KKR may engineer a takeover

Article Excerpt

US FOODS HOLDING CORP. $20 is a hold. The company (New York symbol USFD; Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 220.3 million; Market cap: $4.4 billion; No dividend paid; Takeover Target Rating: Medium; www.usfoods.com) is one of the largest foodservice distributors in the U.S. It services more than 300,000 restaurants and foodservice businesses from 70 locations across the country. The company recently sold $500 million of convertible preferred shares to private equity firm KKR & Co. ( New York symbol KKR). The preferred shares pay 7% interest; the first year’s dividends are paid in stock, and then cash or shares thereafter. KKR also has the option to convert its holding at any time into common stock at a conversion price of $21.50 a share. If fully converted, KKR would own 9.6% of the company. The cash from the share sale will help US Foods cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced restaurants to temporarily close. The shutdown of schools and low occupancy levels at hotels have also hurt…