What happened
Aramark (ARMK +1.14%) has spun off its uniform and workplace supply unit into a new company. The deal is done, but some stock-tracking services have been slow to adjust, which is causing Aramark shares to appear to be down nearly 30% on Monday morning.
Long-term investors need not worry about the drop.
So what
Aramark has established itself as a key vendor to universities, sports teams, and large companies, providing uniforms, cleaning services, venue management, and food services to a wide range of venues. But the company is in the process of streamlining, and last year, it announced plans to hive off its uniform business into a separate publicly traded company.
That spinoff became official over the weekend, and the new company, Vestis (NYSE: VSTS), began trading on Monday morning. But the split is causing some confusion among stockholders.
Under the terms of the split, Aramark shareholders received one share of Vestis for every two shares of Aramark they held.
On Friday, Aramark closed at $34.69. On Monday morning, it is trading in the neighborhood of $25. But Aramark holders also now own a half share of Vestis for each share of Aramark they owned on Friday. With Vestis trading at about $18, that half share is worth $9. Add that to the share price of the new, slimmed-down Aramark, and shareholders' stakes continue to be worth about $34 per Friday share.
Indeed, on an adjusted basis, Aramark is down about 1%.
NYSE: ARMK
Key Data Points
Now what
Investors should expect market data providers to adjust in the days to come, and that their comparisons will be corrected as they do. The bigger question for long-term focused investors is whether Aramark and Vestis are worth owning.
Vestis is now North America's second-largest provider of uniform services, with more than 300,000 customer locations and approximately 20,000 employees. Aramark will continue to focus on facilities management and food services, making sure the big game runs smoothly and the customers have ample food choices while they are there.
Over the past decade, Aramark delivered a total return of 71% prior to the spinoff, underperforming the S&P 500's 141% return. The hope is that the two streamlined companies will be better able to invest in growth, and the facilities business in particular is viewed as an attractive opportunity.
There's potential here, but investors need to understand that despite what their screens might say, Aramark stock is not on sale on Monday. It might be best to let the dust settle and see how these two companies perform before jumping in.
