Two ways spinoffs benefit investors

Article Excerpt

Spinoffs pay off in key ways: they let businesses better focus on their main operations, and they open the door to possible takeovers. Here are two recent examples. CRANE HOLDINGS CO. $88 is a buy. The company (New York symbol CR; Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 56.1 million; Market cap: $4.9 billion; Dividend yield: 2.1%; Takeover Target Rating: Medium; www.craneco.com) makes and distributes products for the construction, aerospace, defence, and other industries. Those products include pumps, valves and other fluid control devices; vending machines; fiberglass reinforced panels; and aircraft brake systems. The company operates three business segments: Payment & Merchandising Technologies; Process Flow Technologies; and Aerospace & Electronics. Crane now plans to split into two separate publicly traded companies in early 2023. The separation will see the company’s Aerospace & Electronics, and Process Flow Technologies operate under the Crane Co. name, while the Payments & Technologies business will be renamed Crane NXT. After the separation, Crane Co. will include businesses that generated about $1.9 billion in revenue…