Cendant Corp. officials today announced they are considering a delay in the spin-off of Realogy, its real estate division, until July.
The announcement comes a week after officials said that “Realogy common stock would begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange on a ‘when issued’ basis in mid-June and as a separate public company by the end of June.”
The company “is exploring the possibility of simultaneous spin-offs of its Realogy Corp. and Wyndham Worldwide Corp. subsidiaries in mid-July, instead of spinning off those companies at different times as previously contemplated,” according to today’s announcement.
Cendant’s Real Estate Services Division, which will become Realogy Corp. upon completion of its spin-off from Cendant, is the world’s largest residential real estate brokerage franchisor, the largest U.S. residential real estate brokerage firm, a provider of relocation services, and a provider of title and settlement services. Cendant’s real estate brands include Century 21, Coldwell Banker, Coldwell Banker Commercial, ERA, and Sotheby’s International Realty.
The company last month lowered its 2006 earnings expectations for Realogy. Full-year revenue for 2006 is expected to be about $7.1 billion, company officials announced.
Information about the company’s earnings estimates and the Realogy Form 10 filing are available online at Cendant.com. Cendant filed the registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in April. Cendant officials have announced that Realogy will apply to have its common stock listed in the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “H.”
A real estate and travel services giant, Cendant announced in February that it would split into four separate companies, including Realogy, hotel company Wyndham Worldwide, car rental company Avis Budget Group, and travel distribution services company Travelport.
The possible delay in the Realogy spin-off “is being considered as a result of the Realogy and Wyndham separations currently progressing on an approximately similar timetable and the increasing likelihood of a sale of Travelport rather than a spin-off,” according to today’s announcement.
The Wyndham Worldwide spin-off had previously been planned at the end of July.
“If the proposed simultaneous separation is pursued, the distribution to Cendant stockholders of the common stock of each of Realogy Corp. and Wyndham Worldwide would be targeted for mid-July,” according to the announcement.
“Given the current timetable for the Travelport sale process, it is also expected that by mid-July the Company will have greater visibility on the likely results of the process and the possible impact of the use of proceeds from such sale on the debt balances at Realogy and Wyndham Worldwide following their separation.”
As a part of the spin-off plan, Cendant Mobility last month re-branded as Cartus, and the Cendant Settlement Services Group is re-branding as Title Resource Group.
