Cendant Board of Directors Approves Simultaneous Spin-Offs of Realogy Corporation and Wyndham Worldwide Corporation
14 July 2006 - 6:44AM
PR Newswire (US)
Cendant Stockholders to Receive Dividend of Realogy and Wyndham
Worldwide Shares on July 31, 2006 NEW YORK, July 13
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cendant Corporation (NYSE:CD) announced
today that its Board of Directors has formally approved the spin-
offs of its real estate services and hospitality services
(including timeshare resorts) businesses through the distribution
of 100% of the common stock of its Realogy Corporation and Wyndham
Worldwide Corporation subsidiaries to stockholders of Cendant
Corporation. The distributions are expected to occur after the
close of business on July 31, 2006 to Cendant stockholders of
record as of the close of business on July 21, 2006. Cendant will
distribute one share of Realogy common stock for every four shares
of Cendant common stock outstanding as of the record date, and one
share of Wyndham Worldwide common stock for every five shares of
Cendant common stock outstanding as of the record date. Fractional
shares of Realogy or Wyndham Worldwide common stock will not be
distributed and any Cendant stockholder entitled to receive a
fractional share will instead receive a cash payment. The
distributions have been structured to qualify as tax-free stock
dividends to Cendant stockholders for U.S. federal income tax
purposes. Cash received in lieu of fractional shares, however, will
be taxable. Cendant currently has approximately 1.0 billion shares
outstanding. Based on the distribution ratio, approximately 250
million shares of Realogy common stock and approximately 200
million shares of Wyndham Worldwide common stock will be
distributed to Cendant stockholders. In addition, Cendant intends
to submit several proposals at its annual stockholders meeting
scheduled for August 29, 2006, including one to change Cendant's
name to Avis Budget Group, Inc. and another to authorize a 1-for-10
reverse stock split of Cendant's common stock to reduce the number
of Cendant shares outstanding to approximately 100 million. As
announced on June 30, 2006, Cendant entered into a definitive
agreement to sell its Travelport subsidiary to The Blackstone Group
and confirmed that it will use the net proceeds from such sale
(after taxes, fees and expenses and retirement of Travelport's
borrowings) to reduce the indebtedness allocated to Realogy and
Wyndham Worldwide. Based on the expected amount of proceeds from
the Travelport sale, it is currently estimated that Realogy's debt
level will be reduced from $2,225 million at the time of its
separation from Cendant to approximately $750 million upon receipt
of its share of Travelport proceeds and that Wyndham Worldwide's
debt level will be reduced from $1,360 million at the time of its
separation from Cendant to approximately $600 million after the
receipt of its share of Travelport proceeds. Closing is subject to
satisfaction of customary conditions and is expected to occur in
August 2006. Because Cendant common stock will continue to trade
"regular-way" (inclusive of the Realogy and Wyndham Worldwide
distributions) on the New York Stock Exchange (the "NYSE") through
the distribution date, any holder of Cendant common stock who sells
shares prior to the close of business on July 31, 2006 will also be
selling the related entitlement to receive shares of Realogy or
Wyndham Worldwide common stock in respect of such shares. Investors
are encouraged to consult with their financial advisors regarding
the specific implications of selling Cendant common stock before
the distribution date. Realogy and Wyndham Worldwide have filed
applications to list their common stock on the NYSE under the
symbols "H" and "WYN," respectively. The Company expects that "when
issued" public markets for Realogy and Wyndham Worldwide common
stock will develop on or about two business days prior to the
record date. No action is required by Cendant stockholders to
receive their Realogy or Wyndham Worldwide common stock. Cendant
stockholders who hold Cendant common stock as of the record date
will receive a book-entry account statement reflecting their
ownership of Realogy and Wyndham Worldwide common stock or their
brokerage account will be credited for the shares. Shortly after
July 21, 2006, Cendant will mail Information Statements to its
stockholders of record as of the close of business on the record
date. The Information Statements will include information regarding
the distributions and the business and management of Realogy
Corporation and Wyndham Worldwide Corporation, as applicable,
following each distribution. In addition, each of Cendant, Realogy
Corporation and Wyndham Worldwide Corporation intend to file
important information related to the spin-offs, including this
release and the appropriate Information Statement(s), with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on Form 8-K.
JPMorgan and Evercore acted as financial and strategic advisors to
Cendant in connection with the spin-offs and related transactions.
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP acted as Cendant's
legal advisor. The distribution of the Realogy and Wyndham
Worldwide shares will be made as described in the applicable
Information Statement relating to such securities, which have been
filed with the SEC. This press release shall not constitute an
offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall
there be any sale of these securities in any state in which such an
offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration
or qualification under the securities laws of any such state.
Adoption of Stockholder Rights Plan The Company also announced that
its Board of Directors approved the adoption of a stockholder
rights plan (the "Rights Plan"). The Rights Plan is designed to
preserve the long-term value of the Company in the event of a
potential takeover that the Board of Directors determines may be
coercive or unfair or otherwise not in the best interests of the
Company and its stockholders. The Company also noted that the Board
of Directors has not adopted the new rights plan in response to any
known effort to acquire control of the Company. To implement the
Rights Plan, the Company will distribute a dividend of one Right
for each share of its common stock held by all stockholders of
record at the close of business on July 21, 2006. The Rights
initially will attach to and trade with Cendant common stock,
unless and until they are separated upon the occurrence of certain
future events; no separate certificates will be issued. Rights will
attach to shares of common stock issued by the Company after that
date. Each Right will entitle holders of each share of common stock
to buy one one-thousandth of a share of the Company's Series A
junior participating preferred stock at an initial exercise price
of $80.00 per share. Subject to the terms of the Rights Plan, the
Rights will become exercisable ten business days after a person or
group acquires 15% or more of the Company's outstanding common
stock or announces a tender or exchange offer that would result in
that person or group owning 15% or more of the Company's common
stock. Each Right, when exercised, entitles the holder (other than
the acquiring person or group) to receive Cendant common stock with
a market value of twice the exercise price of the Rights upon
payment of the exercise price of the Rights. The Company will be
entitled to redeem the Rights at $0.001 per Right until 10 business
days after a person or group achieves the 15% threshold. This
Rights Plan will expire unless stockholders approve its
continuation at the Company's 2008 annual meeting of stockholders.
Additional details regarding the Rights Plan will be outlined in a
Current Report on Form 8-K to be filed by the Company.
Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements in this press release
constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such
forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results,
performance or achievements of the Company to be materially
different from any future results, performance or achievements
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Statements
preceded by, followed by or that otherwise include the words
"believes", "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "projects",
"estimates", "plans", "may increase", "may fluctuate" and similar
expressions or future or conditional verbs such as "will",
"should", "would", "may" and "could" are generally forward-looking
in nature and not historical facts. Any statements that refer to
expectations or other characterizations of future events,
circumstances or results are forward-looking statements. The
Company cannot provide any assurances that the spin-offs of Realogy
Corporation or Wyndham Worldwide Corporation or any of the proposed
transactions related thereto (including the proposed sale of the
travel distribution services division, Travelport) will be
completed, nor can it give assurances as to the terms on which such
transactions will be consummated. The sale of Travelport is subject
to certain conditions precedent as described in the Purchase
Agreement relating to the sale. In addition, the other separation
transactions, including the spin-off distributions, are subject to
the satisfaction or waiver of certain other conditions described in
the information statements included in the Form 10s. Various risks
that could cause future results to differ from those expressed by
the forward-looking statements included in this press release
include, but are not limited to: risks inherent in the spin-offs of
Realogy Corporation and Wyndham Worldwide Corporation or the
contemplated separation and related transactions (including the
agreement to sell Travelport), including risks related to
borrowings and costs related to the proposed transactions;
increased demands on Cendant's management teams as a result of the
proposed transactions; changes in business, political and economic
conditions in the U.S. and in other countries in which Cendant and
its companies currently do business; changes in governmental
regulations and policies and actions of regulatory bodies; changes
in operating performance; and access to capital markets and changes
in credit ratings, including those that may result from the
proposed transactions. Other unknown or unpredictable factors also
could have material adverse effects on Cendant's and its companies'
performance or achievements. In light of these risks,
uncertainties, assumptions and factors, the forward-looking events
discussed in this press release may not occur. You are cautioned
not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements,
which speak only as of the date stated, or if no date is stated, as
of the date of this press release. Important assumptions and other
important factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those in the forward looking statements are
specified in Cendant's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2005, Cendant's Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31,
2006, Realogy Corporation's Registration Statement on Form 10 and
Wyndham Worldwide Corporation's Registration Statement on Form 10,
including under headings such as "Forward-Looking Statements",
"Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations." Except for the
Company's ongoing obligations to disclose material information
under the federal securities laws, the Company undertakes no
obligation to release any revisions to any forward-looking
statements, to report events or to report the occurrence of
unanticipated events unless required by law. About Cendant
Corporation Cendant is primarily a provider of travel and
residential real estate services. With approximately 85,000
employees, New York City-based Cendant provides these services to
businesses and consumers in over 100 countries. More information
about Cendant, its companies, brands and current SEC filings may be
obtained by visiting Cendant's Web site at http://www.cendant.com/.
Following the completion of the spin-offs of Realogy Corporation
and Wyndham Worldwide Corporation, Cendant will be comprised of its
Travelport and Avis Budget Group businesses. As previously stated,
Cendant will use the net proceeds from the sale of Travelport
(after taxes, fees and expenses and retirement of Travelport's
borrowings) to reduce the indebtedness allocated to Realogy and
Wyndham Worldwide. About Realogy Corporation Realogy Corporation is
the world's largest residential real estate brokerage franchisor,
the largest U.S. residential real estate brokerage firm, a leading
global provider of outsourced employee relocation services, and a
provider of title and settlement services. Realogy's brands include
Century 21, Coldwell Banker, Coldwell Banker Commercial, ERA,
Sotheby's International Realty, NRT Incorporated, Cartus and Title
Resource Group. Realogy is headquartered in Parsippany, NJ and has
more than 15,000 employees. About Wyndham Worldwide Corporation
Wyndham Worldwide is one of the world's largest hospitality
companies offering individual consumers and business-to-business
customers a broad suite of hospitality products and services
including lodging; vacation exchange and rental services; and
vacation ownership interests in resorts. Wyndham Worldwide is
headquartered in Parsippany, NJ, and is supported by approximately
28,800 employees around the world. DATASOURCE: Cendant Corporation
CONTACT: Media - Elliot Bloom of Cendant Corporation,
+1-212-413-1832, or Mark Panus, Realogy Corporation,
+1-973-407-7215, Investors - Sam Levenson, Cendant Corporation,
+1-212-413-1834, or Henry A. Diamond, Realogy Corporation,
+1-212-413-1920, or Margo C. Happer, Wyndham Worldwide Corporation,
+1-973-496-2705 Web site: http://www.cendant.com/
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