Each shareholder will receive one WK Kellogg share for every four shares held in Kellogg, now renamed Kellanova. The aim of the separation is to enhance the value of Kellanova's business portfolio, which is more profitable and far more diversified than that of WK Kellog.

WK Kellog is the second-largest seller of cereals on the North American continent, with annual production of over 360,000 tonnes. Once a staple of the breakfast table, sweet cereals are now less and less common.

At the same time, fierce competition has emerged over the last decade, both from new alternative players in the premium segment - organic brands, etc. - and from private labels in the premium segment. and private labels in the lower-price segment.

Listed at $17, WK Kellogg shares immediately collapsed following selling pressure from Kellanova shareholders. Clearly, they have no desire to retain exposure to the North American cereal sector. Right or wrong?

Following these mass liquidations, with 85.6 million shares outstanding, the enterprise value - market capitalization and net debt - stands at $1.3 billion, a multiple of only x5 to x6 the operating profit before depreciation and amortization - or EBITDA - expected over the next three years, and less than x7 the consolidated profit projected by analysts to 2025.

While financial performance has been disappointing in recent years, WK Kellogg's management intends to restructure the company to return to double-digit operating margins. If this plan works, the current valuation appears extremely attractive.

It should be noted, however, that the details of the plan and its contours remain rather vague, and that it will require additional investment in production facilities - investment in modernization that Kellanova probably did not want to take on, due to insufficient profitability.

With a much more diversified brand portfolio - including Pringles, Pop-Tarts, RX Bar, and Cheez-It - Kellanova itself is valued at a much lower multiple than its direct comparables such as Pepsico or Nestlé.