no new name?
Edina-based Nash Finch Co. and Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Spartan Foods officially closed on their merger last week and going forward the combined company will be called … SpartanNash Co. The new name pays homage to the history of each company and the company's ticker — "SPTN" — stays the same.
But Mollie Young, a principal with corporate naming firm Nametag International in Edina, calls the conjoined SpartanNash name a missed opportunity.
"It is a very cautious naming move," Young said. By taking parts of both old names to create a new name they've missed the chance to create something new. "It is sending a message of same old, same old," she said.
'Hold' on Mosaic
BGC Financial analyst Mark Gulley has downgraded both Plymouth-based Mosaic Corp. and its Canadian competitor Potash Corp. to ''hold.'' Excess global capacity of potash, lower demand from China and lower corn futures prices may lead to lower demand for fertilizer are cited in the downgrades. Gulley also lowered price targets for both. Regarding Mosaic, he wrote: "Cutting our price target to $47 from $50 [per share], affording nil upside potential from current levels."
Patrick Kennedy
