urbanSTL

Too bad this building isn't available. It looks like it'd make a great home for a gas company:

moorlander wrote:"Move or stay, the company will keep its headquarters in the city."
http://www.stltoday.com/business/column ... e6ff1.html

Sounds like they're trying to gain leverage with their current landlord.

arch city wrote:Now with two quick purchases, LaClede has leapfrogged into the #4 gas utility in the nation with 1.2 million customers - surpassing Ameren Gas by 300,000.

Actually, I think those numbers are a bit misleading. According to the American Gas Association, Laclede will be the 11th largest gas utility in America with 1.2 million customers.

Here's the list of the Top 50. Laclede is currently #26. Missouri Gas Energy is #39. Ameren's gas division is the Central Illinois Public Service Company, which is currently #19.

Icahn could do something good for the region... Merging American railcar with Greenbrier out of Oregon, of course no promises.

http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/morn ... brier.html

debaliviere wrote:Sounds like they're trying to gain leverage with their current landlord.

Sounds about right. But a couple of good, quirky options for a new Laclede headquarters (I think they currently have about 100,000 sq. ft.) would be:

160,000 sq. ft.


128,000 sq. ft.

wabash wrote:Actually, I think those numbers are a bit misleading. According to the American Gas Association, Laclede will be the 11th largest gas utility in America with 1.2 million customers.

Here's the list of the Top 50. Laclede is currently #26. Missouri Gas Energy is #39. Ameren's gas division is the Central Illinois Public Service Company, which is currently #19.

Thanks for posting the list. It's good see - although it is from 2010. A few things...

You are right. Based on the old 2010 list it appears that LaClede would be 11th. Also, it is possible that some of those other gas firms have been acquired, split up etc. It is also possible that the St. Louis Post-Dispatch could have based their numbers on companies that deal solely with gas or only gas companies that are publically-traded. Or the Post-Dispatch number could be flat out wrong. I don't know.

I was quoting what the Post-Dispatch wrote,

The purchase is easily the biggest in Laclede’s history. It will transform the company into the nation’s fourth-largest gas utility owner, with 1.2 million customers and annual revenue in excess of $1.5 billion, based on the most recent 12 months’ financial results.

Just an FYI, New England Gas, an acquisition by LaClede, is not on the list. It has about 50,000 customers according to Bloomberg.

So based on the list you provided LaClede will have very close to 1.2-million customers.

LaClede Gas: 641,000
Missouri Gas: 495,000
New England Gas: 50,000
_________________________
=1,186.000

^ My company bought a large scow (barge that can split open along centerline) from Greenbrier last year. Top notch marine facility that will stay in place even though skilled labor is very expensive in the Pacific Northwest.

However, I see American Railcar moving back office to St. Louis area as well as railcar production to their other facitilites in the south where production costs are much less and cost of moving the product is easier and not as expensive as moving vessels/barges.

arch city wrote:

stlien wrote:Laclede has been planning these acquisitions for maybe 6 months now. Also, their current building is only 70% occupied. So there's plenty of room for them to grow there.

However, I personally see LaClede staying downtown for a while.

While anything could change, I don't think a move will occur. If the building is only 70% leased by firms as suggested, I think LaClede is in a great position to get a deal on their upcoming lease plus tax incentives from the city and state to create more jobs and upgrade their existing facilities - like Wells, Stifel, Unisys and Hudson Bay. LaClede already has its moniker on the building, plus the building is powered by gas as mentioned in the article. The building also has great views of the city, plus the neighborhood around LaClede is about to change drastically.

I agree with this completely.

Also, when I stated "their building", I didn't mean they owned it; please excuse the confusion.

Icahn Proposes Merger of American Railcar and Greenbrier
Wall Street Journal
BUSINESS Updated December 18, 2012, 5:23 p.m. ET
By BEN KESLING and MIA LAMAR

Carl Icahn is making another push to combine American Railcar Industries Inc. ARII +6.64% with rival Greenbrier Cos., GBX +7.38% as robust energy and commodity markets in the U.S. spur demand for rail capacity.

Antitrust hurdles may await, however, as the combination would unite two of the largest U.S. makers of railcars that carry grain, crude oil, lumber and chemicals. Together they command more than a third of the U.S. railcar market.

A regulatory filing Tuesday by American Railcar—in which Mr. Icahn has a 56% stake—said the two companies had held discussions about a $20-a-share cash offer for Greenbrier that values the company at $542 million. The brief filing said any deal would be contingent on a satisfactory review of Greenbrier's books.

While Greenbrier is larger than American Railcar, it is smaller in the business of making tank cars used to transport crude oil from the booming shale-oil regions of the country to pipelines and refineries.

"This is an opportunistic move by [American Railcar], one of the companies who is a primary beneficiary of the tank-car boom," said Bascome Majors, analyst with Susquehanna Financial Group.

The U.S. rail car market has rebounded from the depths of the 2008 recession when hundreds of thousands of railcars were left idled in sidings. But a surge in orders last year has tempered new business. The Railway Supply Institute pegs orders this year at just over 44,000 units this year, compared with 89,073 in 2011. Mr. Majors said that excluding tank cars, orders are only covering replacement of the aging U.S. fleet.

Combining Greenbrier and American Railcar would narrow the gap with sector leader Trinity Industries Inc., TRN +2.53% but could also face tough scrutiny from regulators.

beer city wrote:Yeah- Conag willmost likely want to consolidate in Omaha. Second large St. Louis business to do so - MoPac was bought out and eventually moved to there in 05

Ralcorp stock jumps 26%

http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/news ... -news.html

I am always amazed at stock jumps like this, the company's capital and brands are suddenly not worth any more than yesterday

weaving straw into gold = stock market

A-hole makes his dime and skates -

http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/blog ... stock.html

rawest1 wrote:

beer city wrote:

beer city wrote:Yeah- Conag willmost likely want to consolidate in Omaha. Second large St. Louis business to do so - MoPac was bought out and eventually moved to there in 05

Ralcorp stock jumps 26%

http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/news ... -news.html

I am always amazed at stock jumps like this, the company's capital and brands are suddenly not worth any more than yesterday

weaving straw into gold = stock market

A-hole makes his dime and skates -

http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/blog ... stock.html

I wouldn't call him an a-hole; business is business.

That said, wowzers.

I respect that, but would argue that business should be more than manipulting fantasy numbers, enhancing "real" value rather than "precieved"

http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/ ... c662b.html

Stifel completed another acquisition today. I wonder when we'll see Edward Jones or Scottrade make a play.

^ I wonder when someone will make a play for Scottrades. Might be mistaken, but always thought they created their own niche that a large firm might try to make part of their own. Then again, just guessing on my part

dredger wrote:^ I wonder when someone will make a play for Scottrades. Might be mistaken, but always thought they created their own niche that a large firm might try to make part of their own. Then again, just guessing on my part

Thankfully Scottrade is not a publicly traded company. If it were, it is likely they would have long since merged or been acquired. There have been many, many opportunities over the years. Competitors haven't exactly disguised their interest. Bigger firms are trying to replicate it (i.e. Merrill Edge). The current CEO still retains the lion's share of the ownership, and has always expressed a desire to remain independent.

Stifel Financial has acquired the entirety of Miller Buckfire
Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/news ... iller.html

They have continued to acquire multiple Investment Banking firms and will probably keep on doing so. It's great for Stifel, which remained independent as a Broker/Dealer after multiple B/D's merged with the big banks during the collapse of 2008, many doing so as a last resort to continue as going concerns. Today, they can grow where others can't. Going forward, Stifel should continue to buy more of these smaller, specialized Investment Banks, making a bigger and better company along the way. Good times.