What has happened to Woolworths (WOW) shares today?
WOW -11.74%: shares in the supermarket company Woolworths have been hit this morning, but things may not be as they seem. Shares traded briefly below $36 today, after closing yesterday at $42.51. however, they trade ex-bonus today. Holders of WOW shares will be granted shares in a new listing, hitting the boards at 12PM today. Endeavour Group is splitting out of Woolworths, trading under the code EDV, a long awaited (and delayed) demerger of the hospitality business.
Endeavour accounted for around 15% ($10.6b) of the company’s FY20 revenue, and around 20% ($328m) of the group NPAT. It operates the BWS & Dan Murphy’s brands consisting of 1,630 stores, as well as 332 hotels in total (owned and leased) under the brand ALH. The move has been called for from activist investors for sometime given the social impact of alcohol sales as well as the over 12,000 pokie machine licenses held by the group.
