Billionaire Tom Sandell‘s Sandell Asset Management recently filed a Form 13D on Bob Evans Farms Inc (NASDAQ:BOBE) in which it stated that it would like to see the company commit to a transparent separation of its Bob Evans Restaurants and BEF Foods business divisions, or find a similar alternative in order to increase shareholder value. Sandell Asset Management, which holds 1.60 million common shares of Bob Evans Farms (including options to purchase 337,700 shares), which amass 8.1% of the float, may seek a consent solicitation to solicit written approvals from the company’s shareholders to help achieve this separation. The fund also disclosed that it plans to have further negotiations with the company’s management and shareholders concerning these matters.
Bob Evans Farms Inc (NASDAQ:BOBE) is a restaurant and food products company that produces various home-style dishes and frozen food items. Year-to-date, the company’s stock is up by 1.26%. In its financial report for the first quarter of its fiscal year 2017, Bob Evans Farms reported EPS of $0.48, beating the estimates of $0.44, while revenue of 306.32 million missed estimates of $310.9 million. However, its restaurant division is struggling as more consumers stay home, while its farming division is growing. Sandell believes that the company’s farms division alone is worth more than the entire company is currently being valued at by the market, which is why he would like to see a split that would force the market to reevaluate it.
Out of the 749 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey which filed 13Fs for the June quarter, 18 were long Bob Evans Farms Inc (NASDAQ:BOBE), down from 20 at the end of the March quarter. Some of the bullish investors included Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies, which held a position valued at $9.14 million, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates with a position valued at $5.28 million, Matthew Tewksbury’s Stevens Capital Management, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, and John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors.
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Among the smart money managers who dumped Bob Evans Farms during the June quarter were Michael Platt and William Reeves’ BlueCrest Capital Mgmt., which sold off its position valued at $2.13 million at the end of March, Neil Chriss’ Hutchin Hill Capital, which said goodbye to a position worth around $1.46 million, and Dmitry Balyasny’s Balyasny Asset Management.
You can access the original SEC filing by clicking here.
Ownership Summary Table
| Name | Sole Voting Power | Shared Voting Power | Sole Dispositive Power | Shared Dispositive Power | Aggregate Amount Owned Power | Percent of Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castlerigg Master Investments Ltd | 0 | 1,601,361 | 0 | 1,601,361 | 1,601,361 | (see Item 5) 8.1% |
| Castlerigg International Limited | 0 | 1,601,361 | 0 | 1,601,361 | 1,601,361 | (see Item 5) 8.1% |
| Castlerigg International Holdings Limited | 0 | 1,601,361 | 0 | 1,601,361 | 1,601,361 | (see Item 5) 8.1% |
| Castlerigg Offshore Holdings, Ltd | 0 | 1,601,361 | 0 | 1,601,361 | 1,601,361 | (see Item 5) 8.1% |
| Sandell Asset Management Corp | 0 | 1,601,361 | 0 | 1,601,361 | 1,601,361 | (see Item 5) 8.1% |
| Thomas E. Sandell | 0 | 1,601,361 | 0 | 1,601,361 | 1,601,361 | (see Item 5) 8.1% |
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Page 1 of 13 – SEC Filing
| SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION | |
| Washington, D.C. 20549 | |
| SCHEDULE 13D/A | |
| Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 | |
| (Amendment No. 15)* | |
| Bob Evans | |
| (Name of Issuer) | |
| Common Stock, | |
| (Title of Class of Securities) | |
| 096761101 | |
| (CUSIP Number) | |
| Marc Weingarten, Eleazer Klein, Esq. Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP 919 Third Avenue New York, New York 10022 | |
| (Name, Address and Telephone Number of Person | |
| Authorized to Receive Notices and Communications) | |
| September | |
| (Date of Event Which Requires Filing of This Statement) | |
If the filing person has previously filed a statement on Schedule
13G to report the acquisition that is the subject of this Schedule 13D, and is filing this schedule because of Rule 13d-1(e), Rule
13d-1(f) or Rule 13d-1(g), check the following box. [ ]
(Page 1 of 13 Pages)
______________________________
* The remainder of this cover page shall be filled out for a reporting
person’s initial filing on this form with respect to the subject class of securities, and for any subsequent amendment containing
information which would alter disclosures provided in a prior cover page.
The information required on the remainder of this cover page shall
not be deemed to be “filed” for the purpose of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Act”)
or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section of the Act but shall be subject to all other provisions of the Act (however,
see the Notes).
