Bulldog Investors, which is managed by Philip Goldstein (pictured), Andrew Dakos, and Steven Samuels initiated an activist stake in Hill International Inc (NYSE:HIL), according to a recent filing with the SEC. The holding comprises 3.33 million shares, with 1.59 million of them having shared voting power and the remainder having sole voting power. The stake amasses about 6.61% of the company’s outstanding stake. This development has been announced on the heels of a recent announcement by Hill International Inc (NYSE:HIL) that it received a contract from the affiliates of Lennar Urban and Macerich Development to provide its services in connection with the development at Candlestick Point in San Francisco. However, Bulldog has been amassing its stake dating back over two months.
Bulldog Investors has run more than 60 proxy fights since its inception in 1992. Almost 95% of the fund’s holdings are in the finance sector, as the firm’s strategy is based on attacking funds that are selling at deep discounts to their net asset value and then forcing their management to narrow that gap. However, Hill International Inc (NYSE:HIL) is not part of that broad strategy, though other possible catalysts such as the Candlestick Point project have made it an attractive investment. Bulldog currently has about $619 million in regulatory assets under management.
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The $247.82 million industrials company, Hill International Inc (NYSE:HIL), provides consulting services primarily related to buildings, transportation, environmental, energy and industrials markets. The company has 4,800 employees and about 100 offices around the globe and was ranked as the seventh-largest construction management firm in the United States by the Engineering News-Record magazine. The newly awarded contract pertains to the $1 billion project on a 24-acre parcel of land on the grounds of Candlestick Park, the former home of the San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 49ers, since demolished. The new development includes an urban open-air retail complex comprising approximately 500,000 square-feet of gross leasable area, and featuring a premium retail outlet center. It will also have 2,400 parking spaces both below the retail complex and in an adjacent parking structure. The complex will also feature 262 residential homes and an entertainment facility.
So far this year Hill International Inc (NYSE:HIL)’s stock has appreciated by a staggering 26%, although the performance over the last 12 months is much less impressive, as it has lost more than 16% of its value. In comparison, the business services industry has posted 10.46% year-to-date gains and is up by 27% in the last year. Professional money managers largely maintained the same view on Hill International Inc (NYSE:HIL)’s prospects during the first trimester. Among the hedge funds that we track, a total of 12 had an aggregate investment of $23.23 million in the company at the end of March, compared to 13 firms with $24.67 million in holdings at the end of the prior quarter. The stock price depreciated by a little over 8% during this three month period, accounting for the dip in aggregate holdings. Peter Schliemann‘s Rutabaga Capital Management and Charles Paquelet‘s Skylands Capital are the largest stockholders of Hill International Inc (NYSE:HIL) among these funds as of March 31. While Rutabaga held 3.57 million shares valued at $12.80 million at the end of the first trimester, Skylands reduced its holding in the June quarter to about 656,300 shares valued at $3.45 million, in contrast to Bulldog’s bullishness.
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