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Search resuls for: "Kenneth Squire"


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Now, ValueAct has engaged another titan of the market, Meta Platforms, announcing an approximately $1 billion dollar position in the company. With the stock price up about 56% in 2024, ValueAct still sees significant untapped value in Meta. ValueAct has shown at Microsoft and Salesforce that it is very good in helping companies trim fat and build muscle. The AI spending, while concerning to some in the market, can be the muscle that strengthens Meta's core FoA business. It should more than justify Meta's AI spend.
Persons: ValueAct, Mason Morfit, Mark Zuckerberg, OpenAI's GPT, Meta, Martha Stewart Living, Ken Squire Organizations: Reality Labs, Facebook, Microsoft, Meta, RL, Spotify, OpenAI, Adobe, New York Times, Expedia, Century Fox, KKR, 13D Locations: Salesforce
It invests in a concentrated portfolio of small and midcap life sciences companies, using activism as a tool to unlock value. A successful drug like Ohtuvayre would not just increase the life expectancies of patients with COPD, but it would lower costs for both health-care providers and COPD patients. Currently, there are over 8.6 million U.S. COPD patients with over 4 million remaining symptomatic despite treatment from the current commercial therapies. In early pooling analysis, Ohtuvayre showed a 41% reduction in exacerbations in COPD patients, almost double brensocatib. When Caligan announced its Verona position last month, the stock was trading at $33.40 per share or a $2.5 billion enterprise value.
Persons: Caligan, David Johnson, Ohtuvayre, Verona's, Verona, MorphoSys, bode, Ken Squire Organizations: Verona Pharma, Caligan Partners, Carlyle Group, FDA, MorphoSys AG, Novartis, pharma, 13D Locations: Verona, London, MorphoSys, Caligan's
The company operates through three segments: Self Care, Skin Health and Beauty, and Essential Health. Self Care product categories include pain care; cough cold allergy; and "other self care." The Skin Health and Beauty segment's product categories include face and body care and hair, sun and others. Skin Health and Beauty has been proven to be a marketing business whose growth can be greatly aided by social media. Kenvue has a solid business with iconic brands and one underperforming segment in Skin Health and Beauty.
Persons: Russell, Johnson, Kenvue, Michael CeraVe, Ken Squire Organizations: Skin, Health, Self, pharma, Colgate, Palmolive, Haleon, Kenvue, Essential Health, L'Oreal, Beauty, Skin Health, Management, 13D Locations: North America, Asia, Europe, Middle East, Africa, America, CY19, CeraVe
Air Products provides industrial gases and related equipment in end-markets such as refining, chemicals, metals, electronics, manufacturing and food. These long-term contracts functionally guarantee an unlevered double-digit return before Air Products even needs to put a dollar into the ground. Investors appreciate companies like Air Products for their low-risk and highly stable cash-flowing operations. On Oct. 4, Mantle Ridge announced a more than $1 billion position in Air Products, and echoed a similar sentiment and identified similar issues as D.E. We strongly expect that many of Air Products' other shareholders are concerned about the same issue.
Persons: It's, Shaw, unadulterated, Praxair, Seifi, Linde, D.E, Seifi Ghasemi, Ghasemi, Samir Serhan, Mantle, Paul Hilal, Scott Sutton, Olin, Russell, Ken Squire Organizations: Air Products, Chemicals, Air Liquide, Linde, Products, Air, D.E, Technologies, Fidelity National Information Services, FedEx, Verisk, Healthcare Trust, 13D Locations: Saudi Arabia, Louisiana, Texas, D.E, Air
Business: Reservoir Media operates a music publishing business, a recorded music business, a management business and a rights management entity in the Middle East. It operates through two segments: Music Publishing and Recorded Music. The Music Publishing segment is involved in the acquisition of interests in music catalogs, from which royalties are earned, as well as signing songwriters to agreements. The Recorded Music segment acquires sound recording catalogs and discoves recording artists, as well as markets, distributes, sells and licenses the music catalogs. After 12 years as a private company, RSVR went public in July 2021.
Persons: Joni Mitchell, Isley, Billy Strayhorn, Hoagy Carmichael, John Denver, Ali Tamposi, Jamie Hartman, Oak Felder, Steph Jones, Hans Zimmer, RSVR, Roth, Adam Rothstein, Irenic, SPACs, Khosrowshahi, Hipgnosis, Richmond Hill's, Ryan Taylor, Ken Squire Organizations: Reservoir Media, Publishing, Reservoir, Blackstone, Richmond Hill Investments, Richmond, 13D Locations: RSVR, Richmond
Business: Sanwa Holdings is a Japan-based company mainly engaged in the manufacture and sale of building and commercial facility construction materials, as well as the provision of maintenance and renovation services. Activist Commentary: ValueAct has been a premier corporate governance investor for over 20 years. Ahead of any shareholder value creation, ValueAct will likely call for increased shareholder returns in the form of buybacks to capitalize on the Sanwa's relatively low valuation. ValueAct is likely to continue as an active shareholder while Sanwa continues to do what it's been doing, just on a faster timetable. As an engaged investor, ValueAct has historically closed the gap between "good" and "great" by supporting management in executing its plan.
Persons: ValueAct, Rob Hale, Hale, Sanwa, Clopay, healthily, It's, Dalton, Ken Squire Organizations: Sanwa, Olympus, JSR, ValueAct, Griffon Corp, KKR, Nikkei, U.S, Dalton Investments, 13D Locations: Japan, North America, Europe, U.S, Asia
Bausch + Lomb parent company Bausch Health is spinning off the eye-care company with an upcoming IPO which will list on the New York Stock Exchange and TSX with the ticker symbol “BLCO”. This would greatly benefit BLCO stockholders, of which Bausch Health is the largest. As an 88% owner of BLCO, Bausch Health's value derived from such a sale would be $12.32 billion. Adding the value of the proceeds from BLCO sale, the Xifaxan cash flows and RemainCo yields a total value of $25.93 billion for Bausch Health. After subtracting 100% of the Bausch Health debt, that would yield an equity value of $10.49 billion or $28.19 per share.
Persons: Bausch, Scott Olson, Richard Mulligan, John Paulson, Brett Icahn, Steven Miller, Carl Icahn, BLCO, Goldman Sachs, Bausch Health's, Peers, InMode, Takeda, Gary Hu, Brent Saunders, Ken Squire Organizations: Bausch Health, New York Stock Exchange, TSX, U.S . Securities, Exchange, Financial Times, Cooper Companies, BLCO, Products, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Health, 13D Locations: CHICAGO , ILLINOIS, Chicago , Illinois, BLCO
Business: International Money Express is an omnichannel money remittance services company. IMXI offers money transfer services digitally through a network of agent retailers in the United States, Canada, Spain, Italy and Germany. It offers money remittance services to Latin America and the Caribbean countries, mainly Mexico and Guatemala. International Money Express is a money remittance services provider which enables consumers to send money from the United States, Canada, Spain, Italy and Germany to Mexico, Guatemala and other countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia. If the IMXI does not execute on a strategic plan, Voss will likely consider director nominations.
Persons: IMXI, Voss, Madison, Benefytt, Russell, Michael Purcell, Ken Squire Organizations: Express, Caribbean, La Nacional, Capital Management, MoneyGram, Benefytt Technologies, Madison Dearborn Partners, 13D Locations: United States, Canada, Spain, Italy, Germany, Puerto Rico, America, Caribbean, Mexico, Guatemala, Latin America, Africa, Asia, Dominican Republic, United Kingdom, Voss, Madison Dearborn, Western Union, Benefytt
The company was acquired by private equity firm Berkshire Partners in 2014 from the founder for approximately $1 billion. The non-Chicago locations have achieved AUVs of $6 million to $7 million, more than double quick service restaurants and fast casual industry averages. While Portillo's has much larger AUV than its peers, the company has an even larger average footprint than peers. Closing this gap will take significant capital allocation improvements, technology initiatives, marketing plans, real estate restructurings and operational advancements. Engaged is supportive of management and expects they will recruit a strong operator into the presently vacant COO role.
Persons: Portillo's, , Ken Squire Organizations: Berkshire Partners, Berkshire, Management, NFL, Del, Shake, 13D Locations: Berkshire, Chicago, Portillo's, That's, Del Frisco's
Activist Commentary: Oasis Management is a global hedge fund management firm headquartered in Hong Kong with additional offices in Tokyo and Austin, Texas, as well as the Cayman Islands. Kobayashi Pharmaceutical is a Japan-based pharmaceuticals and consumer products company. It would imbue the company with a sense of urgency to improve operational performance, corporate governance and shareholder value maximization. But that is also a long shot, even at a company with corporate governance issues as we have here. The firm is a top-tier Japan shareholder activist and if anyone can get board seats in Japan, it is Oasis.
Persons: Seth Fischer, Oasis, Kobayashi, Akihiro Kobayashi, Kazumasa Kobayashi, Satoshi Yamane, Ken Squire Organizations: Kobayashi Pharmaceutical, Business, Company, Oasis Management, Oasis, Ain Holdings, Kobayashi's, Tsuruha Holdings, Kao Corp, Taisho Pharmaceutical Holdings, 13D Locations: Japan, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Austin , Texas, Cayman Islands, Asia, Europe, Kobayashi, Hokuetsu, Ain
Business: Five9 provides intelligent cloud software for contact centers in the United States and internationally. It offers a virtual contact center cloud platform that delivers a suite of applications, which enables the breadth of contact center-related customer service, sales and marketing functions. Five9 is a cloud-based contact center software provider empowering clients with solutions for customer service, sales and marketing. It is a developer and provider of AI contact center solutions that augment or replace human beings often at more than double the price. As an independent company, Five9 has a tremendous opportunity for value.
Persons: Anson, Moez Kassam, Sagar Gupta, InContact, Five9, Mike Burkland, Ken Squire Organizations: Legion Partners, Nice, Five9, 13D Locations: United States
Business: Solventum , formerly known as 3M Health Care, is a global health-care company that was spun out from 3M on April 1 . As a standalone company, Solventum has been under-covered and misunderstood by the market. There is also no shortage of examples of Trian being a valuable corporate governance-oriented investor and creating tremendous shareholder value from the board level. While Trian has a history of being an active shareholder, the firm has also created tremendous shareholder value as an engaged director. Moreover, if there is an opportunity to divest one or more businesses, shareholders would have comfort with a financially astute shareholder representative on the board to evaluate competing offers to assure the maximization of shareholder value.
Persons: Trian, Nelson Peltz, Peltz, Solventum, Pepper, Ingersoll Rand's, Russell, Ken Squire Organizations: Health, 3M, What's, Bloomberg, Dental Solutions, Information Systems, Electric plc, Kraft Foods, Dow, General Electric, GE, GE HealthCare, GE HealthCare Technologies, 13D Locations: Solventum
Activist Commentary: Starboard is a very successful activist investor and has extensive experience helping companies focus on operational efficiency and margin improvement. On July 15, Starboard sent a letter to Match highlighting various opportunities to improve operations, financial results and capital allocation. Match's EBITDA margin of 36% may be high for an average company, but it's low for a company like Match. Starboard thinks that this is a highly valuable asset that may be well-suited to operate as a private company. Starboard is not the first activist to launch a public campaign at Match.
Persons: Russell, Bernard Kim's, Jeff Smith, Thomas McInerney, Smith, Elliott, Ken Squire Organizations: IAC, Altaba, Yahoo, Elliott Management, Anson, 13D
Business: Smith & Nephew is a British portfolio medical technology company that operates worldwide. Its segments include Orthopedics, Sports Medicine and Ear, Nose and Throat, as well as Advanced Wound Management. Its Advanced Wound Management portfolio provides a comprehensive set of products to meet broad and complex clinical needs. Smith & Nephew is a global leader in medical technology. Smith & Nephew is well known for its product quality and its brand perception is very strong.
Persons: Smith, Nephew, Stryker, Zimmer Biomet, Ken Squire Organizations: Sports, Management, Sports Medicine, Cevian, Sports Med, 13D Locations: British, Europe
Rapid7 Managed Threat Complete is the company's flagship offering, and it includes the Rapid7 Managed Detection and Response program. Activist Commentary: Jana is a very experienced activist investor founded in 2001 by Barry Rosenstein. The firm made its name taking deeply researched activist positions with well-conceived plans for long term value. Rapid7 is a cybersecurity company that expands the expertise of its clients' security operations. In addition, to shift from pure growth to a profitable software company, Rapid7 has focused on meeting targets for $160 million in free cash flow and improved margins.
Persons: Rapid7, Jana, Barry Rosenstein, Rosenstein, Tenable, It's, Corey Thomas, Cannae, Bradstreet, Ken Squire Organizations: VM, National Security Telecommunications Advisory, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Foreign Relations, of Massachusetts, LPL Financial, Vanderbilt University, Francisco Partners, Sumo, Cannae Holdings, 13D Locations: Splunk, Rapid7
Activist Commentary: Starboard is a very successful activist investor and has extensive experience helping companies focus on operational efficiency and margin improvement. With 90%+ gross margins and 35% operating margins, Autodesk is a leader in AEC software. Further, its operating margins are not much worse than those of its peers at first blush. However, Starboard correctly does not judge the company's operating margins on the mean of its peer set, but by the potential embodied in its gross margins and market position. He no longer serves on the board of Autodesk, but he could certainly be an informal advisor to Starboard – or a cautionary tale for Autodesk.
Persons: Max, Russell, Deborah Clifford, Clifford, bode, Sachem, Andrew Anagnost, designees, Rick Hill, Hill, designee, Ken Squire Organizations: Autodesk, Engineering, Manufacturing, Media, Entertainment, Manufacturing Solutions, Wonder, Delaware Chancery, , U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Delaware Court, Marvell Technology, Symantec, 13D Locations: Delaware, Autodesk's
Rentokil offers a complete range of pest control services, from rodents to flying and crawling insects, to other forms of wildlife management. Trian, managed by Nelson Peltz, takes very few positions, but is very active in its positions. Rentokil Initial is a United Kingdom-based global provider of pest control, hygiene and well-being services for residential, commercial and industrial customers. However, when it has engaged with UK companies, the firm has consistently been able to create shareholder value. Shifting the listing to the U.S. is the low-hanging fruit of value creation and potentially divesting the European business could create additional value.
Persons: It's, Trian, Nelson Peltz, Peltz, Rentokil, Janus Henderson, Ferguson, Ecolab, Rio, Pearson, Ken Squire Organizations: Rentokil's, Unilever, Ferguson, New York Stock Exchange, Rollins, Janus, 13D Locations: United Kingdom, North America, Europe, Saharan Africa, France, U.S, Pentair, London, Rio Tinto, New York
Texas Instruments is one of the most iconic semiconductor companies in the world, with a history dating back nearly a century. Over the years, Texas Instruments has differentiated itself with a commitment to manufacturing as a core competitive advantage. In either case, Elliott thinks the company can achieve $9.01 of free cash flow per share. The company's capex plan has decimated free cash flow per share and is building to a 50% excess capacity. Elliott's plan restores the free cash flow per share growth and still builds to a 30% or 39% excess capacity.
Persons: Elliott, It's, Ken Squire Organizations: Texas, Texas Instruments, 13D Locations: COOs, China, Taiwan, U.S, capex, Richardson , Texas
Business: Sensata Technologies is an industrial technology company that develops, manufactures and sells sensors, electrical protection components and other products. Activist Commentary: Elliott is a very successful and astute activist investor. Elliott often watches companies for many years before investing and has an extensive stable of impressive board candidates. At the same time, Sensata also noted that Elliott settled for a board seat for Phillip Eyler (president and CEO of Gentherm), effective on July 1. As Sensata sensors are used in both combustion and electric vehicles, the current trend to hybrid gives the company a sort of 2-for-1 demand for its products.
Persons: Elliott, Jeff Cote, Martha Sullivan, Sensata, Phillip Eyler, Russell, Sullivan, Eyler, Ken Squire Organizations: Sensata Technologies, Xirgo Technologies, SmartWitness Holdings, 13D Locations: COOs, Cote, Sensata
Toyo Suisan has consistently outperformed Nissin Foods in North America, one of the most profitable and fastest-growing markets in the world. It generally starts with shareholder proposals that by regulation can only address specific issues, such as capital allocation and dividends. Last year, 3% of corporate governance shareholder proposals were passed and 4% of balance sheet-based shareholder proposals were passed. First, it shows the opportunities available to activists in Japan where reasonable shareholder proposals could lead to significant shareholder value creation. Brian Doyle of Nihon Global and his team are a good example of this.
Persons: Toyo Suisan, Toyo Suisan's, Nissin, Nihon, hasn't, Judge Chamberlain Haller, Vinny, Nihon Global's, Brian Doyle, Hiroyuki Otsuka, Carlyle, Ken Squire Organizations: Toyo, Nihon Global Growth Partners Management, Nihon Global, Nihon, Nissin, Foods, Nissin Foods, Tokyo Stock Exchange, U.S, White, Newton Investment Management, 13D Locations: Japan, Toyo, North America, Mexico, U.S, American, United States, Asia
Activist Commentary: Jana is a very experienced activist investor founded in 2001 by Barry Rosenstein. Wolfspeed is the world's leading producer of silicon carbide, or SiC, and a manufacturer of silicon carbide applications. Jana also recommends that the board commences a review of strategic alternatives, including a possible sale of the company. At Freshpet, Jana also made operational and capital allocation recommendations in addition to reviewing a sale of the company. Here, there has been no such mention of a "Jana Dream Team," but it is a little too early for that.
Persons: Jana, Barry Rosenstein, Rosenstein, John Palmour, Wolfspeed, Renesas, Ken Squire Organizations: John Palmour Manufacturing, Silicon Carbide, Mitsubishi Electric, 13D Locations: Siler City, N.C, Marcy, N.Y, North Carolina, Mohawk, New York, Germany, Freshpet
Activist Commentary: Oasis Management is a global hedge fund management firm headquartered in Hong Kong with additional offices in Tokyo, Austin and the Cayman Islands. The hygiene and living care segment provides fabric, kitchen, home, sanitary and pet care products. Kao Corp is a global fast-moving consumer goods company with a diversified portfolio of products spanning from hair and skin care to cosmetics and chemicals. Oasis has proven to be a value-creating activist in many situations and would likely be a valuable board member here, but this is not a typical Oasis activist campaign. On the contrary, the day after Oasis launched its campaign, Kao stated that the firm lacked sufficient understanding of its portfolio management and restructuring plans.
Persons: Seth Fischer, Molton Brown, Kao, Kao's ROE, Beiersdorf, Aoki, Tsuruha, Oasis, ROE, Ken Squire Organizations: Oasis Management, Oasis, Business, Kao Corp, Tokyo Stock Exchange, onboarding, Kao, 13D Locations: Hong Kong, Tokyo, Austin, Cayman Islands, Asia, Europe, Japan
More recently, after nominating a majority director slate, Sachem Head settled for three board seats at US Foods. Taking board seats signifies both commitment and contribution, and this philosophy and style is really paying off for Sachem Head. After 2021, the revenue growth started slowing: It's 8.5% today, and it's estimated to be 5% to 10% in the coming years. As much as a growth market rewards hyper-growth stocks, it punishes those companies when revenue growth slows. On March 30, Sachem Head received a board seat for Andy J. Stafman, partner at Sachem Head, and agreed to withdraw its notice of shareholder proposals and nomination of candidates for election to the board at the 2024 annual meeting.
Persons: Scott Ferguson, Sachem, Ferguson, Olin —, Twilio, Twilio's, Jeff Lawson, Khozema, denigrate Lawson, Sinch, Andy J, Stafman, Anson, Sagar Gupta, Thomas Wyatt, Ken Squire Organizations: Pershing, Olin, US Foods, Sachem, Communications, Gartner, IDC, Twilio . Legion Partners, Anson Funds, Legion Partners, 13D Locations: Twilio
Tribeca has been a shareholder of Glencore for seven years and has been engaging with management for a year. The company has excellent core asset quality in copper, zinc and coal, as well as a world-leading commodity trading business. Notably, Bluebell Capital Partners agitated for a demerger of Glencore's thermal coal business in 2021. However, in 2023, after acquiring a 77% interest in Teck's steelmaking coal business, Glencore stated its intention to demerge its combined coal and carbon steel businesses. The same can be said for the divestment of the trading business.
Persons: Glencore, David Aylward, Gary Nagle, astutely, Berkshire Hathaway, Ivan Glasenberg, Ken Squire Organizations: Glencore, Tribeca Investment Partners, Tribeca, Financial Times, Australian Securities Exchange, London Stock Exchange, BHP, Rio Tinto, Bluebell Capital Partners, LSE, Rio, NYSE, 13D Locations: Switzerland, Australia, Africa, South America, Sydney, Melbourne, Singapore, London, Tribeca, Glencore, Swiss, Rio, Europe, cyclicality, Berkshire
Business: Greencore Group is an Ireland-based manufacturer of convenience foods. Premier Foods has generated a total return of nearly 300%, while Greencore is down 41.5% in that time. It is hard to believe there is another investor more qualified to create shareholder value at Greencore than Oasis. In addition, at The Restaurant Group and Premier, Oasis pushed for the sale of non-core assets, which is consistent with streamlining operations and creating shareholder value. One Greencore director who Oasis knows well is Alastair Murray, the former CFO and once-interim CEO of Premier Foods.
Persons: Seth Fischer, Greencore, Daniel Wosner, Oasis, Gavin Darby, Darby, Wosner, Wosner's reappointment, Dalton Philips, Catherine Gubbins, Alastair Murray, Murray, Ken Squire Organizations: Greencore, Convenience Foods, Ireland, Oasis Management, Oasis, Premier Foods, Apollo, Premier, Group, 13D Locations: Ireland, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Austin, Cayman Islands, Asia, Europe
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