# Monday, August 06, 2007
NuCo2 Inc. (NDAQ:NUCO) shares rose $0.40, or 1.59%, to $25.63 after Shamrock Activist Value Fund disclosed a 5.66% stake in the company and recommended that it consider issuing a $7/share special dividend and institute a regular dividend of $0.25/share. The move caused a late-day rally that continued into after-hours pushing the stock price past $25.90.

Shamrock said that it believes the company's capital structure is sub-optimal and could support a substantial increase in long-term debt without compromising the company's ability to execute its business plan. Specifically, after considering a range of alternatives including, but not limited to, a further share repurchase, special dividend, and regular dividend, we recommend that the company utilize the strength of its balance sheet and strong cash flows to pay a dividend of $7.00 per share and institute an ongoing regular annual dividend of $0.25 per share. Achieving a debt financing package at attractive rates and terms should be achievable over the next 60 days."

In the end, the activist hedge fund feels that if the company believes it can achieve its business plan, they believe shareholders would be best off with a recapitalization of the company as proposed. Finally, Shamrock also requested a meeting with the board to discuss this proposal along with other measures that can be taken to unlock shareholder value. Combined, these factors make NUCO a stock worth watching!

Related Companies
Airgas Inc. (ARG)
Penford Corporation (PENX)
Quaker Chem Corporation (KWR)
Monday, August 06, 2007 9:22:35 PM UTC  #     |  Trackback
Temple-Inland (NYSE:TIN) shares moved up $0.86, or 1.6%, to $54.76 today after the company announced that it would sell its timberland holdings for $2.4 billion and distribute the money to shareholders via a special dividend. The move comes amid an Icahn-led restructuring of the company that many shareholders are hoping can help it unlock value.

The 1.6 million acres of timberland will be sold to Campbell as part of the company's restructuring move that will also include spin-off of its financial services and real estate operations. The moves should help the highly diversified company with branches in financial services, real estate, corrugated packaging and forest products consolidate its operations and focus on its core competencies.

Famous activist, Carl Icahn, holds a 6.7% stake and has been pushing for a sale of the company since the beginning of this year. Shares in the company are up over 18% since he first indicated he was involved and continued to rise before their recent drop. Since then, some other activist investors have taken stakes in the company as many are banking on a restructuring to unlock value for all involved.

The special dividend from this timberland sale will amount to $10.25 per share while the remaining $700 million from the sale will be used to pay down debt. The move will help Icahn and other large shareholders cash out a portion of their stake while they wait on the company to complete their spin-offs of the other organizations. Combined, these factors make TIN a stock worth watching!

Related Companies
USG Corporation (USG)
International Paper Company (IP)

Monday, August 06, 2007 5:27:07 PM UTC  #     |  Trackback
Intel Corporation (NDAQ:INTC) shares moved up marginally after the Financial Times reported that the company plans on entering the high-end cell phone market currently dominated by Blackberry and iPhone. Many are carefully watching this move as yet another large player enters an already crowded cellular chip maker marketplace.

Intel's CEO said that the company plans to create more products to push "internet access, compute capability, small form factors, or high performance, or low power for cost savings, are all necessary ingredients, to build these new classes of machines, whether it's in computer. It is where the handset world is going, or where the world of consumer electronics is going."

Essentially, Intel believes that it can create smaller chips with an extended battery life. The company also said it plans to integrate its WiFi and WiMax technologies as part of the product. Given the company's affiliation with Sprint and Clearwire, the firm will likely challenge large US cellular providers like AT&T and Verizon Wireless. This makes INTC a stock worth watching!

Related Companies
Apple Inc. (AAPL)
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)
Broadcom Inc. (BRCM)
Monday, August 06, 2007 3:50:22 PM UTC  #     |  Trackback