Attention, those of you who own Viacom, Inc. (VIAB): VIAB has completed a merger with CBS Corporation (CBS). The merger includes a trade of 0.59625 shares of VIAC (the new company) for every 1 share of VIAB previously owned. Because of this merger, you should sell your shares of VIAC on Trade Day, and Transmogrify if necessary. If you are able to sell your shares above your average cost, there is no need to Transmogrify.
In most cases, clients will have a small loss on their VIAB position. If you wish to recognize the loss and skip the extra transmogrification steps, you can proceed like normal after selling your new shares of VIAC.
IMPORTANT: Do not take any action until after the December 2019 expiration.
We’re here to help! Here is a link to the Transmogrification document that will tell you step-by-step what to do.
PLEASE NOTE: The quantity of shares that you will have of VIAC by Trade Day will likely differ from the quantity that you previously owned of VIAB. In order to determine the Price of Old Stock for VIAB, you will take the proceeds that you receive for selling VIAC, and divide it by the number of shares that you owned of VIAB. If the quantity of shares you own of VIAC is identical to the quantity you owned of VIAB, you may proceed as normal with the transmogrification.
Lattco PRO clients: Please use this link to access the transmogrification document for your accounts. Also, please give us a call after you have purchased shares for your new position and before you sell your options; we will need to make some adjustments to your account to properly reflect the transmogrification.
Lattco AutoPilot clients: At this time, trading screens for Transmogrification are not included in the AutoPilot system. You will need to log into Ally to place three orders to complete the Transmogrification process:
- Sell your existing shares
- Buy the same amount of shares for your new stock
- Sell to Open a put at the top of the lower band to replace the purchase for the current month if you don’t own 10x your Level
Once this is complete please notify us and we will adjust your AutoPilot account so that it can suggest the appropriate call option orders.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at support@snideradvisors.com or 1-888-6-SNIDER. We’ll be happy to walk you through the process.
