The recent deal that has been reached between Newell Brands (NYSE: NWL) and Carl Icahn on the one side and Starboard Value on the other side is a signal to all Newell investors that the long awaited change is coming. With no proxy fight on the horizon, I believe that Newell is a good event-driven stock with a potential to increase in value in the upcoming months and I decided to open a long position in it.
If we look at the updated list of nominees for the company's Board of Directors, we will see a handful of people that have a successful track record of reorganizing companies and making their business more efficient. With the support of Icahn Enterprises and Starboard Value, the company has already started to create shareholder value and one of its first decisions under the unified leadership was to sell its plastics division Waddington Group for $2.3B and expand its divestiture strategy, which is expected to yield a $10B return, higher from the previous forecast of $6B.
