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Non-Tech : SPIN-OFFS "secret hiding places of stock market profits" -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Stewart Whitman who wrote (322)	6/29/1999 10:29:00 AM
From: marketmover	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1185

Stewart -- Thanks for pointing out ESSF Read the S-4/A. The spinoff is worth a minimum of $1.50 ($6) and potentially a lot more. They were barely profitable in 1998 (eps of 0.55 pro forma, 1.5% net margin). I have a call in to them to see what 1999 will look like. 1stQ 1999 revenues were up 26% with growth by acquisitions. Could be a nice roll-up story in a hot housing market!

To: Stewart Whitman who wrote (322)	6/29/1999 1:52:00 PM
From: Bob Rudd	Respond to of 1185

Stewart: I used RAL as an example [A friend had brought it up] to clarify my understanding of the general tendency of the base biz rising and the spinoff falling and then rising after a spin. JCP presents me with what psychologists call an approach-avoidance conflict. With a price/sales of .3 extracting Eckard, JCP looks good relative to group PS 1.2 and is positioned between Sears @ .43 and K Mart @ .25 [But Kmarts exposure of Builder square leases makes it no deal] Net, it's moderately attractive from valuation perspective at first glance. The avoidance aspect is that non-focused middle ground retailers like Sears and JCP are losing ground to discounters like Walmart as well as Kohls, Target and high-enders like Macy's. cbs.marketwatch.com Internet retailing is also causing many investors in retail to discount the shares of all but the strongest performers. Appreciate your comments and I'll take a close look at JCP, but at the moment remain conflicted. Be well, bob