Five companies to watch in 2017

Here are some companies we expect will be making headlines in 2017.

1. PIRELLI

The world's fifth-largest tire maker was acquired by Chinese state-owned China National Chemical Corp. in 2015 and de-listed from the Milan stock exchange later that year. But at the time of the acquisition, CEO Marco Tronchetti Provera said the plan was for ChemChina to re-list the company by 2019 at the latest.

Pirelli, according to ChemChina, was taken private to facilitate restructuring, but with the company no longer required to report its financials it's unclear how the company has been restructured.

At the time the company intended to merge Pirelli's industrial tire business—including its truck, agricultural and industrial units—into the Chinese firm's Fengshen Tires Stock Ltd. Co. subsidiary, which produces the Aeolus brand. That would create a business with an annual capacity of about 12 million commercial/industrial tires, doubling Pirelli's pre-acquisition output.

Whatever other restructuring efforts remain a mystery. A re-listing of the company would shed some light on the new Chinese owner's long-term plans for the firm.

2. FEDERAL-MOGUL

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn was determined to take complete control over automotive supplier Federal-Mogul Holdings Corp. Finally, he did just that.

On Jan. 19, Icahn Enterprises L.P., through his indirect wholly-owned subsidiary IEH FM Holdings L.L.C., sealed the deal as Federal-Mogul's second-largest shareholder Gabelli Asset Management Company Investors tendered 7 million shares to Icahn, enough for him to take over the public company outright.

His quest to gain full control began in September 2016 and by January he raised his offer for the remaining 18 percent of Federal-Mogul he did not own to $10 per share, up from $9.25 per share.

In December 2015, Icahn beat out Bridgestone Corp. to the tune of $1.03 billion for auto parts retail chain Pep Boys. Icahn's current retail chain Auto Plus and Pep Boys combined make up the fifth-largest retail auto parts chain in the U.S. It's believed Icahn wants to use his parts retailer network as a mainline for Federal-Mogul parts.

His plans could become clearer if he succeeds in acquiring all of Federal-Mogul.

3. PREFERRED COMPOUNDING

It didn't take long for Preferred to make a big splash under its new owner, Audax Private Equity. The firm recently executed a deal to acquire Trostel Ltd., not only significantly expanding its custom mixing operations, but allowing it to enter the manufacturing arena through Trostel's specialty rubber goods unit with a focus on seals.

The move comes on the heels of it adding a custom mixing facility in Mexico.

Manufacturing has not been a core focus of Preferred, and it will run Trostel's finished rubber products business as a stand-alone custom molding division. But with growth coming from the organic and acquisition fronts, its first entrance into the manufacturing world and new private equity backing to capitalize on further growth opportunities, Preferred is certainly a company worth watching.

4. FENNER

The mining industry has hit many companies, but Fenner P.L.C. has taken a beating of late.

The firm has undergone a major restructuring of its North American conveyor belt operations. It opened 2016 with the announcement that about 20 percent of its work force will be cut, which at the time tallied about 800. That came on the heels of an 11 percent reduction to the region's work force in August 2015, in addition to downsizing ECS' business in South America.

Later in 2016, CEO Nicholas Hobson stepped down for medical reasons.

But while its core business has struggled, other parts showed improvement—with CEO Mark Abrahams citing the company's oil and gas and medical products businesses during a July 13 trading update. And new process initiatives are offsetting some of the market fragility in its industrial business.

Abrahams cautioned that any gains likely will not be realized until the next financial year, but "next year" is now this year. Time will tell if that means a turnaround is on the horizon.

5. DOW, DUPONT

Or DowDuPont? The mega merger between two of the world's chemical giants has yet to receive approval from the European Union as the process drags into 2017. When the deal was announced in December 2015, the companies projected it to close by mid-2016.

A year later, and still no closure, both companies are facing what Bloomberg describes as a "very open outcome" during the EU review process. Whatever the decision, it's sure to have a far-ranging impact on the supply side, especially as mergers such as BASF/Monsanto and ChemChina/Syngenta await approval.

If approved, the deal would create a $130 billion chemicals giant that would be split into three independent, publicly traded companies—agriculture, commodities chemicals and specialty chemicals. If rejected, both companies will face major "what now?" questions. Either way, it's going to be big.