Tom Sandell And A New Rollup Company by Stock Pucker
Tom Sandell of Sandell Asset Management is back at it, targeting Viavi Solutions the $1.3 billion market cap network service solutions provider for the telecommunications space.
The company was a small position for Sandell in 2Q – owning 1.4 percent of the company. He increased his stake fourfold and now owns 5.5 percent. The interesting thing is that this is now his second-largest equity holding, behind Bob Evans and ahead of Brookdale Senior Living.
Per Sandell’s letter [here], he has some demands to help get the company back on track, including:
- Refreshing and materially enhancing the quality of Viavi’s Board of Directors;
- Conducting a thorough review of strategic alternatives;
- Retaining an independent financial advisor and operational consulting firm; and
- Identifying a new management team with the experience necessary to maximize the value of the Company’s deferred tax assets, which include its $4 billion to $4.5 billion of federal net operating losses (NOLs).
The big standouts are monetizing its NOLs and a strategic review to get the company sold – in that case the value is $10 to a buyer or $12 if it using its NOLs (effectively becoming a platform company). Sandell cites examples of platform companies as Jarden, Platform Specialty Products, and Nomad Foods Limited (LSE: NHL).
The key, though, is to get a CEO that can Viavi into a platform company – something he thinks he can help with.
