Energy Partners, Ltd. (NYSE:EPL) provided an update on its search for strategic alternatives in an 8K filing with the SEC today. In an attached press release, Chairman and CEO Bachmann said:

"We are committed to continuing our process of exploring all options to maximize stockholder value, including a possible sale of the Company. A number of parties have already signed or have agreed to sign confidentiality agreements, and we are entertaining interest from others. Woodside's ultimatum and disingenuous rhetoric will not deter our Board of Directors from pursuing the best interests of all EPL stockholders.

"Woodside's self-serving behavior is very disappointing. We have not heard a word from them since our Board announced its process to explore strategic alternatives on October 12, 2006, and they have not sought to participate in this process, as many other companies are doing. In addition, Woodside has backtracked on its promise to pass through to EPL stockholders the savings from a reduced Stone termination fee, effectively reducing its original offer." (Read More)

If the company can successfully find another buyer, it could mean a significant premium to today's prices. With "a number of parties" having already signed confidentiality agreements, this buyout possibility may have some merit. This makes EPL a stock definitely worth watching as the company continues to explore its options.

Cheniere Energy Inc. (AMEX:LNG) revealed today in a 13D filing with the SEC that SRM Global Master Fund had taken a 6.5% stake in the company. The filing said that the fund would review their investment on a continuing basis and may engage in discussions with management concerning the business and future plans. The real story here is in SRM Global, however.

SRM Global is a relatively new hedge fund, launched by Jon Wood - who brought in over $2.4 billion for UBS in six years before launching his own fund. This new hedge fund focuses on trading shares of organizations that are merging, capital structure arbitrage (price difference between related corporate securities), and investment in industries and stocks that are not doing so well or are in trouble. Given his incredible track record, any investment by SRM Global makes this stock definitely one worth watching.

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Hillenbrand Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HB) said today in a press release that the company would consider splitting its healthcare and funeral businesses into two seperate publicly traded companies, after having evaluated strategic alternatives for the company.

According to the press release:

"Hillenbrand's Board of Directors and senior leadership recently evaluated a range of strategic alternatives, with input from its financial advisors Citigroup Corporate and Investment Banking and Goldman Sachs Group. These alternatives included the continuation of Hillenbrand's current operating structure, the sale of one or both of its businesses, returning cash to shareholders through an increase in balance sheet leverage, and the spin-off of or split off of one of its businesses. Having reviewed and fully endorsed the operating strategies presented at today's Investor Conference, management and the Board concluded that separating Hillenbrand's current operations into two publicly traded companies merits further, more detailed consideration as a means to position Hillenbrand's market-leading healthcare and funeral services businesses for sustained growth and value creation."

The company also has the full support of the Board as well as outside advisers that the company had hired to investigate the issue. The Chairman of the Board of Directors said:

"Under the leadership of Peter Soderberg, our new CEO, the management team has been working diligently to develop a motivating and achievable plan for growth for its two operating companies. I am pleased to report that the strategy we unveiled today has the enthusiastic support of the Board. Concurrently, the Board and management have been working with outside advisors to explore the alternatives available to enhance shareholder value and best assure achievement of our strategic vision. We believe the Board should undertake further exploration of the merits and mechanisms of a potential separation of the healthcare and funeral services businesses into two publicly traded companies."

Companies that restructure through splitting operations generally see significant gains as independent companies. By focusing on one area instead of many, companies are often able to cut costs and streamline operations while improving revenues through more effective marketing. This is especially true for unrelated businesses that exhibit little or no synergy within the same company. Combined, these factors make this company one to watch closely as the Board continues to investigate the possibility.

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Visteon Corp. (NYSE:VC) is again seeing its stock being accumulated by Pardus Capital. The hedge fund rose its stake in the company to 15.6%, but did not make additional comments about their strategy or plans. See our previous article for more information about Pardus' interest in the company.

In past filings, they noted that they would:

"continue to engage in discussions from time to time with management, the Board of Directors, other shareholders of the Issuer and other relevant parties concerning, among other things, the business, operations, board composition, management, strategy and future plans of the Issuer. In the context of these discussions, the Reporting Persons have raised with the Issuer the possibility of an individual suggested by them joining the board, and have been informed that the Issuer has taken this matter under advisement."

The company continues to struggle after Pardus' last purchase in September after Valeo withdrew its bid for the company. The stock is, however, up over 3% today on the news. This stock is definitely one worth watching as Pardus has a large stake in the company and continues to accumulate shares.

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The Mills Corporation (NYSE:MLS) may be recapitalized with an additional $1.2 billion by Gazit-Globe Ltd, according to a 13D/A filing with the SEC. Many investors are concerned that the company may sell itself at its current prices, which are significantly lower than historical levels. This new recapitalization offer would allocate enough money for the company to rebuild itself and recover some of its lost value. Investors applauded the idea as the stock moved up 14% today on the news.

A letter filed with their 13D/A gave more details:

"Chaim Katzman, Gazit-Globe’s chairman, said his company’s goal is to recapitalize what it views as a struggling Mills Corporation, and that it is prepared to 'invest up to $1.2 billion into Mills' in accordance with the terms outlined in the Schedule 13D that Gazit has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission [seen below].

'It is not a question of whether or not the board must take action to ensure the continuity of Mills in order to restore profitability and leadership in the industry,' said Katzman, 'but rather what kind of action is necessary and appropriate.'

'At this point it is clear to us that an outright sale of the company is not in the best interests of shareholders,' continued Katzman. “We’re urging the Mills’ board of directors in the strongest terms possible to consider our recapitalization proposal.'

'We believe Mills can and should be rebuilt, and not sold,' said Katzman, who added that his recent discussions with Mills leadership left him concerned that the company might elect to simply sell itself at a distressed price. 'We have helped build and rebuild companies over the years. We know how to take companies such as this and re-energize them so that maximum shareholder value is achieved.'" (Read More)

In an earlier filing, they detailed the capitalization amounts and other considerations:

"As you are aware, we are also a significant stockholder in the Company with an approximate 4.9% [now 9%] ownership interest. Due to our ownership position, we are not in a position at this stage in the process to execute the confidentiality agreement the Company has circulated as a precondition to obtaining material non-public information. Rather, we strongly encourage the Company to make all relevant financial and other information public as soon as possible so that we, and other potential bidders who may have similar issues to ours, may participate in the bidding process and enhance stockholder opportunities to achieve the best value for the Company.

Based upon our extensive review of the currently available public information, and, as discussed below, our in-depth property analysis, we are prepared to recapitalize the Company by investing new capital in the form of common stock. The cash amount would be up to $1.2 billion at a price per share of $24.50. This new common stock would be classified as Series B and would entitle Gazit to a majority of the seats on the Company’s board. The new common stock would also be convertible into the currently outstanding series of common stock. This new investment would be in addition to our current holdings of the Company's common stock." (Read More)

This is definitely a stock to keep an eye on as this situation unfolds. If Gazit-Globe is successful in recapitalizing the company and rebuilding shareholder value it could mean a significant return in the medium-term.

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USI Holdings Corporation (NDAQ:USIH) announced in an 8K filing with the SEC yesterday after the bell that they received a buyout offer from a private equity firm. The company gave no details as to the buyout price; however, they stated that they would review the offer. According to the associated press release:

"USI Holdings Corporation today announced that in response to an indication of interest received from a private equity firm in acquiring all of the outstanding common stock of the Company, the Board of Directors of the Company has formed a Special Committee consisting of outside directors to review the proposal and consider all of the Company's options. Lazard Frères & Co. LLC and Dewey Ballantine LLP have been engaged by the Special Committee to assist in its review. No assurance can be given that any transaction will be entered into or consummated." (Read More)

Investors pushed the stock up 7% in today's trading on the news. The company is currently undervalued, trading at a 20% discount to enterprise value with a PEG ratio of only 0.91. The company also has healthy profit margins and an excellent track record. This is definitely a stock to watch as the buyout premium cuold easily end up being higher than the 7% jump we've seen so far today.

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Clear Channel Communications, Inc. (NYSE:CCU)
Press Release by the Company
The company confirmed today that its Board of Directors is evaluating various strategic alternatives to enhance shareholder value. The company has retained Goldman, Sachs & Co. as its financial advisor in connection with its evaluations. The stock moved up 6% after-hours today on the news, despite the fact that the Company said it "does not intend to comment further publicly with respect to the exploration of strategic alternatives unless a specific transaction is approved by its Board."

ImClone Systems, Inc. (NDAQ:IMCL)
8K Filing by the Company
After two months of fighting, Carl Icahn has finally succeeded in taking over the company in a "bloodless coup", with the help of some nice severance packages. Investors applauded the new management as the stock rose over 5% in today's trading. Icahn said in a prepared statement: "My immediate priorities as chairman are to investigate the reasons why the relationship between ImClone Systems and its partner, Bristol-Myers Squibb, has seriously deteriorated over the past few years and to act expeditiously to find a qualified CEO with biotechnology experience."

Integral Systems, Inc. (NDAQ:ISYS)
8K Filing by the Company
According to the filing, "The Company’s efforts to date in connection with exploring strategic alternatives have focused principally on a possible sale of the Company. Because discussions with potential interested parties have to date not resulted in any proposal, agreement or transaction involving a sale of the Company, the Board of Directors of the Company has, after consultation with the Company’s outside financial advisors, decided to explore and evaluate other strategic alternatives to maximize stockholder value while continuing to explore and evaluate a possible sale of the Company."

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. (NYSE:MSO) moved higher today by 4% after CNBC mentioned that the company could become a private buyout target. Whether or not this rumor could be substanciated is the cause of much debate on the street. Many argue that by going private Martha Stewart would be able to again take a position as head of the company after being banned by the SEC after her insider trading fiasco. Moreover, the company is slowly beginning to improve their bottom line. However skeptics are quick to point out that there are many risks that still exist, and it would not be prudent for management to consider such a transaction while these remain on the table. Whether or not these rumors turn out to be true remains to be seen; however, this is a good stock to keep on the radar incase such a transaction ever materializes.

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The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GPS) revealed today in a Form 4 filing with the SEC that Chairman Robert Fisher sold one million shares on October 19th and 20th at prices averaging $19.45. Although the majority of this sale was by trusts, Fisher did personally sell over 250,000 shares. This sale comes as Gap recently moved higher after it announced that it would launch on online shoe store to compete with Zappos.com, called Piperlime. Many insist that Piperlime does not have a chance at competing with Zappos or other online shoe stores, and will actually lose money as a result of their liberal shipping and return policies. Whether the sale of shares is simply a diversification move or a hint to future problems with Piperlime or other areas of the company remains to be seen.

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Douglas Emmett, Inc. (NYSE:DEI) began trading on the NYSE today after adding shares and pricing itself on the upper end of its $19 to $21 range. According to their S-11 filing with the SEC:

"We are one of the largest owners and operators of high-quality office and multifamily properties in Los Angeles County, California and have a growing presence in Honolulu, Hawaii. Our presence in Los Angeles and Honolulu is the result of a consistent and focused strategy of identifying submarkets that are supply constrained, have high barriers to entry and exhibit strong economic characteristics such as population and job growth and a diverse economic base. In our office portfolio, we focus primarily on owning and acquiring a substantial share of top-tier office properties within these submarkets and which are located near high-end executive housing and key lifestyle amenities. In our multifamily portfolio, we focus primarily on owning and acquiring select properties at premier locations within these same submarkets. We believe our strategy generally allows us to achieve higher than market-average rents and occupancy levels, while also creating operating efficiencies." (Read More)

This IPO comes as the REITs are seeing renewed strength in commercial real estate while the overall housing sector continues to suffer with purchasing slowdowns and higher interest rates. DEI is only the fourth company to raise over $1 billion this year through an IPO, following Mastercard, SAIC, and Warner Chilcott. This stock is definitely one to watch as the commercial real estate market continues to make inroads.