Business briefs, Feb. 27, 2016
LAKEWOOD RANCH -- J.E. Charlotte Construction Corp., a Venice-based company, recently completed the 5,000-square-foot Residents Club at Country Club East. The club opened to residents Wednesday.
Country Club East developer Starwood Land Ventures spent $945,000 on the project, according to a news release. Construction took eight months.
The club features a resort-style pool, sports pub and fitness facility. A central breezeway connects the fitness center to a social gathering space and covered outdoor kitchen. The clubhouse's architectural details include large exposed timber trusses, stone-textured columns and metal and tile roofing.
Country Club East is part of Lakewood Ranch, a 17,500-acre, master-planned community.
Hilton to spin off most of real estate business
NEW YORK -- Hilton plans to spin off its timeshare business and most of its real estate business in a move to boost shareholder value.
The lodging company said Friday the real estate business will be spun off into a publicly traded real estate investment trust. It will include about 70 properties.
Hilton's timeshare business, Hilton Grand Vacations, will become a separate publicly traded company that's expected to manage almost 50 club resorts in the United States and Europe. The newly formed timeshare company will have an exclusive, long-term license agreement with Hilton Worldwide to market, sell and run resorts under the Hilton Grand Vacations brand.
Both spinoffs are expected to be completed by year's end. The transactions need final approval from Hilton's board, but don't require a shareholder vote.
Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. also announced its fourth-quarter financial results, reporting an adjusted profit of 22 cents per share on revenue of $2.86 billion. Analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research predicted a profit of 22 cents per share on revenue of $2.99 billion.
Its shares rose 37 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $20.57 in afternoon trading. Its shares have fallen more than 26 percent over the past year.
Honeywell still pursuing United Technologies
United Technologies publicly made its case this week against a proposed combination with Honeywell. On
Friday, Honeywell signaled it was not about to go away quietly.
Honeywell published an 11-page proposal that the industrial conglomerate had shared with United Technologies' chairman and chief executive during a meeting Feb. 19, according to a news release. The presentation, with bright colors and pictures of men in hard hats, details the terms of Honeywell's offer to create "one of the best industrial companies in the world." Honeywell is seeking to pay $42.63 in cash, plus 0.614 of a share of Honeywell for each share of United Technologies. Honeywell said this amounted to $108 a share for United Technologies investors, or a 22 percent premium. The combined companies could produce $3.5 billion in synergies, according to the presentation.
Regardless of shareholder value, however, United Technologies is convinced that bringing together two of the industry leaders in aerospace and building controls would face antitrust hurdles.
-- Herald staff and wire reports
This story was originally published February 26, 2016 at 8:44 PM with the headline "Business briefs, Feb. 27, 2016 ."