The share price of Marathon Petroleum Corp. (MPC, Financial) was up nearly 25% during the quarter, after activist investors campaigned for a company spin-off to supposedly unlock greater value. Marathon Petroleum currently works in three arenas: refining operations, pipeline transportation and retail (Speedway chain of gasoline and convenience stores). Activists, including Jana Partners (Trades, Portfolio), Corvex Management and Elliott Management, called on Marathon to follow its industry peers in separating its businesses, with a raft of suggestions ranging from the spin-off of just Speedway to accelerating the drop down of assets into Marathon’s master limited partnership.
From the Polaris Global Value Fund 4th Quarter 2016 Commentary.
