Category: Stock Market News

Shares of Rent-A-Center Inc. rocketed 17% in premarket trade, after the household durable goods leasing company disclosed that it had received an unsolicited buyout bid that valued the stock at a 35% premium, that it rejected. The company said private-equity firm Vintage Capital Management LLC proposed on June 20 a buyout for $15 a share, which was well above Monday’s closing price of $11.10, and would value the company at about $798 million. Rent-A-Center’s board of directors said in the filing that it determined that Vintage’s bid “significantly undervalues” the company, and the company’s current strategic plan is expected to deliver greater value to its shareholders than Vintage’s “inadequate and opportunistic proposal.” The company’s strategic plan includes strengthening its core U.S. business, growing its Acceptance Now business, and leveraging technology investments to expand distribution and integrate retail and online offerings. The stock has slipped 1.3% year to date through Monday, while the S&P 500 has gained 8.4%.

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Halcón Resources Corp. said Tuesday it has agreed to sell its Williston Basin assets to a unit of Bruin E&P Partners for $1.4 billion in cash. The deal is expected to close within 60 days, the company said in a statement. The assets being sold produce about 29,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day. “The sale of our Williston Basin operated assets transforms Halcón into a single-basin company focused on the Delaware Basin where we have more than 41,000 net acres in Ward and Pecos Counties representing decades of highly economic drilling inventory,” Halcon Chief Executive Floyd Wilson said. “The cash proceeds from this transaction and related debt reduction provide us with a strong balance sheet and liquidity to execute our growth plans.” Shares have fallen 52% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 8%.

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Consol Energy Inc. announced Tuesday the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission as it moves forward with its previously-announced plan to separate into two publicly-traded companies, a coal company and and natural-gas exploration and production company. As part of the separation, the company said it will spin off its Pennsylvania mining operations and other coal assets. Jimmy Brock has been appointed chief executive of the coal business and David Khani will be the chief financial officer. Nick DeIuliis will be CEO of the E&P business and Don Rush will be CFO. “This strategic separation will enable both businesses to focus on their inherent strengths and unlock value for their shareholders,” said DeIuliis, Consol’s current CEO. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has tumbled 18% year to date, while the SPDR Energy Select Sector ETF has lost 15% and the S&P 500 has gained 8.4%.

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MKM Partners initiated coverage of Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. stock Tuesday, with a sell rating and a $26 price target, or 28% below its current trading level. Analyst Roxanne Meyer said she is not convinced the luxury clothing and accessories maker would meet Wall Street estimates for 2018 and 2019 after a disappointing fourth quarter. “Our below Street estimates reflect downside to comps and margins, in light of a slow infusion of innovation, changes to the merchandising and promotional strategy, over-exposure to wholesale, as well as our view that the operating margin is structurally headed lower from the shift to retail, investments in omni-channel, and product mix shift to lower margin categories,” she wrote in a note. Meyer said earnings quality is another issue, describing Kors’ EBITDA growth as lowest ranking among the companies she covers. Kors shares were not yet active premarket, but have fallen 16.5% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 8%.

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Jorge Mas has agreed to buy the Miami Marlins baseball team from owner Jeffrey Loria for $1.17 billion, according to a report late Monday. Mas, the chairman of infrastucture company MasTec Inc. , reportedly beat out other groups led by Tagg Romney, Jeb Bush and Derek Jeter, because they could not match Mas’s offer, according to Forbes. The Marlins are set to host this year’s MLB All-Star game on Tuesday.

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Shares of Ocular Therapeutix Inc. rallied more than 13% late Monday after the Bedford, Mass., pharmaceutical company said it has amended its new-drug application for its eye drug Dextenza to account for an equipment change. Ocular said it has requested the Food and Drug Administration to consider the submission “a major amendment” and to extend the target action date of July 19 by three months since the company has addressed some of the FDA’s ongoing concerns about the drug’s manufacturing process. The stock ended the regular session down 8.9%.

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Plus-sized women’s apparel retailer Torrid Inc. filed for an initial public offering to raise up to $100 million, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing late Monday. Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, and Jefferies are listed among the underwriters for the offering. Torrid plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “CURV”. In the fiscal year ended Jan. 28, Torrid reported sales of $640.2 million and a loss of $29.1 million. The retailer was spun off in 2015 from Hot Topic, which was taken private by Sycamore Partners back in 2013.

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Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett converted a block of his class A shares into class B shares and donated them to various foundations, the firm said late Monday. Buffett converted 12,500 class A shares into about 18.8 million class B shares, with a current value of $3.17 billion, and donated them to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, the Sherwood Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and the NoVo Foundation. Including the current donation, Buffett has provided more than $27.5 billion in shares since 2006 to these foundations, according to Berkshire Hathaway. After hours, class B shares declined 0.2% to $170, while class A shares were unchanged at $255,400.

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J. C. Penney Co. Inc. said late Monday Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President Edward Record will step down effective Tuesday “to pursue other interests.” Record will remain with the company until Aug. 7 to assist with the transition while a search for his replacement is conducted, the company said in a statement. Chief Accounting Officer and Controller Andrew Drexler will become interim CFO along with his other duties. Record joined the company as CFO in March 2014. Shares of J. C. Penney fell more than 1% in the late session, and ended the regular trading day down 1.5%.

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Adam Symson will become president and chief executive of The E.W. Scripps Co. on Aug. 8, the company said in a statement late Monday. He will replace CEO Rich Boehne, who will continue as Scripps’ chairman. Symson was promoted to chief operating officer in November, overseeing day-to-day operations of the company’s broadcast TV, digital media and radio divisions. Shares of Scripps were flat in late trading, and ended the regular session up 2.1%.

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