Company News
July 10, 2024
Olin Force Majeure
Olin Corporation Provides Update on Hurricane Beryl
Jul. 10, 2024 4:10 PM ETOlin Corporation (OLN)
CLAYTON, Mo., July 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Olin Corporation (NYSE: OLN) announced a temporary disruption of operations at its Freeport, Texas, facility as a result of Hurricane Beryl.
Olin has declared a system-wide Force Majeure for its Chlor Alkali Products & Vinyls division products and Aromatics shipments. This disruption is a result of hurricane-related damage to Olin facilities in Freeport, Texas, impacting Olin’s normal production and logistics capabilities including access to power, raw materials, and other essential feedstocks and services.
Olin facilities in Freeport are undergoing a comprehensive inspection and assessment, and a coordinated plan is being developed to ensure the safe and orderly return of these plants to service. The duration of this disruption is uncertain.
Olin’s number one priority remains the safety of our employees, their families, and the communities in which we operate.
July 8, 2024
Tempur Sealy Special Call Transcript
Tempur Sealy International, Inc. (TPX) Special Call Transcript
Jul. 08, 2024 9:10 AM ETTempur Sealy International, Inc. (TPX) Stock
Tempur Sealy International, Inc. (NYSE:TPX) Special Call July 8, 2024 8:00 AM ET
Company Participants
Aubrey Moore – Investor Relations
Scott Thompson – Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer
Scott Thompson
Thank you, Aubrey. Good morning, everyone. And thank you for joining us on our call today. As we announced last week, the FTC has initiated litigation to challenge the combination of Tempur Sealy and Mattress Firm. We felt that sharing a bit more information would be beneficial, not just for investors, but also for our employees and Mattress Firm’s employees who drive the company’s successes. We’re working hard to properly and timely communicate a consistent message to all interested parties.
So, I’d like to take a moment to share some remarks on the current situation, but as I’m sure you’ll understand, as this acquisition is being challenged in court, the company’s commentary is limited. We’ve received some questions via email and we’ll address them as appropriate towards the end of the call. Additionally, we are in a quiet period regarding market conditions and earnings, so I’ll not be able to comment on those topics. We expect to report second-quarter earnings in the coming weeks.
Turning to the topic of the call today, we’ve been working constructively with the FTC to secure regulatory approval for this transaction for over a year. Since complying with the agency’s second request on November 17, 2023, we have voluntarily granted the FTC six extensions of time to complete its review. The FTC has a key role as a regulatory body, and we appreciate their extensive effort to understand the industry and the transaction. While we spent more time in FTC staff review than we planned, we felt it was appropriate given their important job. We are disappointed by the FTC’s position, but have always believed this transaction is consistent with the law, and in the current regulatory environment, we’re prepared for this step.
The bedding industry is highly competitive, offering consumers a diverse selection of products, brands, price points, and purchasing channels. Brick-and-mortar retailers and direct-to-consumer bedding brands sell millions of bedding products online each year. In fact, we believe e-commerce, which includes mattresses at all price points, is the fastest growing channel in our industry. Our own websites provide clear proof point of the ability to sell high-end bedding online. Additionally, there are thousands of brick-and-mortar stores across the United States where consumers can purchase bedding products, only a small fraction of which are operated by Mattress Firm. A quick Google Search or even driving down the street presents numerous bedding distribution options. We remain confident that our combination will unlock incremental benefits for all stakeholders.
In particular, we are confident that the combination will drive exceptional benefits to consumers. Mattress Firm’s strong retail presence complements Tempur Sealy’s manufacturing capability, which facilitates more targeted innovation, improves the customer experience, and ensures high quality, durable products. Additionally, we expect to achieve cost synergies by leveraging our global scale and vertically integrated infrastructure to drive efficiencies through logistics, product lifecycle management, manufacturing optimization, and sourcing initiatives. All of these factors allow us to further execute on Tempur Sealy’s mission to improve sleep of more people’s lives through sleep.
We manufacture 100% of our mattresses we sell domestically in the United States. Let me reread that for you. We manufacture 100% of our mattresses we sell domestically in the United States. Supporting thousands of jobs across 38 states and territories, we disagree with the FTC’s statement that the transaction may harm the U.S. workforce. We’ve had extensive discussions about this transaction with our labor unions representing our employees, and the majority of the unions submitted letters to support the transaction reflecting their belief that the transaction will benefit their members and not adversely impact workers of other bedding companies that they represent. None of the unions representing our employees have expressed opposition to the transaction.
Let me be clear from the start. We have planned for and publicly stated that we see Mattress Firm as a multi-branded bedding retailer. They’ve been a valued retail partner for more than 35 years, and we know one of their many strengths is their diverse offering, which includes leading brands and complementary private label products, providing a broad range of innovative consumer solutions. We are committed to maintaining a curated, comprehensive, and diversified product assortment that is core to their business success and inherent in the intrinsic value of Mattress Firm that we are paying over $4 billion to acquire. Keeping Mattress Firm in multi-brand retail is consistent with how we operate the multi-branded bedding retailers we have acquired in Europe.
In our prior retail acquisitions in the international market, both our brand and others have flourished. Further confirming our intention to run Mattress Firm consistent with its current multi-branded strategy, we also, underscoring the — excuse me, left startup. Furthermore confirming our intention to run Mattress Firm consistent with its current multi-branded strategy, and also underscoring the absence of any possible theory of competitive harm as part of this transaction, we have committed: one, to make a substantial divestiture of stores and supporting infrastructure to rapidly growing US mattress retailer; two, to maintain floor slots at Mattress Firm for third-party brands; and third, to take additional actions. Our slot commitment ensures a portion of the floor will be reserved for the best non-Tempur Sealy products in the market. We’ve successfully engaged with numerous Mattress Firm suppliers on post-merger supply agreements and have executed several, including one with a supplier who does not currently supply Mattress Firm. We’re confident in our pro-competitive rationale of this transaction and look forward to presenting the many benefits of the combination.
We believe that a successful litigation process can be completed in the coming months, which would allow us to close the transaction in late 2024 or early 2025. As I mentioned previously, relative to our original expectations, the timeline has elongated a bit as we worked constructively with the FTC. Lastly, [forward] (ph) to all the Tempur Sealy and Mattress Firm employees who every day provide customers with great products and services. Despite the elongated regulatory process, nothing has dissuaded us from wanting to come together and to continue to succeed. Thank you for your patience and ongoing support for the combination.
Now, let me touch on a couple of questions we’ve heard. What is the process from here? We’re still evaluating the lawsuit to better understand the next steps for our case. Hearing dates had not yet been set, but we expect these to proceed in the next few months.
What is the probability of success? We believe we have a very strong case based on the facts and law. How do you think about your litigation strategy? We’ll try the case in court, not in the public. So I’ll have to pass on all strategy-related questions and the array of what-if scenarios. Good news is, we expect the process to be relatively short to get to judgment. There are numerous questions about competitors’ financial viability with or without this transaction. All I can say is, we have no comment on competitors’ financial conditions.
What court and judge is assigned to the case? The case has been filed in the United States Southern District Court of Texas and assigned to Judge Charles Eskridge. What is plan B for the company if there’s no transaction with Mattress Firm? As we’ve said in the past, the company is deleveraging. And without the transaction, the company will have a low leverage ratio. Without this transaction, we expect to follow our historic process for allocating capital to maximize risk-adjusted returns, which I would expect would result in a material fair repurchase. This will be determined by Tempur Sealy’s Board of Directors.
That concludes our remarks at this time. Thank you for your interest in this transaction and support for the team and our Board of Directors. Operator, that ends the call today.
Operator
Thank you. This does conclude today’s Tempur Sealy International Business Update Call. Thank you for your participation. You may disconnect at any time.
July 3, 2024
The End of The Dream
BASF Pulls Plug on Potential Chile Investments Amid Lithium Rout
Wilfried Eckl-Dorna and James Attwood, Bloomberg News
(Bloomberg) — German chemicals giant BASF SE has abandoned plans to invest in lithium mining assets in Chile as a slowdown in electric-vehicle adoption worldwide drags down battery metal prices.
BASF withdrew from initial talks with Wealth Minerals Ltd., the Vancouver-based firm that has exploration projects in Chile, the German company said in an email to Bloomberg Tuesday.
A potential arrangement had included possible funding and offtake if Wealth obtained production contracts in Chile. BASF also was exploring the possibility of building a plant in Chile to turn lithium into the cathode that goes into electric-vehicle batteries.
“No collaboration between BASF and Wealth Materials materialized in the end,” BASF wrote. The company didn’t give a reason for ending the talks or mention the proposed cathode plant.
The withdrawal follows BASF’s announcement last week that it scrapped plans for a $2.6 billion nickel-cobalt refinery in Indonesia. Slowing EV sales growth has pushed down prices of key inputs, with lithium at three-year lows after surging to a record in late 2022. BASF now plans to bolster raw-materials supply for European operations via a new battery recycling plant in Germany, due to start operations later this year.
While the German company’s involvement in Chile was at a very early stage, it’s withdrawal is a blow to European authorities’ push for companies to secure deals with key battery metals suppliers.
It’s also a setback for Wealth as it grapples with a strategy being implemented in Chile to open new areas to lithium extraction. One of the company’s projects is in an area deemed of strategic importance, meaning it would have to take on a state-owned company as a majority partner.
Wealth Chief Executive Officer Henk van Alphen declined to comment on BASF’s exit. He said implementation of the government’s lithium strategy has been slow though progress is being made. Authorities next week are scheduled to announce details of firms interested in new contracts in nonstrategic salt flats.
July 2, 2024
Big Layoffs at C.H. Robinson
C.H. Robinson slashes over 50% of US sales team, sources say
Brokerage disputes number of workers recently laid off
· Monday, July 01, 2024
Truck brokerage giant C.H. Robinson Worldwide laid off around 80 members of its remaining 150 sales representatives in the U.S. on Thursday, according to sources familiar with the cuts.
The source said the sales division of the publicly traded brokerage has slashed U.S. sales jobs by around 89% over the past six years as it turned its focus from its people to embracing technology.
“We once had about 650 sales reps in the U.S. divisions, but that number dropped as C.H. Robinson’s focus switched from training and retaining talented people to its focus on technology,” the source, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation, told FreightWaves.
He estimates the current number of C.H. Robinson’s sales reps, whose jobs are solely to sell the brokerage’s services, as around 70 nationwide after Thursday’s job cuts. He clarified that some legacy brokerages count business development and account management positions that may overlap with the sales division as part of their total sales headcount. C.H. Robinson doesn’t.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Eden, Minnesota-based C.H. Robinson (NASDAQ: CHRW) disputed the number of sales representatives affected by the recent cuts but declined to provide a breakdown of the number of sales positions C.H. Robinson eliminated in the U.S. last week.
While the source said he was only aware of the job cuts in the U.S., a company spokesperson said C.H. Robinson doesn’t break down the number of laid off workers by country as the brokerage also has offices in Canada and Mexico.
In a statement provided to FreightWaves, the company said that “less than 2% of NAST [North American Surface Transportation] roles were impacted in June as a part of a restructuring to ignite growth and provide greater opportunity for our sales employees.”
“We are getting fit, fast and focused as a part of our enterprise strategy and new operating model geared at delivering exceptional and high-value service to customers and carriers,” the company said.
Despite rumors that major changes were coming to the largest freight brokerage, the source said few expected that more than half of the U.S. sales group would be gutted.
“You can’t cut your sales team, which is the heart of your organization, and think that’s going to get you better results in the long run,” the source told FreightWaves. “I think if the leadership knew what these salespeople brought to the table and how hard it is to train a salesperson, I think they would regret what they did Thursday, because it’s going to take C.H. Robinson a decade to recover from this decision.”
Another source, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation, formerly worked at C.H. Robinson. He said most of the sales reps who were let go worked with the brokerage’s smaller accounts but that management told them they weren’t being terminated for performance issues as most were meeting or exceeding sales goals.
“It’s just sad that C.H. Robinson is prioritizing technology over people,” the source told FreightWaves.
Tech takes center stage?
A C.H. Robinson employee said the brokerage used to value and invest in its people over technology until Bob Biesterfeld, the former president and CEO of the freight brokerage, announced the company was investing $1 billion in technology in 2019 in an effort to protect its market share. FreightWaves reported that Biesterfield stepped down from his executive position and resigned from C.H. Robinson’s Board in early January 2023.
On Feb. 3, 2022, FreightWaves reported that C.H. Robinson delayed the launch of Project Infinity a day before its Q4 2021 earnings report because of ongoing computer glitches as it tested updates to its Navisphere platform that forced carriers to book freight online instead of dealing with their long-term carrier representatives.
Since 2022, the company has slashed more than 2,400 employees across all its divisions worldwide, according to C.H. Robinson’s quarterly earnings reports. As of March 31, the company had nearly 15,000 employees, down from nearly 17,400 employees it had two years earlier.
Read related article: C.H. Robinson lays off 300 employees
More about layoffs
An employee, who did not want to be named for fear of retaliation, said C.H. Robinson management individually called several members from a sales team Thursday, informing them they no longer had positions with the brokerage.
The source said some had worked for the company for more than 15 years and were considered top performers among their group. He said he heard that some may have been offered different roles, including business development jobs within the brokerage, but didn’t know how many. The source acknowledged that some in the group had been struggling lately with meeting their goals because of the tight freight environment.
Read related article here: Over the past decade, C.H. Robinson lost its moat to innovation and competition
However, C.H. Robinson said it’s still hiring for new sales roles.
“As we continue to adapt to an ever-changing freight market, we are actively hiring for a range of new sales roles, portfolio executives and sales development team members. A winning business model is critical to ensuring growth and opportunities for our employees and the company over the long term,” the brokerage said of its hiring plans.
Following the layoffs, a source said most of the terminated sales reps’ business was divided among the company’s account managers, who also perform dual roles, including some sales functions, but added he worries about their being able to handle the extra workload on top of their own customers when the freight market improves.
“C.H. Robinson gave the freight community a gift when they fired these extremely talented and knowledgeable sales representatives,” the source said. “These good people that know the business will make an impact working for our competitors, for sure.”
July 2, 2024
FTC To Sue To Block Tempur Sealy Acquisition
FTC preparing lawsuit to block Tempur Sealy’s $4B acquisition of Mattress Firm
Jul. 02, 2024 7:51 AM ETTempur Sealy International, Inc. (TPX) StockBy: Joshua Fineman, SA News Editor
The Federal Trade Commission is poised to sue to block mattress maker Tempur Sealy’s (NYSE:TPX) $4 billion planned purchase of retailer Mattress Firm. Tempur Sealy ticked lower by 0.5% in premarket trading.
The regulator is concerned that combining the largest manufacturer and retailer would lead to higher prices and that Tempur Sealy (TPX) may discriminate against rival suppliers, according to a Politico Pro report late Monday, which cited three people familiar with the matter.
A lawsuit could be filed as soon as Tuesday, according to the report.
The Politico Pro piece comes after CTFN reported last Tuesday that the companies met with the FTC last week in a last effort to try to convince the regulator to not block the combination.
CTFN also reported on Thursday that the Tempur Sealy/Mattress Firm deal was expected to be the subject of closed door meeting at the FTC on Monday. Tempur Sealy (TPX), which agreed to buy Mattress Firm in a $4 billion deal in May 2023, had agreed to sell off some of its retail stores to try to appease the FTC, according to the earlier CTFN item.
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