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☆ Activist ValueAct is poised to trim fat and help boost profits at Meta Platforms. Here’s how
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-16 | by ( Kenneth Squire | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

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

☆ Activist investor ValueAct has $1 billion stake in Meta, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-12 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Activist investor ValueAct has a $1 billion stake in Facebook parent Meta , according to people familiar with the matter. ValueAct has a long history of investing in technology companies, and is generally considered to be more constructivist and collaborative than other activist funds. Meta is the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. It is one of the largest companies to be targeted by an activist investor, with a market cap of nearly $1.5 trillion. Morfit has also pushed for change at other, smaller technology companies, including Spotify.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, ValueAct, Mason Morfit, Nelson Peltz's Trian, Meta, Brad Gerstner's, Gerstner, Morfit, — CNBC's David Faber Organizations: Meta, Inc, Orion, Facebook, Disney, Nelson Peltz's Trian Partners, Microsoft, Spotify Locations: Menlo Park , California

☆ Starboard Value's Jeff Smith says Salesforce has 'a lot more to go' and can get more profitable
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-22 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Starboard revealed a holding in the stock and Salesforce responded by cutting thousands of employees and moving up its timeline for widening its adjusted operating margin. On Tuesday, Starboard said in a presentation that Salesforce "can continue to become more efficient and more profitable." And Starboard said Salesforce should commit to adhering to the rule of 50 by the 2028 fiscal year. The activist firm laid out two scenarios, both of which involved Salesforce's revenue growth accelerating and its adjusted operating margin widening. The Agentforce technology for automating customer interactions, which Salesforce discussed at its Dreamforce conference in September, has the potential to boost revenue growth, Starboard said.

Persons: They've, Jeff Smith, CNBC's David Faber, Salesforce, Marc Benioff, Salesforce's, Mason Morfit, Amy Weaver Organizations: 13D, ValueAct, UBS, Adobe, Intuit, Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, CNBC Locations: New York

☆ ValueAct increases Salesforce stake to nearly $1 billion, sending shares up
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-06 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Mason Morfit, Salesforce board member and co-CEO of activist investor ValueAct, has increased his stake in Marc Benioff's software firm to just under $1 billion, acquiring $99 million worth of shares earlier this week, just days after the company reported its first revenue miss since 2006. The trade was disclosed in a regulatory filing Thursday, sending Salesforce shares up around 3.5% on the news in morning trading. The other activists eyeing Salesforce at the time included Elliott Management, Dan Loeb's Third Point, and Starboard Value. Earlier this year, Salesforce's widely reported pursuit of data management firm Informatica sent shares see-sawing before the putative target said it was not considering a sale. Salesforce shares briefly eclipsed their previous 2021 highs earlier this year, but have since given back those gains and are down 4% year-to-date.

Persons: Mason Morfit, ValueAct, Marc Benioff's, Morfit, Benioff's, eyeing Salesforce, Elliott, Dan Loeb's, Benioff, Salesforce's, Jeff Ubben, Bob Iger, Trian's Nelson Peltz, Ike Perlmutter, Salesforce Organizations: ValueAct, Elliott Management, Informatica, Microsoft, Marvel Locations: New York, U.S, Benioff

☆ Why the market is in a holding pattern, plus updates on 3 key portfolio stocks
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-06 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

One up, one down: Club stock Eaton is is down, despite being added to Jefferies' "Franchise Picks" list on Thursday. Please remember that when people get extra shares they tend to sell them, not buy them, but ultimately split stocks do well. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB.

Persons: Jim Cramer, Mason Morfit, ValueAct, Salesforce, Eaton, Jefferies, Jim, Eli Lilly, payrolls, Jim Cramer's, Justin Sullivan Organizations: CNBC, Food and Drug Administration, Nvidia, Tech, Jim Cramer's Charitable Locations: San Francisco

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Five Below, Salesforce, Lululemon, Instacart and more
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-06 | by ( Sean Conlon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

For the current quarter, Five Below said it expects between $830 million and $850 million in revenue, while analysts polled by LSEG expected $883 million. The move was made earlier this week and comes just days after the company reported its first revenue miss since 2006. Lululemon issued weak guidance for the current quarter, but its full-year earnings per share guidance was above expectations. The company recorded earnings of $2.66 per share, which is better than the LSEG consensus estimate of $2.33 in earnings per share. The bank cited its earnings per share potential and discounted valuation as reasons for the call.

Persons: LSEG, ValueAct, Mason Morfit, Lululemon, Sprinklr, Smartsheet, Smucker, Goldman Sachs, —, Samantha Subin, Michelle Fox, Lisa Han, Alex Harring Organizations: LSEG, Revenue, Old Dominion, Fluence Energy, Guggenheim, Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical, JPMorgan

☆ Op-ed: How activist investors are deactivating with proxy battle losses
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-23 | by ( Jeffrey Sonnenfeld | Steven Tian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Whether today's activist investors contribute any genuine economic value is open for debate. As this year's proxy season draws to a close, defeat after defeat for activist investors in proxy fights this year – most prominently at Disney and Norfolk Southern – raises the question: Are activist investors increasingly getting de-activated, losing their credibility and power? These self-styled "activist investors" are distinct from the original activists who helped catalyze needed governance reforms two decades back. Many of today's activist investors are a far cry from the original, heroic crusaders for shareholder value who pioneered the activism space decades ago. However, given the failing financial performance of many of today's activist investors, their losing streak in proxy fights and increasing public rejection of their bullying tactics, the credibility and value of activist investors writ large is increasingly imperiled.

Persons: Nelson Peltz's, Ed Garden, Ralph Whitworth, John Biggs of TIAA, John Bogle of, Ira Millstein, Weil, Nell Minow, Bob Monks, Harvard's Stephen Davis, Carl Icahn's, Aubrey McClendon, –, Bill Cohan, Jamie Dimon, Glass Lewis, resoundingly, Mason Morfit's ValueAct, Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Lester, Steven Tian Organizations: CNBC, Salesforce, Dow Jones, Disney, Norfolk Southern, Relational Investors, John Bogle of Vanguard, Services, Chesapeake, Norfolk, JetBlue, Elanco, of Institutional Investors, United Shareholders Association, Responsibility Research, ISS, Lester Crown, Management, Yale University, Yale's, Institute Locations: Norfolk Southern, greenmailers, America

☆ ValueAct reveals stake in Fanduel-parent Flutter Entertainment
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Jesse Pound | In Jesse-Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

ValueAct Capital on Wednesday unveiled a stake in Flutter Entertainment , the Dublin-based parent company of sports betting firm Fanduel. It is possible that ValueAct previously had some other exposure to Flutter. The hedge fund previously had a position in The Stars Group, which was acquired by Flutter in 2020. While the ValueAct stake in Flutter is small, Gordon Haskett analyst Don Bilson pointed out in a note to clients that UBS also reported a stake in the gaming company. UBS has previously worked with ValueAct to build stakes in individual stocks for the hedge fund, Bilson said.

Persons: Mason Morfit, ValueAct, Walt Disney, Gordon Haskett, Don Bilson, Bilson Organizations: Capital, Walt, Securities and Exchange Commission, Stars, UBS, New York Stock Exchange, NYSE, Seagate Technology Holdings, Paycom Locations: Dublin, ValueAct

☆ Spotify reports record quarterly profit after a year marked by deep layoffs and activist attention
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Spotify reported first-quarter earnings on Tuesday, notching record quarterly profit and beating estimates on the top and bottom lines, after a year of deep cost cutting and streamlining. The company expects net new MAUs of 16 million, for a total of 631 million monthly active users. Spotify attributed the slowed growth to "moderated marketing activity" — driven by cost cutting — resulting in "more normalized growth." ValueAct, which manages nearly $12 billion in assets, has a 0.5% Spotify stake valued at $280 million. When the activist investor first disclosed the position in 2023, it owned around 1.2% of Spotify.

Persons: Daniel Ek, Joe Rogan, MAUs, Mason Morfit's ValueAct Organizations: Spotify, LSEG, StreetAccount Spotify Locations: Tokyo, Swedish

Trian claims Disney's board has failed to generate sufficient returns in recent years as subscription streaming losses have mounted and traditional TV subscribers have declined. Early vote countBoth Disney and Trian received support from influential shareholders ahead of Wednesday's meeting. Roughly one-third of Disney's shareholders are retail shareholders, who historically vote in small numbers in annual meetings. The arrangement still raised questions about ValueAct's support for the company and whether Disney's board should have disclosed the prior relationship. WATCH: Disney board battle reaches final moments

Persons: Bob Iger, Mickey Mouse, Valerie Macon, Nelson Peltz, Jay Rasulo, They've, Maria Elena Lagomasino, Michael Froman, Peltz, Ike Perlmutter, Trian, Disney's, Iger, Bob Chapek, Patrick T, Adam Jeffery, Morgan Stanley, James Gorman, CNBC's, George Lucas, Laurene Powell Jobs, Lucas, Powell Jobs, Ken Squire, Rowe Price, Rowe, Mason Morfit's, ValueAct, Neuberger Berman, John Ferguson, Rasulo —, Glass Lewis, Iger's, Gorman, Jeremy Darroch, CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin, Heidi Gutman, Lagomasino, shouldn't, Blackwells, Rasulo, Jason Aintabi, John Foley, Jessica Schnell, Craig Hatkoff, Leah Solivan, ValueAct hasn't Organizations: AFP, Getty Images Disney, Voters, Trian Partners, Disney, PepsiCo, Marvel, SEC, Fallon, Bloomberg, Getty, CNBC Disney, CNBC, Star Wars, LucasArts, Pixar, BlackRock, Institutional, California Public Employees, Yacktman Asset Management, Saratoga Proxy, ISS, Sky, Trian Fund Management, NBCU, Bank, NBCUniversal, Green, Comcast Locations: Los Angeles, New York

☆ Disney paid ValueAct millions in fees before winning its support in proxy fight, activist says
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Blackwells Capital, which previously voiced support for Iger and Disney management, said ValueAct had been managing more than $350 million in Disney pension funds in a relationship stretching back to 2013. Blackwells has estimated that Disney paid a cumulative $95 million in fees to ValueAct from 2014 to 2022. Disney and Trian have been in the throes of a proxy fight since October, with the fight intensifying as Disney's annual shareholder meeting nears. Disney has repeatedly voiced its support for Iger and has highlighted that its directors have experience overseeing successful succession planning. Representatives for Disney, Blackwells and ValueAct did not respond to requests for comment outside of normal business hours.

Persons: Robert Iger, Blackwells, Mason Morfit, ValueAct, Bob Iger, Nelson Peltz's Trian, Trian, Bob Chapek, Peltz Organizations: Disney, Dolby Theatre, ValueAct Capital, Nelson Peltz's Trian Partners, Blackwells, Department of Labor Locations: Hollywood , California, Iger

☆ Spotify ditches popular podcasts 'Heavyweight' and 'Stolen' as CEO doubles down on cost-cutting
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Spotify is cutting two big podcasts, "Heavyweight" and "Stolen," Bloomberg reported. The podcasts in question, "Heavyweight" and "Stolen," will be canceled after completing their current seasons, the report said. Given the cancellations, the streaming giant's viral Spotify Wrapped campaign might soon be overshadowed by a new mantra: "Spotify Scrapped." "Heavyweight" was listed as one of The New York Times' top podcasts of the year and "Stolen" won a Pulitzer Prize and Peabody Award. The news of the podcasts' axing comes as Spotify made its third round of layoffs this year.

Persons: Daniel Ek, —, Ek, Mason Morfit, Prince Harry, Meghan Markle Organizations: Bloomberg, Analysts, Service, Spotify, The New York Times, Peabody, Spotify's Gimlet, Financial Times Locations: Stockholm

☆ Activist investor ValueAct has been building a stake in Disney
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Kenneth Squire | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

ValueAct Capital has taken a significant stake in Disney (DIS) and has been in dialogue with Disney's management, the Activist Spotlight has learned. It operates through two segments, Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution; and Disney Parks, Experiences and Products. Activist Commentary: ValueAct has been a premier corporate governance investor for over 20 years. ValueAct began buying Disney this summer during the WGA and SAG strikes and it is one of the firm's largest positions. This certainly gives the Disney board an alternative they were not expecting.

Persons: ValueAct, Warner, Mason Morfit, Wordle, Bob Iger, Iger, Satya Nadella, Steve Ballmer, Nelson Peltz, Ken Squire Organizations: ValueAct, Disney, Business, Disney Media, Entertainment, Disney Parks, Warner Bros, Paramount, Netflix, WGA, SAG, Microsoft, Adobe, New York Times, Spotify, Century Fox, ESPN, Hulu, Athletic, Trian Partners, 13D Locations: Salesforce

☆ ValueAct builds stake in Disney, adds drama at home of Mickey Mouse -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Svea Herbst-Bayliss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A screen shows the logo and a ticker symbol for The Walt Disney Company on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., December 14, 2017. ValueAct and Disney declined to comment. Disney's stock price could trade between $120 and $190 a share, far above its current $94.19 price, ValueAct has suggested, the people said. Unlike other activist investors who noisily push for change through public presentations, ValueAct prefers to work quietly behind the scenes. In January, ValueAct CEO Mason Morfit was invited onto Salesforce's (CRM.N) board at a time the company had at least five activist shareholders.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, ValueAct, Mickey, Nelson Peltz's, Peltz, Shaw, Trian, Mason Morfit, Svea Herbst, Bayliss, Dawn Chmielewski, Arsheeya, Arun Koyyur, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Walt Disney Company, New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, ValueAct, Walt Disney, Disney, 13D Monitor, Pixar, Star Wars, Marvel, Fund Management, Management, Capital Partners, Microsoft, Svea, Thomson Locations: New York, U.S, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Bengaluru

☆ Salesforce's strong stock price wooed some investors during third quarter-filings
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Svea Herbst-Bayliss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The two hedge funds had each cut their investments in Salesforce during the second quarter. Still Starboard Value the first activist to speak publicly in October 2022 about needed changes at Salesforce cut its stake again, the filings show. On Sept. 30, the hedge fund owned 1.7 million shares, marking a 14% drop from what it owned at the end of the second quarter. Light Street Capital Management cut its stake by 44%, while Polen Capital Management trimmed it by 3.2%, the filings show. While Salesforce's stock price lost some ground during the third quarter, it has continued to move higher and closed trading at $221.18 on Tuesday.

Persons: Porte, Benoit Tessier, Salesforce, Mason Morfit, Svea Herbst, Bayliss, Aurora Ellis Organizations: Viva Technology, Porte de, REUTERS, Capital Management, Farallon Capital Management, Elliott Investment Management, ValueAct, Investment, Securities and Exchange, Street Capital Management, Polen Capital Management, Svea, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, Salesforce, Polen

☆ Exclusive: ValueAct takes stakes in Recruit and Expedia, says they are poised for strong growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Svea Herbst-Bayliss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Recruit logo is displayed at its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan May 10, 2022. REUTERS/Mayu Sakoda/ Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK, Nov 15 (Reuters) - ValueAct Capital Management has bought stakes in job search site Indeed's parent Recruit Holdings (6098.T) and in online travel services provider Expedia Group (EXPE.O) and believes both are poised for strong growth. Recruit is valued at roughly $49 billion while Expedia has a market value of about $17 billion. ValueAct CEO Mason Morfit was invited onto Salesforce's board this year and the stock price has surged 64% since January. There was no mention of Recruit or Expedia.

Persons: Mayu, Expedia, ValueAct, Mason Morfit, Svea Herbst, Bayliss, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: REUTERS, ValueAct Capital Management, Recruit Holdings, Expedia, Reuters, Recruit, Microsoft, Danaher Corp, Roblox, Alarm.com Holdings, Svea, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Austin , Texas, Expedia, Illumina

☆ Support from a new activist firm may be what Disney needs to accelerate CEO Iger's turnaround
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Paulina Likos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

We're pleased to see a new activist firm come to Disney 's (DIS) support since CEO Bob Iger's turnaround strategy for the entertainment giant has been taking time to show meaningful results. ValueAct started to build its Disney stake this past summer, and the stock is now among its largest positions. DIS YTD mountain DIS stock performance year-to-date. ValueAct isn't the only activist firm that has built a stake in Disney. This new Disney buy during the third quarter comes after Peltz's recent push in October to potentially reignite a fight for multiple seats on Disney's board.

Persons: We're, Bob Iger's, ValueAct, Ken Squire, Mason Morfit, Squire, Nelson Peltz's, Nelson, Jim Cramer, Peltz, Iger, Jim Cramer's, Jim, Walt, Joe Raedle Organizations: Disney, Management, SEC, CNBC, Netflix, Walt Disney, Getty Locations: Disney, Hulu, Orlando , Florida

☆ Activists ease up on Salesforce — plus, 10 other Club stocks traded by Wall Street pros
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | In Kevinstankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

The extraordinary activist-investor interest in Salesforce (CRM) eased further in the second quarter, according to the latest regulatory filings from influential Wall Street pros. His firm still owned about 2 million Salesforce shares as of June 30. Tepper also bought 2.3 million shares of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and 480,000 shares of Apple (AAPL) during the second quarter. As a result, Appaloosa's holdings as of mid-August may differ significantly from the conclusion of the second quarter. GOOGL YTD mountain Alphabet YTD performance Bets on Google's parent company, Alphabet (GOOGL), varied in the second quarter.

Persons: Dan Loeb's, Jeff Smith's, Salesforce, Jeffrey, Starboard's Jeff Smith, Smith, he's, 13Fs, it's, Marc Benioff, Mason Morfit, Paul Singer's Elliott, Elliott, Elliott —, Nelson Peltz's, Bob Iger, Peltz, David Tepper, Tepper, Bill Ackman's, Seth Klarman, Loeb, Klarman, Stanley Druckenmiller, Druckenmiller, Eli Lilly, That's, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim, Kim Kulish Organizations: Inclusive Capital, CNBC, Paul Singer's Elliott Management, Constellation, Club, Constellation Brands, Corona, Modelo, DIS, Disney, Management, Walt Disney Co, Peltz, Nvidia, Appaloosa Management, Microsoft, Micro Devices, Apple, AMD, Bill Ackman's Pershing, Capital Management, Oracle, Duquesne Family Office, Jim Cramer's Charitable, Corbis, Getty Locations: Salesforce, Tuesday's

☆ Activists back off Salesforce after share price recovery
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Svea Herbst-Bayliss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The changes in ownership came after significant overhauls at Salesforce helped push its share price higher. Inclusive Capital Management, one of four activists closely involved with Salesforce in early 2023 along with Starboard, Elliott Investment Management and ValueAct Capital, exited even earlier, according to filings. ValueAct's ownership stake remained unchanged at 3.5 million at the end of the second quarter, its filing shows. Sachem Head Capital Management cut its stake by 20% after Salesforce made up nearly 5% of its portfolio. During the second quarter the stock price moved to $211 a share from $199 a share.

Persons: Mike Segar, Salesforce, Marc Benioff, Mason Morfit, Svea Herbst, Bayliss, Sonali Paul Organizations: REUTERS, Salesforce, U.S ., LLC, Inclusive Capital Management, Elliott Investment Management, ValueAct, Inclusive, Sachem, Capital Management, Farallon Capital Management, Light, Capital, Svea, Thomson Locations: New York, Manhattan, New York City, U.S, Salesforce, Polen

☆ Exclusive: ValueAct names Hale co-CEO, announces partner departures, strong gains
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Svea Herbst-Bayliss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

At the same time, ValueAct told investors in a letter seen by Reuters that three partners, including the firm's president Brandon Boze, are leaving. Boze will retire from the firm in 2024 and partners Dylan Haggart and Sarah Coyne will leave. ValueAct also pushed to replace four Seven & i Holdings directors with its own candidates this year, a campaign rejected by shareholders. "Rob has built what we believe is the premiere engagement investing franchise in Japan," the letter said. ValueAct said Coyne identified long-term super cycles as the market reached to short term datapoints.

Persons: Robert Hale, Mason Morfit, ValueAct, Brandon Boze, Boze, Dylan Haggart, Sarah Coyne, Morfit, Jeff Ubben, Hale, Rob, Haggart, Coyne, Svea Herbst, Bayliss, Nick Zieminski Organizations: Reuters, Microsoft, San, Fund, Japan Fund, Olympus, Holdings, Elliott Investment Management, Ubben's Inclusive, Spotify, New York Times, Svea, Thomson Locations: Japan, San Francisco, Seagate, Salesforce

☆ Salesforce hires activist lawyer from Wachtell, Lipton as legal chief
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 17 (Reuters) - Salesforce (CRM.N) appointed Wachtell, Lipton's Sabastian Niles as its chief legal officer on Monday, months after the leading activist lawyer helped defend the business software provider against several hedge funds that had called for changes at the company. "I'm thrilled to welcome Sabastian to Salesforce as part of our world-class management team," CEO Marc Benioff said. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is a major law firm sought out by corporate America to handle merger deals as well as activist investment firms' push for changes. Niles spent nearly 17 years at the law firm, where he began his career as a summer associate after earning his law degree from Harvard, rising to become a partner. Niles was part of the team at Wachtell when it advised Salesforce after Starboard Value, ValueAct and Elliott Investment Management pressured it for making key changes earlier this year.

Persons: Wachtell, Lipton's Sabastian Niles, I'm, Marc Benioff, Lipton, Katz, Niles, Bill Ackman's, Jeffrey Ubben, Mason Morfit's, Salesforce, Svea Herbst, Bayliss, Yuvraj Malik, Vinay Dwivedi Organizations: Rosen, Harvard, Bill Ackman's Pershing, Capital Management, Elliott Investment Management, Svea, Thomson Locations: Salesforce, America, Wachtell, New York, Bengaluru

☆ ValueAct adds a streaming play to its portfolio
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Mason Morfit's ValueAct Capital Management picked up Spotify last quarter as the music streaming giant rebounded off its 2022 selloff. The ValueAct CEO added about 2.25 million shares to the portfolio. Spotify has surged nearly 70% in the first quarter, regaining ground after dropping 66.3% in 2022. SPOT YTD mountain Spotify YTD It was Morfit's only new position in the quarter, but he grew Salesforce by a whopping 500%, while Insight Enterprises got a relatively modest 2% boost. Similarly, KKR came in at the second biggest holding in the portfolio despite the more than 13% trim.

☆ How Wall Street pros traded 7 of our Club stocks, including Salesforce, in the first quarter
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | In Kevinstankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Lots of Club holdings, including Nvidia (NVDA) and Alphabet (GOOGL), were among the stocks traded by some of Wall Street's biggest investors and money managers in the first quarter. That firm, Jeffrey Ubben's Inclusive Capital, had owned 1.63 million Salesforce shares at the end of December, worth nearly $217 million at the time. Jeff Smith's Starboard Value also sold some Salesforce shares in Q1, leaving the firm with 2.5 million shares at the end of March. Mason Morfit's ValueAct Capital amplified its Salesforce stake in the first quarter, ending with 3.5 million shares, up from just 560,221 shares at the end of 2022. Loeb's Third Point amassed 4.75 million shares of Alphabet, worth $492.7 million at the end of the first quarter.

☆ ValueAct loses its temper in 7-Eleven
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Pete Sweeney | Thomson Reuters | Asia Economics Editor Pete Sweeney Joined Reuters Breakingviews In Hong Kong In September Previously He Served As Reuters' Chief Correspondent For China Economy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

HONG KONG, May 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - ValueAct Capital’s chief Mason Morfit prefers to chide undervalued conglomerates behind closed doors. In its latest 151-page presentation, ValueAct took its case directly to shareholders, the second time it has seen fit to do so in its history. That highlights the U.S. fund’s frustration from its two-year long campaign calling for Seven & i to spin off its 7-Eleven convenience stores, among other things. That implies a standalone 7-Eleven could be worth 10 trillion yen, roughly a quarter more than its parent today. He may have a point, and in truth ValueAct has far more experience turning around technology companies than food retailers.

"We think the company should spin off 7-Eleven and that this could help close the valuation discount," Artisan Partners Associate Portfolio Manager Ben Herrick, told Reuters. Investors, including Artisan Partners, ValueAct and a domestic institutional investor contacted by Reuters that is not permitted to discuss its views publicly, are blaming Seven & i's stagnant share price on management's attachment to a conglomerate structure. SPIN-OFF PROPOSALThree months ago, ValueAct proposed a tax free spin-off of 7-Eleven, via a listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in roughly one year. One investor said 7-Eleven, the company's crown jewel, will stop shining brightly unless it is spun off. A source said Seven & i president Ryuichi Isaka is one of the board members ValueAct wants to replace.

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