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Strategies & Market Trends : Speculating in Takeover Targets -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: richardred who wrote (502)	11/27/2004 10:04:01 AM
From: Glenn Petersen	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 7259

Meshing the operations of Kmart and Sears is not going to be easy. At least a two or three year job. Business Week thinks that Saks may attract a suitor. businessweek.com DECEMBER 6, 2004 INSIDE WALL STREET By Gene G. Marcial A Beautiful Buy At Saks? The Kmart (KMRT )-Sears (S ) deal has reignited interest in retail: One stock that several pros are high on -- but that the Street doesn't care about -- is Saks (SKS ), operator of some 350 luxury and traditional department stores. The stock has been hammered since April, when it nearly hit 18; it's now at 13.39. Deutsche Bank (DB ) tags it a "sell," Morgan Stanley "underweight," and Merrill Lynch and others "neutral." Disappointing sales and earnings have prompted analysts to lower estimates. But Mark Boyar of Boyar Asset Management, which owns shares, is upbeat: "Saks is an example of undervalued real estate," he says. Saks owns an unusually high portion of its stores -- 40% of gross square footage -- including its flagship Saks Fifth Avenue. He "conservatively" values Saks-owned properties at $3.3 billion, or $23.50 a share net of debt. But even without the real estate, Saks is attractive, he says. It sells 20% below book value and close to its 52-week low of 11.61, down from a high of 44.43 in 1999. Still, Saks "hasn't lived up to its potential," says Boyar. He now sees it as a turnaround. But if Saks stock continues to weaken, it will attract a suitor more interested in real estate than retailing, he says. Todd Slater of Lazard, who also likes Saks, expects it to earn 67 cents a share in fiscal 2005 ending Jan. 30 and 99 cents in 2006, vs. 58 cents in 2004. Note: Unless otherwise noted, neither the sources cited in Inside Wall Street nor their firms hold positions in the stocks under discussion. Similarly, they have no investment banking or other financial relationships with them.

To: richardred who wrote (502)	2/15/2005 12:12:18 PM
From: richardred	Respond to of 7259

It might not be over! Sears stock rises on talk of possible rival bid Tue Feb 15, 2005 11:15 AM ET NEW YORK, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Shares of Sears, Roebuck and Co. (S.N: Quote, Profile, Research) , which has agreed to a buyout by Kmart Holdings Corp. (KMRT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) , on Tuesday continued to climb above the purchase price as investors speculated a rival bid might be in the works. In morning New York Stock Exchange trade, the stock was up 24 cents at $52.13, nearly 3 percent above the $50.64-per-share value of the deal with Kmart. Sears shares had hit a high of $52.60 earlier in the day. Investors have speculated since the agreement was announced in November that Vornado Realty Trust (VNO.N: Quote, Profile, Research) , a New York-based real estate investment firm, might cobble together a rival bid. Shortly before Kmart's announcement, Vornado said it had purchased a 4.3 percent stake in Sears. It then said in January it had filed to raise up to $3 billion by periodically selling debt, common shares, preferred shares and depository shares. Retail trade journal Women's Wear Daily reported on Tuesday that Vornado may be teaming up with Target Corp. (TGT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) to launch a rival bid for Sears. The journal, citing sources from the real estate and financial communities, said Vornado has held preliminary talks with a number of potential partners about a bid. "It's hard to know what to do with these rumors," said a merger arbitrager who requested anonymity. "Everyone's betting on a higher bid, but the sourcing in the stories that run so far is circumspect." A Vornado spokeswoman said the company does not comment on rumors. A Sears spokesman also declined to comment. A representative from Target was not immediately available for comment. The current deal between Sears and Kmart has a value of roughly $10.4 billion. yahoo.reuters.com