Profit from our top holding companies

Article Excerpt

Holding companies give you an easy way to buy a variety of businesses at a discount. As well, their structure makes it easy for them to unlock hidden value by selling undervalued subsidiaries. For example, Maple Leaf Foods has risen sharply since it said it would sell Canada Bread. ATCO could also jump if it sold Canadian Utilities. MAPLE LEAF FOODS INC. $16 (Toronto symbol MFI; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 140.1 million; Market cap: $2.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.5; Dividend yield: 1.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.mapleleaf.ca) is Canada’s largest food processing company. It mainly sells its products, including fresh and prepared meats and poultry, under the Maple Leaf and Schneider brands. The company recently said it plans to sell its 90.0% stake in Canada Bread (see right), Canada’s second-largest producer of baked goods after Weston Bakery. Canada Bread supplies a third of Maple Leaf’s sales. Maple Leaf’s $1.6-billion stake in this business is equal to 73% of…