Activist Commentary: Starboard is a very successful activist investor and has extensive experience helping companies focus on operational efficiency and margin improvement. Starboard sees Vertiv as a great business in a solid industry with secular tailwinds – more data is being generated every day requiring more data centers. After going public, Vertiv delivered solid results, which allowed management to continue to focus on revenue growth, rather than operating margins. This is a typical situation for Starboard: a private company CEO running a public company like a private company leading to underperforming operating margins. Both Starboard and Vertiv seem to be on the same page.

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