Out Fox The $treet

With the spin-off from Chesapeake Energy ( NYSE: CHK     ) finally here, investors can start watching Seventy Seven Energy ( NYSE: SSE     ). The oilfield services firm has had limited publicity typical of spin-offs, providing the opportunity for an attractive valuation. One important thing investors need to understand about spin-offs is that the new companies typically come out in disarray. The parent company wouldn't typically perform the split up if it weren't for a desire to unload an underperforming unit, or at least one viewed as undervalued. In the case of Chesapeake Energy, the natural gas exploration and production firm was originally hoping to sell the company for several billion to help reduce debt at the corporate level. The spin-off was the last option. Read the full article here . Disclosure: No positions mentioned. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

The transformation of Sears Holdings ( NASDAQ: SHLD     ) continues to progress with the recent news that the spin off of Lands' End will occur on April 4. The company will trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "LE." The move has long been speculated by investors who have been awaiting Sears Holdings' divestment of non-core retail operations stuck within the giant conglomerate. Based on Lands' End's recent results, it appears that this move isn't happening soon enough. While many investors fret over Sears unloading a profitable business unit, the stalled growth at Lands' End suggests the retailer needs to regain its own identity and capital structure to prosper. Read the full article here . Disclosure: Long SHLD. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

In a move long expected, Sears Holdings ( NASDAQ: SHLD     ) announced plans to go forward with a spin-off of Lands' End. While a timeline wasn't provided, the announcement comes after a chaotic week for the stock. News of ESL distributing shares to investors and speculation that J.C. Penny Company ( NYSE: JCP     ) is taking back market share hit the stock hard this past week. With Sears Holdings down nearly $20, or roughly 30%, in a few weeks, it is good for long-term investors to take stock of the investment thesis. The important part to be considered is whether these transactions alter the previous investment thesis or whether the moves are only noise that impacts the fringes of any decision. The market has reacted with fear of a cash crunch, but is this fear logical? Read the full article here . Disclosure: Long SHLD. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

After successful splits of Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC ) and AOL (NYSE: AOL ) in 2009, Time Warner (NYSE: TWX ) is attempting another spin-off. This time the company hopes to separate the struggling magazine producer, Time, Inc. Will this spin be as successful? Time Warner is a global leader in media and entertainment with businesses in television networks, film and TV entertainment and publishing. Time, Inc. is a leading magazine producer more » Disclosure: Long TWX. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

This is the third part of a series on Sears Holdings (SHLD) with the focus of this part on the pending spin-offs of the Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores (SHOS) and Sears Canada (SCC.TO) . One of the opportunities of creating value for the Sears shareholders is to unload some of the assets buried on the balance sheet. How many investors that owned the stock last year even knew about the Orchard Supply Hardware Stores (OSH) stores or these spin-off properties? All of these assets have been buried and under appreciated for a long time. As mentioned, this is the third part of a series. Previously, the first part focused on the highlights of Q2 earnings while the second part focused on the case study prepared by Bruce Berkowitz and Fairholme Funds. Read the full article at Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: Long SHLD. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

The major difference between an IPO and a spin-off is that one gets major media 'spin', while the other can be vastly ignored. The lack of a major financial transaction-- and hence, fees-- tends to reduce the push by investment houses. Just by viewing articles posted on this very website one can quickly derive that the general public has less interests in spin-offs versus IPOs, to their own detriment. This provides a major advantage to alert investors. Outside the major spin-offs, like the upcoming ones at Kraft (KFT) and ConnocoPhillips (COP), the others fall under the radar by the investing community. Historically, spin-offs have provided solid returns for savvy investors. This is partly due to investors ignoring or not understanding the new security, but also because spin-offs allow both the parent and the spun off company to thrive, with each management team free to focus on its direct business. A few interesting spin-offs took place around year-end to little or no fanfare....

Interesting news from Sears Holdings (SHLD) after the close today. SHLD announced plans to spin-off the 80% controlling interest they have in Orchard Supply Hardware to existing shareholders. Must admit I didn't even remember that SHLD owned this asset. This is interesting as shareholders have been waiting for SHLD to unload the numerous assets they have trapped in the losing retail concepts of Sears and Kmart. Its also compelling that they've decided to spin the assets out instead of outright selling the company and possibly using the cash to repurchase more stock. A lot of shareholders have suggested that SHLD should spin off the real estate assets in order to unlock value. Possibly this is the start of things to come. According to the PR, Orchard Supply Hardware has 89 full service hardware stores in California which also explains why I have no knowledge of the stores as well. The news is limited at this point so the flow over the next few months will be interesting. Not...