Leon’s jumps on spinoff plan

Article Excerpt

LEON’S FURNITURE LTD. $23 is a buy for aggressive investors. The retailer (Toronto symbol LNF; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 67.9 million; Market cap: $1.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.5; Dividend yield: 2.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.leons.ca) began operating in 1909. It now controls nationwide chains (a total of 304 stores) selling furniture and appliances, mainly under the Leon’s and The Brick banners. The stock jumped 15% on news that the company will transfer its 5.2 million square feet of wholly owned real estate holdings into a real estate investment trust (REIT). It then plans to hand out units in the REIT to its own shareholders, or sell units to the public through an initial public offering. In any case, Leon’s plans to retain a majority interest in the publicly traded REIT. Leon’s has not yet said when it will complete the transaction. However, like other retailers such as Canadian Tire and Loblaw, the spinoff should help unlock the hidden value of its real…