saying the positive Q3 report increased confidence of its sales reorganization execution trajectory.

Palo Alto’s results were “just what it needed to turn the tide…after a rough couple of quarters,” wrote #JPMorgan analyst Sterling Auty. The fact that the company’s Q3 product revenue beat expectations by about $18M makes it Q4 guidance look more realistic, #Auty believes. The results should be a relief to investors who were worried that the company’s slowdown did not bode well for others in the space, the analyst added. Yesterday’s results indicate that Palo Alto’s previous troubles were caused by sales execution and were “company specific, ” he stated. However, Auty kept a Neutral rating on the stock.

OTHERS TO WATCH:

Other publicly traded companies in the space include Barracuda (CUDA), Check Point (CHKP), F5 Networks (FFIV), FireEye (FEYE), Fortinet (FTNT), Imperva (IMPV), Proofpoint (PFPT), Qualys (QLYS) and Symantec (SYMC).

PRICE ACTION: In Thursday’s trading, Palo Alto jumped 15.6% to $137.09.

Short Squeeze In Progress

Note that some of the price increase in PANW is due its high #short ratio. As of last May 15th, a total of 7,988,200 shares have been sold short which give the stock a short ratio of about 4 days.

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The article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility.

Dakota Access Pipeline Begins Carrying Oil

The “Bakken Pipeline” begins carrying oil

The Bakken Pipeline is a 1,872-mile, mostly 30-inch pipeline system that transports domestically produced crude oil from the Bakken/Three Forks productions areas in North Dakota to a storage and terminalling hub outside Patoka, Illinois, and/or down to additional terminals in Nederland, Texas.

 

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Bakken Pipeline is a 1872 mile, 30-inch diameter line

Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) announced that the #DakotaAccess Pipeline and the Energy Transfer Crude Oil Pipeline, collectively the “Bakken Pipeline,” are in commercial service under the Committed Transportation Service Agreements through their respective pipeline systems.

The #Bakken Pipeline, owned by Dakota Access, LLC and Energy Transfer Crude Oil Company LLC, respectively, is a 1,872-mile, mostly 30-inch pipeline system that transports domestically produced crude oil from the Bakken/Three Forks productions areas in North Dakota to a storage and terminalling hub outside Patoka, Illinois, and/or down to additional terminals in Nederland, Texas.

The Bakken Pipeline is a joint venture between Energy Transfer Partners with a 38.25 percent interest, MarEn Bakken Company LLC with a 36.75 percent interest, and Phillips 66 (PSX) with a 25 percent interest.

MarEn is an entity owned by MPLX LP (MPLX) and Enbridge Energy Partners L.P. (EEP).

Dakota Access and ETCO, developed at a combined cost of approximately $4.78 billion have commitments, including shipper flexibility and walk-up, for approximately 520,000 barrels per day. This is up from 470,000 barrels per day due to the successful Supplemental Open Season held earlier this year that committed an additional 50,000 barrels per day.

The combined system is expandable to a capacity of approximately 570,000 barrels per day. The pipeline will transport light, sweet crude oil from North Dakota to major refining markets in a more direct, cost-effective, safer and more environmentally responsible manner than other modes of transportation, including rail or truck.

Energy Transfer Partners approved and announced the pipeline project on June 25, 2014. In October 2014, Phillips 66 acquired 25% stake in the project. Since then, the project has been controversial. The firm had to fight several lawsuits to secure right-of-way for the project. The company was sued by Indian tribes, Iowa farmers, and environmental groups. The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers ( #USACE ) got involved and the entire project became a political issue. On November 1, 2016, President #Obama announced his administration was monitoring the situation and had been in contact with the USACE to examine the possibility of rerouting the pipeline to avoid lands that Native Americans hold sacred.

On January 24, 2017, President Donald #Trump, in contrast to the Obama administration, signed a presidential memorandum to advance the construction of the pipeline under “terms and conditions to be negotiated.”

Energy Transfer Partners began loading the pipeline with crude oil by April 2017. A small, 84-gallon spill of crude oil occurred at a South Dakota pumping station on the route on April 6, 2017. With full operation, East Coast refineries reduced their orders for rail-delivered oil in May and June.

Crude oil last traded at $50.68 per barrel.

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Deere to acquire Wirtgen Groupin for $5.2B cash

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Deere to Buy Wirten Group for $5.2B

Deere & Company $DE has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the #Wirtgen Group, a privately-held German company that is a manufacturer worldwide of road construction equipment.

The purchase price for the equity is EUR 4.357 billion in an all-cash transaction. The total transaction value is approximately EUR 4.6 billion, or $5.2 billion based on current exchange rates, including the assumption of net debt and other consideration.

The Wirtgen Group had sales of EUR 2.6 billion in the year ending December 31, 2016.

Deere expects the transaction to be accretive to earnings per share and currently expects to fund the acquisition from a combination of cash and new equipment operations debt financing.

The Wirtgen Group has a global footprint with approximately 8,000 employees and sells products in more than 100 countries through a large network of company-owned and independent dealers.

Deere (DE) plans to maintain the Wirtgen Group’s existing brands, management, manufacturing footprint, employees and distribution network.

The combined business is expected to benefit from sharing best practices in distribution, customer support, manufacturing and technology as well as in scale and efficiency of operations. The transaction has been approved by Deere’s Board of Directors.

The purchase is subject to regulatory approval in several jurisdictions as well as certain other customary closing conditions.

The companies said they expect to close on the transaction in the first quarter of Deere’s 2018 fiscal year.

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