Clearwire (NASDAQ: CLWR ) postponed today's special stockholders' meeting in response to a revised buyout offer from Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S ) that increases the bid by $0.43 per share, or about 14.5%.
Stockholders were to vote at today's meeting on whether Clearwire should allow Sprint to buy the 50% of the company it does not already own. Sprint's new offer of $3.40 a share attempts to assuage those stockholders who were not happy with Sprint's original $2.97-a-share offer.
Chief among the original proposal's critics has been Crest Financial, the largest minority shareholder with 8.2% of Clearwire shares. Crest had sent letters to shareholders urging them to vote against Sprint's first offer.
Crest wants Clearwire to hold out for either a higher bid from Sprint, or from another potential suitor, such as DISH Network or the Japanese telecom SoftBank.
Top Gas Utility Companies For 2015: ARC Document Solutions Inc (ARC)
ARC Document Solutions, Inc., formerly American Reprographics Company, provides specialized document solutions to businesses of all types, with a focus on the non-residential segment of the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry. The Company offers reprographic services, as well as managed print services, digital color printing, and document management technology products and services. It also has operations in Canada, China, India and the United Kingdom. It is a document solutions company serving the AEC industry that provides document management services through a combination of local service facilities in more than 40 states, 12 digital color service centers, online channels, including Web-based applications, and software. The Company conducts its operations through a wholly owned subsidiary, American Reprographics Company, L.L.C. and its subsidiaries.
The Company offers three general categories of service: Reprographics Services, Facilities Management, and Equipment and Supplies. Reprographics Services sales include operational activities, such as document management services, document logistics, large- and small-format print-on-demand services in color and black and white, and digital document management services. Facilities Management sales are primarily composed of onsite services, where it provides document production equipment, technology solutions and sometimes staff to its customers in their offices. These services include both traditional reprographics services focused on large-format printing, as well as managed print services (MPS). Under an MPS contract, it supplies, maintains and manages a customer�� entire print networks, including office printing equipment, on an outsourced basis. Equipment and Supplies sales involve the resale of printing and imaging equipment and supplies from a variety of suppliers.
As of December 31, 2011, the Company operated 220 reprographics service centers, of which 199 were in the United States, seven were in ! Canada, 11 were in China, two were in India and one in London, England. It also occupied a technology center in Silicon Valley, California, a software programming facility in Kolkata, India, as well as other facilities, including its offices located in Walnut Creek, California. The Company�� products and services are available from any of ARC�� 220 service centers worldwide. The Company supplies reprographics services to project architects, engineers, general contractors and others. In addition to the AEC industry, ARS also provides document management and printing services to the retail, aerospace, technology, entertainment, and healthcare industries, among others.
The Company competes with Oce, Xerox, Canon, Konica Minolta, Ricoh and Sharp.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Seth Jayson]
Calling all cash flows
When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on ARC Document Solutions (NYSE: ARC ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.
Best Japanese Stocks To Watch Right Now: ABB Ltd(ABB)
ABB Ltd. provides power and automation technologies for utility and industrial customers worldwide. The company?s Power Products division manufactures and sells high- and medium-voltage switchgear and apparatus, circuit breakers, power and distribution transformers, and sensors. ABB?s Power Systems division provides integrated power and automation solutions for power generation plants; alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) transmission systems; and flexible alternating current systems technologies. It also offers land and submarine cables, as well as accessories and services for medium- to high-voltage AC and DC systems; air- and gas-insulated substations; and network management solutions to help manage power networks. In addition, this division offers support agreements and retrofits to spare parts, service, consulting, and training; and undertakes analyses and design of new transmission and distribution systems. The company?s Discrete Automation and Motion div ision manufactures and sells motors, generators, variable speed drives, programmable logic controllers, rectifiers, excitation systems, robotics, and related services for a range of applications in factory automation, process industries, and utilities. Its Low Voltage Products division provides protection, control, and measurement for electrical installations, enclosures, switchboards, electronics, and electromechanical devices for industrial machines, plants, and related services. It also makes building control systems for home and building automation. The company?s Process Automation division offers integrated process control and instrumentation systems, plant electrification systems, information management systems, and industry-specific application knowledge for industries, such as pulp and paper, minerals and mining, metals, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, oil and gas, turbocharging, power, and marine. ABB Ltd. was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerla nd.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Travis Hoium]
ABB (NYSE: ABB ) is spending $1 billion to buy Power-One (NASDAQ: PWER.DL ) , a major player in solar inverters. This is the latest move by a large energy company to buy into solar following Total (NYSE: TOT ) and General Electric (NYSE: GE ) . Will we see more solar buyouts? Erin Miller sat down with Fool contributor Travis Hoium to find out.�
Best Japanese Stocks To Watch Right Now: Hanesbrands Inc. (HBI)
Hanesbrands Inc., a consumer goods company, engages in the design, manufacture, sourcing, and sale of apparel essentials in the United States and internationally. Its product portfolio includes T-shirts, bras, panties, men?s underwear, kids? underwear, casualwear, activewear, socks, and hosiery. The company offers its products under the brand names of Hanes, Champion, Playtex, Bali, L?eggs, Just My Size, barely there, Wonderbra, Stedman, Outer Banks, Zorba, Rinbros, and Duofold. Hanesbrands also licenses its Champion name for collegiate apparel and footwear. The company sells its products through various distribution channels, which include mass merchants, national chains and department stores, direct to Consumer, and other retail channels, such as embellishers, specialty retailers, and sporting goods stores. As of January 2, 2010, it operated 228 outlet stores. The company is headquartered in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Hanesbrands Inc. operates independently of Sara L ee Corp. as of September 5, 2006.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Geoff Gannon] en are Wal-Mart, Target, the dollar stores, etc.
And the end user (consumer) is really the female head of the household. This is complicated somewhat in almost all situations by the possibility ��as we have with Hanes ��where the user is not always the purchaser. Plenty of underwear purchases are not made by the person who will use the product. But they are obviously an influencer of the purchase decision.
The strongest example of this is kids' toys. Kids do not buy toys. Parents buy toys. But kids influence the parents.
For many companies, sales are first made to distributors, then go from distributors to retailers, then from retailers to households. And even within the household the buyer may not be the user.
It is helpful to make these distinctions. And not to be overly technical about the way accounting defines customers, etc.
For example, a key group to consider with Western Union is agents. The way Western Union's statements are prepared, however, treat agents simply as an expense line with their revenue belonging to Western Union. The reality is more complicated. Western Union's financial statements appear to have a ton of variable costs in them. But this is really all just agent expense. The business is in reality a very fixed-cost business. Once an agent is in place an additional customer of that agent adds to the bottom line of both the agent and Western Union to a very great extent relative to the fees that customer pays. In other words, marginal revenue turns into marginal profit very easily.
When considering investing in a company like Western Union, you have to think about both agents and customers. It would be wrong to focus only on customers. The agents are a key part of the business. In many ways, they are the best chance of having a competitive advantage. So it is Western Union's job to attract both agents and customers.
That is the kind of thing Warren Buffett would intuitively understand and focus
- [By Richard Moroney]
When HanesBrands (HBI) initiated a quarterly dividend in April, the underwear maker said the move reflected its debt-reduction progress, cash-flow growth, and margin-improvement prospects.
- [By Stoyan Bojinov]
Goldman Sachs announced on Tuesday that it was resuming coverage of the North Carolina-based apparel company, Hanesbrands Inc. (HBI).
Taposh Bari, an analyst with the firm, commented about how Hanesbrands is the best performing stock in its universe, gaining a stellar 70% YTD compared to S&P 500′s gains of 20%. Bari cited a number of operational improvements that the company has undertaken, although he went onto to warn that, “HBI appears to have become a defensive stock, evidenced by its expanded multiple, as investors reward its macroindependent upward EPS revisions. If our observation is accurate, HBI’s multiple could be at risk if industry conditions improve.” As such, Goldman Sachs has the stock rated at “Neutral” with a price target of $66 a share.
Hanesbrands shares traded lower on Tuesday, shedding 0.74% on the day. The stock is up nearly 70% YTD.
Best Japanese Stocks To Watch Right Now: Bayer AG (BAYRY)
Bayer AG is a management holding company. The Company�� business operations are organized into three subgroups: HealthCare, CropScience and MaterialScience, supported by the service companies Bayer Business Services, Bayer Technology Services and Currenta. Bayer HealthCare is involved in the research, development and manufacture of health products for people and animals. Bayer CropScience is engaged in the crop protection and non-agricultural pest control. Bayer MaterialScience supplies polymers, and develops solution for a range of applications. In November 2009, Bayer MaterialScience acquired the polymer coatings business from Lombard Medical Technologies PLC. On November 2, 2009, it acquired Athenix Corporation. On October 1, 2009, it acquired two dermatology product lines from SkinMedica, Inc., Carlsbad, California, United States. On June 25, 2009, it acquired the remaining 10% interest in Bayer Polymers (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., China. In May 2009, it acquired the remaining 49% interest in Berlimed, s.a., Spain, from Juste s.a. Quimica Farmac茅utica (Juste), and in return sold its 51% interest of Justesa Imagen, s.a., Spain, to Juste. In May 2009, it also sold the Thermoplastics Testing Center, Krefeld, Germany, to Underwriters Laboratories Inc. In March 2010, the Company announced that its Bayer MaterialScience LLC has acquired Artificial Muscle, Inc, a company active in electroactive polymers for the consumer electronics industry.
Bayer HealthCare
The Company researches, develops, manufactures pharmaceutical and medical products. Bayer HealthCare operates in four operating divisions: Animal Health, which is engaged in manufacture of veterinary medicines and grooming products; Bayer Schering Pharma, which is engaged in manufacture of prescription medicines; Consumer Care, which is engaged in the manufacture of over-the-counter medicines and dietary supplements, and Medical Care, which is engaged in manufacture of blood glucose monitoring devices and contrast agent injecti! on systems. Its products for farm animals include Baytril. Its products for companion animals include Advantage/Advantix and Baytril. Its drug discovery in the pharmaceuticals segment focuses on the areas of cardiology, oncology,
women�� healthcare and diagnostic imaging.
Bayer CropScience
CropScience maintains a global network of research and development facilities. In the Crop Protection segment it identifies and develops safe and economically sustainable insecticides, fungicides and herbicides and carries its research projects in areas, such as plant health or stress tolerance. As of December 31, 2009, its active ingredient pipeline of Crop Protection contained 20 development projects, of which 10 was at an advanced stage and 10 at an early stage of development, and an additional 45 projects was undergoing early-stage research. Its operations are structured into six business operations units: four regional Crop Protection units plus the Environmental Science and BioScience units. Its insecticides include Confidor/ Admire, Calypso, Decis, Temik and Oberon. Its fungicides include Antracol, Fandango, Flint/Stratego/Sphere/Twist, Folicur and Previcur Energy. Its herbicides include Atlantis, Basta, Betanal, Fenikan, Hoestar, Husar, MaisTer, Puma. Its seed treatment products include Bariton, Gaucho, Lamarador, Poncho and Raxil.
Bayer MaterialScience
The Company supplies materials, such as polycarbonates and polyurethanes and system solutions for a range of everyday uses. It operates in three business units: Polyurethanes, Polycarbonates, and Coatings, Adhesives and Specialties. Its Coatings, Adhesives, Specialties producst include Desmodur, Bayhydur, Dispercoll and Artwalk. Its Polycarbonates include Makrolon, Makrofol / Bayfol, Fantasia and Bayblend. Its Polyurethanes include Multitec, Baydur, Bayflex, Baypreg and Vulkollan. Its Thermoplastic Polyurethanes include Desmopan / Texin.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Dan Carroll]
It was a better week for German stocks outside the financial sphere.�German chemical and pharmaceutical maker Bayer (NASDAQOTH: BAYRY ) rose 0.8% after it received good news from a late-stage trial of its riociguat therapy for treating high blood pressure. Bayer predicts the drug could hit peak sales of nearly $650 million, and the firm has already submitted it to European and American regulators for approval.
- [By Dan Carroll]
If investors want to find the best German stocks, they should look for the most global firms. Take Bayer (NASDAQOTH: BAYRY ) , for example. The German chemical and pharmaceutical maker has pivoted toward globalization in order to counteract Europe's crunch, which has slammed hospital budgets and health care spending. Bayer recently picked up a majority stake in California-based birth-control maker Conceptus -- a buy that capitalizes on Bayer's own birth control business -- and the firm's North American business has surged recently, posting a 17% revenue gain in 2012. Meanwhile, Bayer's European sales flattened last year. Geographic diversity will win the day for Germany's top stocks, and Bayer's shares have pulled in double-digit gains year-to-date.
Best Japanese Stocks To Watch Right Now: Discovery Communications Inc(DISCA)
Discovery Communications, Inc. operates as a non fiction media and entertainment company worldwide. The company provides original and purchased programming across various distribution platforms. Its content covers science, exploration, survival, natural history, sustainability of the environment, technology, docu-series, anthropology, paleontology, history, space, archaeology, health and wellness, engineering, adventure, lifestyles, forensics, civilization, and current events. The company owns and operates nine national television networks in the United States, including Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Science Channel, Investigation Discovery, Military Channel, Planet Green, Discovery Fit & Health, and Velocity. Discovery Communications also has interests in Oprah Winfrey Network, a pay-television network and Web site; The Hub that features original programming, game shows, and live-action series and specials; and 3net, a three-dimensional network. In addition, it o ffers network branded Web sites, and mobile and video-on-demand services; and distributes various national and pan-regional television networks. Further, the company develops and sells curriculum-based products and services to public and private K-12 schools, such as access to an online VOD service that includes curriculum-based tools, professional development services, and student assessment and publication of hardcopy curriculum-based content; and postproduction audio services to motion picture studios, independent producers, broadcast networks, cable channels, advertising agencies, and interactive producers. As of December 31, 2011, it operated approximately 150 distribution feeds in 40 languages. The company is headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Harold L. Vogel]
*Includes AMC (AMCX), Cablevision (CVC), Charter, Comcast Cable (CMCSA) and networks, Discovery (DISCA), Disney (DIS) cable networks, Time Warner Cable (TWC) and cable networks, Viacom (VIAB) networks.
Best Japanese Stocks To Watch Right Now: Arrow Financial Corporation (AROW)
Arrow Financial Corporation operates as the holding company for Glens Falls National Bank and Trust Company, and Saratoga National Bank and Trust Company that offer various commercial and consumer banking, and financial products in the United States. The company offers various deposit products, which include demand deposits, savings, NOW, and money market deposits. It engages in a range of lending activities, including commercial and industrial lending primarily to small and midsized companies; mortgage lending for residential and commercial properties; and consumer installment and home equity financing. Arrow Financial Corporation maintains an indirect lending program through sponsorship of automobile dealer programs under which, it purchases dealer paper primarily from dealers that meet pre-established specifications. The company, through its trust operations, provides retirement planning, trust, and estate administration services for individuals, pension, and profit-sha ring; and employee benefit plan administration for corporations. In addition, it holds an insurance agency that specializes in selling and servicing group health care policies; operates as an investment adviser that advises the company?s proprietary mutual funds; provides administrative and recordkeeping services for complex retirement plans; and holds a real estate investment trust. The company operates in Warren, Washington, Saratoga, Essex, and Clinton counties and surrounding areas. It owns 28 branch offices and leases 6 offices. The company was founded in 1851 and is headquartered in Glens Falls, New York.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Duprey]
Flying straight as an arrow, multi-bank holding company�Arrow Financial� (NASDAQ: AROW ) �said yesterday it�will pay a�regular quarterly dividend�of $0.25 per share on June 14 to the holders of record at the close of business on June 3. This is the same pay it has made quarter in, quarter out for the last five years.�
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