WINDS of change are blowing through Jefferson Smurfit's American operations where a review group, headed by JS Corp chief executive, Mr Dick Graham, is carrying out a root and branch review of the operations.
JS Corp has said it is premature to talk about asset sales, but American analysts who have visited JS Corp recently believe that one asset that is likely to be sold is Smurfit Newsprint with a possible price tag of around $650 million (£430 million).
One other possibility - although less likely - is the sale of JS Corp's timber land for an estimated $800 million.
Whether JS Corp - 46.5 per cent owned by Smurfit - sells either or both of these assets remains to be seen but analysts believe the funds raised will undoubtedly be used for acquisitions in the packaging industry and not any greenfield operation.
Analysts also believe the funds are unlikely to be used for a buy-out of Morgan Stanley's 36.5 per cent stake in IS Corp, although this is an option that Smurfit is continuing to look at closely. JS Corp shares are currently trading firmly at $16.50, a long way off the $22 high but equally a long way off the $11 low of not so long ago.
Smurfit shares have also been in heavy demand which sent the price to the mid-180s, before profit-taking brought them back below 180p. News of the possible asset disposals and the reorganisation of JS Corp resulted in renewed demand and yesterday the shares were well-bid on 185p.
It has also been a good week for Allied Irish Bank with the shares bucking the downward trend in the financials to push to new record highs above 500p. Part of the rise is down to the upgrading of its rating by Moody's to a level where AIB is on a similar rating with Bank of Scotland and Royal Bank of Scotland, two banks against which both major Irish banks are traditionally compared.
Big changes are also likely in the next couple of weeks at industrial holding group James Crean, once a stock with a high institutional fan club but now one of the lesser lights of the market.
Whether the restructuring, which will see Crean focus on two core business in food and electrical products, changes the attitude towards the company is a moot point but investors will be at least content that Crean is becoming a more focused company. The recent strength of DCC shows that the market is able to show a high regard for industrial holding companies - if they are seen as having a focused strategy and are not too widely dispersed.
The sell-off should convert Crean from a heavily-geared group into a net cash position with substantial acquisition capability.
Elsewhere, Anglo Irish topped up its capital ratios with a £80 million issue of preference share, funding that will allow Anglo Irish to substantially increase its lending capabilities.
Meanwhile, the domestic stock-broking industry is gearing itself up for the mid-summer commission bonanza that the Norwich Union flotation will bring. The price range announced this week and the 25p discount to Norwich Union members suggest the flotation will go well.
