Activists push for more spinoffs

Article Excerpt

Calls by activist investors for corporate breakups are working. In fact, IBM, GE and Johnson & Johnson have all announced or completed spinoffs in the past few weeks. That pressure should draw more attention to the prospects of these two stocks, but we see just one as a buy right now. ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC ADR is a hold. The company (New York symbols RDS.A $45 and RDS.B $45; Resources sector; ADRs outstanding: 2.05 billion; Market cap: $92.3 billion; Dividend yield: 3.6%; Takeover Target Rating: Lowest; www.shell.com) is one of the world’s largest oil companies with about 87,000 employees in 70 countries. It also has interests in chemical companies and other energy-related businesses. Activist investor Daniel Loeb, who now owns roughly $500 million of Shell’s shares through his Third Point investment fund, wants the company to break itself into two separate companies. One would include Shell’s legacy businesses—producing oil and refining it into usable fuels. The other would focus on clean energy products, including biofuels and electric-vehicle-charging…