Icahn Raise Offer for Pep Boys; Staples, Office Depot Merger in Limbo

Mukesh Buch
21 Dec, 2015
New York City

Carnival net swung to profit. Icahn Enterprises lifted its offer for The Pep Boy to $16.50 a share. Ingersoll-Rand intends to sell its remaining stake in Hussmann for $400 million. Staples fail to win antitrust approval for Office Depot.

[R]11:20 AM New York – Carnival net swung to profit. Icahn Enterprises lifted its offer for The Pep Boy to $16.50 a share. Ingersoll-Rand intends to sell its remaining stake in Hussmann for $400 million. Staples fail to win antitrust approval for Office Depot.[/R]

Tollbooth Index increased 59.45 or 0.6% to 10,645.24.

Earnings Review

Carnival Corp ((CCL)) jumped 2.5% or $1.31 to $53.74 after the cruise operator reported revenues in the fourth-quarter ending in November was flat from a year ago to $3.71 billion.

Net in the quarter swung to profit $270 million or 35 cents per diluted share compared to a loss of $104 million or 13 cents per share from the same quarter last year.

Icahn Enterprises LP ((IEP)) rose 26 cents to $63.55 after the investment company lifted its offer for The Pep Boys – Manny, Moe & Jack of $16.50 per share or about $919 million in cash.

The current offer is higher than the Japan-based tyre maker Bridgestone Corp''s offer of $15.50 per share.

Ingersoll-Rand Plc ((IR)) increased 41 cents to $53.03 after the Ireland-based industrial machinery equipment maker intends to sell its remaining stake in Hussmann Parent, Inc. for about $400 million.

The company had already completed to divest its majority stake in Hussmann business to private equity group Clayton, Dubilier & Rice LLC in September 2011.

The transaction is expected to close in the first-half of 2016.

Neogen Corporation ((NEOG)) slipped 29 cents to $57.69 after the diagnostic test kits maker said in the second-quarter ending in November jumped 16% from a year ago to $79.6 million.

Net income in the quarter surged 16.7% to $9.1 million or 24 cents per diluted share compared to $7.8 million or 21 cents per share from the same quarter last year.

Staples, Inc ((SPLS)) advanced 2.5% or 23 cents to $9.53 after the retail and online shopping platform provider said the U.S. regulator rejected its revised higher offer to divest up to $1.25 billion worth commercial contracts to secure approval for its acquisition of smaller rival Office Depot Inc.

Urstadt Biddle Properties Inc ((UBA)) gained 2.3% or 43 cents to $19.55 after the self-administered real estate developer said total revenues in the fourth-quarter ending in October jumped 6.5% from a year ago to $27.9 million.

Net income in the quarter declined 11.1% to $23 million or 70 cents per diluted share compared to $27 million or 87 cents per share from the same quarter last year.

During the quarter, the company sold Meriden, CT property with a gain of about $20 million.