Topic: How To Invest

Spinoffs, Takeovers and Special Situations Hotline – Thursday, April 18, 2019

Article Excerpt

VERSUM MATERIALS INC., $52.00, symbol VSM on New York, is a leading provider of specialty chemicals to the high-tech industry in the U.S. and overseas. Versum is also a spinoff of Air Products & Chemicals Inc. (symbol APD on New York), which set it up as a separate company on October 3, 2016. We looked at Versum in our January 2018 issue—that’s when we said it rated Highest in our Takeover Target Rating. We saw the stock as a buy at $37. On January 28, 2019, Entegris Inc. (symbol ENTG on Nasdaq) announced an all-stock takeover of Versum worth about $4 billion. The deal would have seen Versum shareholders receive 1.120 shares of Entegris for each existing Versum share they held. Entegris shareholders would have owned 52.5% of the combined company, with Versum shareholders owning the rest. The stock soared to around $37 from $30 on the Entegris bid. However, on February 27, 2019, Versum received a $48-a-share counter offer from Germany-based Merck KGaA…