Spinoffs: Looking For Value

Spinoffs [buffett] Investing in and around spinoffs has been an extremely lucrative endeavor over the past decade, according to the Nov. 30 issue of Value Investor Insight. Indeed, since the end of 2002, Bloomberg has maintained a U.S. Spin-Off Index, which tracks the share prices of newly spun-off companies with market capitalizations of more than $1 billion for three years after they begin trading. Over the near 13-year period tracked, Bloomberg’s U.S. Spin-Off Index has risen 557%, compared to a return of 137% for the S&P 500. Moreover, spinoff activity is close to an all-time high as companies, spurred on by activists, try to unlock value for…