Spinoff spotlight: Brookfield Asset Management

Article Excerpt

BROOKFIELD ASSET MANAGEMENT INC. $59 is a hold. The company (Toronto symbol BAM.A; Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.6 billion; Market cap: $94.4 billion; Dividend yield: 1.2%; Takeover Target Rating: Lowest; www.brookfield.com) is an asset manager that controls firms in the real estate, renewable power, infrastructure and private equity industries. The company plans to spin off its asset management business into a separate, publicly listed company. This business focuses on managing money for institutional investors and high net worth individuals. It will not manage Brookfield’s own investments. Brookfield will hand out 25% of this new firm’s shares to its own investors as a tax-deferred distribution, probably by the end of 2022. This “asset-light” company needs few facilities and equipment, so it plans to pay out a high 90% of its earnings as dividends. The spinoff is the latest in a series of spinoffs that Brookfield has completed in the past few years. However, its complex holding company structure still makes it difficult to spot problems, should they arise. Brookfield…