After more than a decade under the ownership of a New Zealand investor, Reynolds Consumer Products ($PRIVATE:REYNOLDSGROUPHOLDINGS) is wrapping up its time as a private company. Its IPO defied a down market and shot up in early trading Friday January 31.
Since 2008, under the Rank Group, led by billionaire Graeme Hart, Reynolds Consumer Products has evolved from a company that was bought out of Alcoa and rebranded to its current form - our first chart, below, tracks job postings at Pactiv, a 2010 acquisition that cost $4.4 billion. Those are up 36% since hitting a recent low on September 30, 2019, a good sign of growth.
Over the years, under Hart's Rank Group, Reynolds has grown from an Alcoa spin-out, into a global maker of consumer packaging materials. This includes deals to expand into Europe and new lines of business in North America. Below, our next chart tracks another Reynolds asset - it's Hefty's social media likes tracker, based on Facebook ($FB) activity - and it's looking positively wimpy as of late.
Reynolds' pending arrival on public markets comes just days after the US and China agreed to de-escalate trade policy tensions that have forced companies to rethink spending and capital strategies - and could be a signal that the IPO market will soon have other entrants that had held off making debuts until the resolution of the trade war.
About the Data:
Thinknum tracks companies using the information they post online - jobs, social and web traffic, product sales and app ratings - and creates data sets that measure factors like hiring, revenue and foot traffic. Data sets may not be fully comprehensive (they only account for what is available on the web), but they can be used to gauge performance factors like staffing and sales.
Further Reading:
- Airlines are racing to consumers' smartphone - here's who's winning the race
- Beyond Meat shares sizzle again - see the meatless burger maker's alternative data
- Gap changes its mind about spinning out Old Navy - and alternative data supports their decision
