BloggingStocks http://www.bloggingstocks.com BloggingStocks http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/media/feedlogo.gif BloggingStocks http://www.bloggingstocks.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[American Standard throws out the kitchen]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/07/23/american-standard-throws-out-the-kitchen/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/07/23/american-standard-throws-out-the-kitchen/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/07/23/american-standard-throws-out-the-kitchen/#commentsFiled under: ,

American Standard Companies (NYSE: ASD) is going through an extreme makeover. The company plans to spin off its Vehicle Control Systems division (which will be called WABCO) and wants to focus on its air condition business. So, the name of the reconstituted entity will be Trane (which generates about $6.8 billion in revenues).

To this end, today American Standard said it sold its Bath and Kitchen products unit to private equity firm, Bain Capital. The price tag: $1.76 billion, cash.

Actually, it looks like a good deal for Bain. The Bath & Kitchen unit posted $2.4 billion in revenues in 2006 and has a variety of brands like American Standard, Ideal Standard, Armitage Shanks, Porcher, Jado, Ceramica Dolomite and Vidima.

Then again, the unit has been under pressure lately. For example, increased commodities prices has been tough.

But, by being a private company - and independent of a major parent - there's likely to be some operational improvements.

American Standard retained Lazard (NYSE: LAZ) for its financial advisor. Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) represented Bain.

In today's trading, American Standard's stock price was up $0.15 to $59.40.

To check out some more recent M&A transactions, click here.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.

American Standard throws out the kitchen originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 23 Jul 2007 21:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>American StandardAmericanStandardArmitage ShanksArmitageShanksBain CapitalBainCapitalCeramica DolomiteCeramicaDolomiteIdeal StandardIdealStandardJadoPorcherTraneVidimaMon, 23 Jul 2007 21:57:00 EST<![CDATA[Analyst upgrade 4-15-07: ABFS, ALU, AMZN and CAKE upgraded today]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/04/25/analyst-upgrade-4-15-07-abfs-alu-amzn-and-cake-upgraded-today/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/04/25/analyst-upgrade-4-15-07-abfs-alu-amzn-and-cake-upgraded-today/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/04/25/analyst-upgrade-4-15-07-abfs-alu-amzn-and-cake-upgraded-today/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Whirlpool Corp (WHR), Amazon.com, Inc (AMZN), Arkansas Best Corp (ABFS) and Capital One Financial Corp (COF) were today's more noteworthy upgrades:
  • Citigroup upgraded Whirlpool Corp (NYSE: WHR) to Hold from Sell with a $107 target after better-than-expected Q1 results.
  • Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at Piper Jaffray, to Hold from Sell at Citigroup, to Neutral from Underperform at Cowen, to Sector Perform from Underperform at Pacific Crest and to Buy from Hold at BWS Financial.
OTHER UPGRADES:
Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

Analyst upgrade 4-15-07: ABFS, ALU, AMZN and CAKE upgraded today originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 25 Apr 2007 11:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>aapabfsadvance autoAdvanceAutoalcatelalcatel-lucentaluamazonamerican standardAmericanStandardamznanlaystarkansasauycakecapital oneCapitalOnecheesecakecoflucentparket hannifinParketHannifinphratingtheflyonthewall.comupgrade.whirlpoolwhryamana goldYamanaGoldWed, 25 Apr 2007 11:33:00 EST<![CDATA[Analyst upgrades 4-20-07: JCP, MAR, NFLX and PALM all upgraded today]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/04/20/analyst-upgrades-4-20-07-jcp-mar-nflx-and-palm-all-upgraded-t/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/04/20/analyst-upgrades-4-20-07-jcp-mar-nflx-and-palm-all-upgraded-t/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/04/20/analyst-upgrades-4-20-07-jcp-mar-nflx-and-palm-all-upgraded-t/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Strattec Security Corp (STRT), Palm, Inc (PALM), Netflix, inc (NFLX), J.C. Penney Co, Inc (JCP) and Marriott International Inc (MAR) were some of today's noteworthy upgrades:
  • Shares of Palm, Inc (NASDAQ: PALM) were raised to Equal Weight from Underweight at Lehman Bros.
  • Banc of America upgraded Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX) to Neutral from Sell based on valuation.
  • J.C. Penney Co Inc (NYSE: JCP) was raised to Strong Buy from Accumulate with a $105 target at Buckingham, citing strategic merchandise, flow and cycle-timing initiatives.
  • Wachovia believes that as the lodging cycle matures, Marriott International's (NYSE: MAR) diversified fee-based, unit-driven model will outperform relative to pure hotel-owned companies, and upgraded shares to Outperform from Market Perform.
OTHER UPGRADES:
  • Goldman Sachs upgraded CNOOC Ltd (NYSE: CEO) to Buy from Neutral.
  • Oppenheimer upgraded Playtex Products, Inc (NYSE: PYX) to Buy from Neutral on its acquisition of Tiki Hut, strong fundamentals and realistic investor expectations.
  • Shares of VCA Antech, Inc (NASDAQ: WOOF) were upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Morgan Keegan.
Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

Analyst upgrades 4-20-07: JCP, MAR, NFLX and PALM all upgraded today originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 20 Apr 2007 11:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>american standardAmericanStandardanalystasdceocnoocheclahljcpmarriottmatnetflixnflxpacketeerpalmpenneypktrplaytexpyxratingstrattecstrttheflyonthewall.comupgradevca antechVcaAntechwoofFri, 20 Apr 2007 11:22:00 EST