Central Parking Up for Sale?
Central Parking has hired Morgan Stanley to investigate the taking of the company private. According to Chairman Monroe Carell, the company is undervalued and frustrated by its low stock prices.
IN an interview with the Nashville Business Journal Carell said:
Company founder Monroe Carell Jr. says Central Parking will likely be sold to a private investment firm or large real estate investment trust and that an exit from the public markets is in the best interests of the company.
"More than likely, it will be a large REIT or a private fund associated with real estate and not one of our competitors," says Carell.
Carell says the issue of selling the company came up in December during board meetings and the thinking now is that Central Parking would be a better value to its stockholders as a private company.
Considering the company’s stock performance – down about a quarter since last April – the value of Central Parking’s real estate outweighs its stock value.
"I just think a company this size is, personally, more advantageous to be a private company," he says."It would improve the opportunities for the stockholders."
Also, he says, the cost of being a public company and the costs associated with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act has become a drain that outweighs the benefits.
"I think it cost us $9 million to $10 million to be public, and SOX is a large part of that," says Carell.
There is more news here: and here.
Central seems surprised that their stock is low. Monroe is blaming the strike at the National Hockey League. But their numbers, according to the Motley Fool, are flat and have been.
Stay tuned — I’ll keep you posted
JVH
