Tag: Brown-Forman

New boomers on Brown-Forman board; Kindred’s got stock awards; big love for KFC’s threatened buffet, and big bucks for U of L’s Ramsey

A news summary, focused on big employers; updated 7:40 p.m.

Brown Forman board 2015
In this most current board photo, retiring directors are Martin Brown (fourth from left); James Welch (seated, eighth from left), and Sandra Frazier (seated, 11th from left).

BROWN-FORMAN shifted its 13-member board of directors, electing Campbell Brown, Marshall Farrer, and Laura Frazier, effective today. The company also announced a regular quarterly dividend, and a special two-for-one stock split for both voting Class A and non-voting Class B shares. The split shares are expected to be issued to stockholders of record around Aug. 8, and distributed about Aug. 18 (press release). This is the 12th split since shares were first listed in 1933 after Prohibition’s repeal; the most recent was a three-for-two in July 2012. (Dividend history.)

The three new directors are all fifth-generation descendants of George Garvin Brown, who founded the distiller in 1870. “This election continues a multi-year evolution of Brown family representation on the board,” the company said. “As part of this process, Martin S. Brown Jr.Sandra Frazier, and management director James Welch Jr. — who’s retiring as vice chairman on Tuesday — have elected not to stand for re-election at the annual stockholders’ meeting in July” (press release also includes bios of new directors). Brown-Forman said the directors’ decision to exit the board wasn’t due to a disagreement with the company (SEC filing).

Laura Frazier
Laura Frazier

The company didn’t disclose the new directors’ ages; those retiring are in their 40s and 50s. (Executive and board profiles.) Today’s moves were not unexpected; the Brown descendants effectively control the company through their ownership of more than 50% of the Class A voting stock, and have historically voted as a bloc (2015 proxy report). Of particular note, Laura Frazier is owner, chairman, and past-CEO of Bittners, the more than 160-year-old high-end interior design firm on East Main Street in NuLu. At the end of trading today, Class A shares closed at $104.21, down 25 cents.

KINDRED just filed a raft of documents disclosing stock awards to members of the board of directors (SEC filings; look for all Forms 4 on today’s date). Also, the hospital and nursing home giant disclosed the breakdown of yesterday’s shareholder vote tallies at the annual company meeting; no surprises (SEC filing). Yesterday, Kindred had only reported that stockholders approved the executive compensation plan, and re-elected the full slate of 11 directors to the governing board — but without providing details.

KFC Canada says a much-loved, one-of-only-two-left, all-you-can-eat buffet-style restaurant in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, won’t be shut down after all — yet, anyway. Residents had taken to social media this week when rumors circulated the buffet was a goner. A sit-in was planned for yesterday. Even high government officials got involved: Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall took to Twitter (see below) on Tuesday, asking Yum to reconsider. The Weyburn KFC buffet was the first to open among the Canadian franchises in 1988; there’s now just one other left, in Saskatchewan’s Humbodlt (Global News).

Elsewhere in KFC land, actress Ann Hathaway jokingly compared comedian James Corden to a 16-piece you-know-what during a rap battle on The Late Late Show last night. “You look like a KFC bucket with a lot of extra breasts,” she said (Express).

UPS and its 2,500-member Independent Pilots Association union are making progress on bargaining a new contract (Courier-Journal). The pilots have been working under the terms of their previous contract for five years, and the union late last month set up a strike center here in Louisville.

GE: Qingdao Haier Co. has launched India’s first 44-lb. capacity washing machine. The Chinese company’s pending $5.4 billion purchase of Appliance Park is expected to close this summer (Newkerala and Courier-Journal).

James Ramsey
Ramsey

In other news, the University of Louisville Foundation paid President James Ramsey $2.8 million in 2014, according to its newly disclosed IRS tax return (WDRB). The return “appears to belie Ramsey’s claim last year that his compensation in 2013 was an anomaly” (Courier-Journal). The disclosure came one day after a published report that the foundation lagged many other Kentucky school foundations in annual investment performance.

Finally, Louisville Magazine has released the finalists in its annual Best of Louisville awards for businesses and individuals (Louisville).

Why Ford will slam Tesla; Yum stock whips Mickey D’s, and Hut launches S’mores cookies

370621
Pizza Hut’s new S’mores cookies are $6.99.

A news summary, focused on big employers; updated 5:57.m.

FORD: Why Ford will beat Tesla, even as electric cars gain a toehold (Barron’s).

YUM: The company’s stock has overthrown McDonald’s as the hottest fast-food stock around. Year to date, shares have surged 9% vs. 4% for McDonald’s and a skinny 0.2% for the S&P 500 index. (The Street). Also, former Chairman David Novak says workers are “starved for recognition” from their supervisors (Business First).

PIZZA HUT today introduced 8-inch Hershey’s Toasted S’mores Cookies for a limited time at $6.99 (press release).

AMAZON has started hiring up to 500 employees for a new distribution center in Florence Township outside Trenton, N.J. “They want to be up and running in time for the Christmas holiday,” Township Administrator Richard Brook said last week (Burlington County Times).

GANNETT: Tribune Publishing’s shares dove 15% today on fears that Courier-Journal owner Gannett may rescind its $15-a-share takeover offer; Gannett’s stock fell 2.4% (Talking New Media). The chances Tribune would pursue a “Pac-Man” defense takeover of Gannett had already eased when Tribune decided to share confidential information that could pave the way for Gannett’s $864 million purchase of Tribune (Reuters).

KFC: A 29-year-old man was arrested last night in Columbus, Ga., after he allegedly approached the KFC drive-thru on Manchester Expressway completely nude (Ledger-Enquirer).

BROWN-FORMAN said today it will release fourth-quarter financial results on June 8, followed by a conference call with Wall Street analysts (press release). Meanwhile, Boulevard is sad we missed the chance on Saturday to celebrate World Whisky Day, where everyone was invited to “try a dram and celebrate the water of life” (Hot Rum Cow).

TEXAS ROADHOUSE opens one of its newest restaurants today, a $1.3 million outlet in the college town of Ithaca, N.Y. (Ithaca Voice).

CHURCHILL DOWNS: Thoroughbred racing’s now increasingly international, as NBC Sports made clear during Saturday’s Preakness Stakes, when the network teased its coverage of the Royal Ascot meeting in Britain starting next year (Chicago Now). Ascot got a big publicity boost in 1964’s “My Fair Lady.” The women’s dress code for the royal enclosure is super-strict, including this admonition: “strapless, off the shoulder, halter and spaghetti straps are not permitted” (Ascot).

Photo, top: Pizza Hut.

Aetna chief doesn’t rule out HQ move; CJ owner Gannett now looks like a takeover target, too

A news summary focused on big employers; updated 3:53 p.m.

aetna-headquarters
Aetna’s headquarters in Hartford, where it was founded in 1853.

HUMANA: Aetna’s CEO did little today to allay concerns the insurance giant might leave its historic Hartford home after its workforce doubles to 110,000 with the pending Humana merger. Mark Bertolini told the annual stockholders meeting that Aetna was required to establish a Kentucky presence when it sought to buy Humana. “Having said that,” he told shareholders, “the rest of all of our real estate is under review.” He expects the $37 billion deal to close in the second half of the year. (Hartford Courant). Humana’s stock closed at $169.60 a share, up less than 1%, but enough to make it the best-performing stock this week among Boulevard’s portfolio of big local employers.

GANNETT: Tribune Publishing is reportedly turning the tables on Gannett by planning a hostile offer to buy the owner of The Courier-Journal, USA Today and more than 100 other dailies. “I am going to bid on Gannett,” CEO Michael Ferro told five dozen Los Angeles Times staffers, according to a confidential source. “I have lawyers working on it.” That would counter Gannett’s sweetened all-cash offer this week, to $15 a share, or about $475 million, excluding  $385 million of outstanding debt (Politico Media).

UPS CEO David Abney doubts package delivery by drone will be as ubiquitous as some forecast. Speaking to a Boston business conference, he said: “I don’t believe there are going to be 10,000 to 20,000 of these flying over metro Boston delivering dog food and toothbrushes. I just don’t believe the economics of those work out” (Boston Business First).

AMAZON, which is developing Prime Air to transport packages to customers within 30 minutes via drone, could learn something from DHL’s drone delivery program (Business Insider).

PAPA JOHN’S: Baseball-related pizza promotions are now so pervasive, they extend to the local level, thanks to Papa John’s status as the “official pizza” of 22 big league clubs (538).

BROWN-FORMAN is now offering pregnant employees 12 weeks’ paid leave, about twice as much as the most generous maternity leave plans of the area’s 10 biggest employers (Insider Louisville).

CHURCHILL DOWNS: Which horses stand the best chances at tomorrow’s 141st Preakness Stakes (New York Times).

Donald Trump
Trump

In other news, presumptive GOP White House nominee Donald Trump addresses the 70,000-member NRA annual meeting today at the Kentucky Exposition Center (NBC).

This just in:

We will sell this house today! Owsley Brown Frazier’s $4.9M ‘mansion that whisky built’

An occasional look at premium homes on the market.

The marketing campaign for the philanthropist’s country manor, “The Avish,” steps up tonight, when Lenihan Sotheby’s International Realty hosts a private cocktail party and showing for clients, brokers and agents. Owsley Brown Frazier, an heir to the Brown-Forman distillery fortune, died four years ago at 77. The seller is his daughter, Laura L. Frazier; its assessed value is $4.8 million, according to Jefferson County tax records. The Avish is at 5224 Avish Lane in Harrods Creek, the wealthy enclave in northeast Louisville.

The asking price is $4.9 million, down from $5.3 million in December, when the listing was pulled after a pending sale from March 2015 fell though, according to Zillow. When it originally hit the market in 2012 after Brown’s death, Curbed put the list at $6 million. Later that year, Zillow says, it sold for $4.8 million, presumably to Laura.

Owsley Brown Frazier
Frazier

The Avish translates to “Rocky Hill” in Gaelic, and is named for the Brown family’s ancestral home in Ireland, according to The Voice-Tribune. It was built in 1910 by Brown’s grandfather, Owsley Brown, according to Curbed, which called it the “mansion that whiskey built.”

Here’s Lenihan’s description: This impressive estate is on The National Register of Historic Places and sits on 10 acres overlooking the Ohio River. With nearly 18,000 finished square feet, there are two master suites, four additional bedrooms, nine full baths and two half-baths. The grand foyer is flanked by a reception room, dining hall and a formal parlor with adjoining conservatory. The first floor is also comprised of the catering and main kitchens and the owners office suite. You may access the private living quarters on the second floor by one of three stair cases, service or passenger elevator. The third floor features a private suite that’s perfect suite for an in-law, an au pair or nanny. The grounds feature a gorgeous arbor, stunning formal garden with garden house and attached greenhouses, walkways, barn and guest/managers quarters with two bedrooms and bathrooms. The lower level is where you’ll find the indoor pool and solarium, private his-hers bathrooms with dressing areas, entertainment areas, laundry facilities, office and garages.

Related: Brown’s last will and testament. Plus, Boulevard is reminded of this scene starring Annette Bening from 1999’s “American Beauty.”

Report: Brown-Forman considers Finlandia sale, and Ford says 6,500 applied to buy new supercar

A news summary focused on big employers; updated 11:28 a.m.

GT
The new Ford GT costs $400,000.

92721BROWN-FORMAN is reportedly considering a sale of Finlandia vodka amid a broader effort to focus on its whiskey business; the company spent $200 million to assemble the vodka business from 2000 to 2004. Brown-Forman declined to comment on the report (Bloomberg). Last month, the company said it would spend $413 million to buy Scottish single-malt distiller BenRiach Distillery Co.

FORD said 6,506 people applied worldwide to buy the new EcoBoost-powered, carbon-fiber GT supercar; hundreds included videos to bolster their chances to buy the first 500. The $400,000 car will be available the end of the year (press release). Also, total vehicle sales in Ford’s 20 traditional European markets last month were the best since April 2009, with passenger car sales at their highest level since 2010 (press release).

KFC: A barrel of Montana oil fell so low this winter, it was cheaper than a big bucket of KFC: $22.16 for the oil vs. $24.99 for a 16-piece meal (Billings Gazette).

HUMANA: Aetna has spent at least $119 million for lawyers, investment advisors and other services in connection with its planned $37-billion purchase of Humana (Modern Healthcare).

GE: Negotiators for GE Appliances and a local union are trying to improve warehouse efficiency to prevent 217 jobs from being outsourced (Insider Louisville).

In other news, Al J. Schneider heirs have settled a feud that would allow for the sale of the Galt House and the late real estate moguls other holdings (Courier-Journal). The Bernard A. Dahlem family has donated $500,000 to the Catholic Education Foundation so more students can attend Archdiocese of Louisville schools (Courier-Journal). The new owners plan to demolish a Highlands house possibly dating to the 1830s to make way for a new, custom-built home; they paid $605,000 for the property last fall (Courier-Journal).

In Brown-Forman’s BenRiach buy, more deal buzz in Scotland

BenRiach whiskey
BenRiach Classic Speyside

Brown-Forman’s $413 million deal last month to buy single malt distiller BenRiach Distillery Co. of Edinburgh is the latest in a series of takeovers roiling the Scottish industry, according to The Scotsman newspaper; here are four more.

$16 billion: In the biggest deal, Japan’s Suntory bought Jim Beam in 2014; Suntory owns Morrison Bowmore Distillers of Glasgow.

$621 million: Emperador of the Philippines for Whyte & Mackay, also of Glasgow in 2014.

$144 million: William Grant & Sons for whiskey liqueur maker Drambuie of Edinburgh in 2014; deal value is estimated because details weren’t disclosed.

$84 million: France’s Rémy Cointreau for Islay whisky maker Bruichladdich.