Commvault Faces Proxy Battle with Activist Hedge Fund Elliott Management (CNBC)
Commvault, a provider of backup and recovery software, will soon find itself in a proxy battle with Elliott Management. Elliott plans to nominate four directors for Commvault’s 11 member board. The hedge fund controls 10.3 percent of Commvault’s shares, making it one of the largest shareholders, according to a letter to management that was made public on Monday. The nominating window for Commvault directors closes later this week. Elliott is said to be frustrated with Commvault’s margins and will wage the proxy fight in an effort to either have management improve margins or have the company sold.
HG Vora Capital Urges LaSalle for Sale After Buying 7 percent Stake (Reuters)
(Reuters) – Hedge fund HG Vora Capital Management LLC on Monday urged LaSalle Hotel Properties Inc (LHO.N) to negotiate with fellow U.S. hotel owner Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (PEB.N) for a better offer after taking about 7.1 percent stake in LaSalle. Pebblebrook had last week disclosed that it had offered to buy LaSalle in an all-stock deal that valued the company at more than $3 billion. The offer was rejected by LaSalle’s board. Shares of LaSalle rose about 1 percent to $29.28 in premarket trading, giving the company a market capitalization of about $3.31 billion. In a letter to LaSalle’s management, founder of the hedge fund, Parag Vora, said Pebblebrook’s initial offer was “inadequate”, but presents a “compelling” opportunity for a more efficient cost of capital and stronger cash flows.
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General Electric Company (GE): Ripe for the Wizard of Omaha’s Picking? (SmarterAnalyst.com)
Wall Street buzz is pointing to Berkshire Hathaway, the hedge fund firm steered by legendary guru Warren Buffett handpicking General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) as its next financial Cinderella story. RBC Capital analyst Deane Dray comments from the sidelines, musing that in more ways than one, “GE’s current situation fits the profile of an ideal Warren Buffett investment.” “Berkshire Hathaway has a history of investing in storied businesses struggling at steep valuation dislocations,” Dray highlights, aware that this industrial company has built an empire on legacy: “GE is a 125-year-old iconic industrial brand with strong assets, market leadership in many industries, and a business model that Mr. Buffett understands.”
Wharton’s Adam Grant: How to Receive Criticism Without Being Left Crushed and Unmotivated (CNBC)
Dealing with criticism productively was the topic of the first episode of Grant’s new podcast, which launched in February. For the episode, Grant talks to Ray Dalio, the billionaire founder of the hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, which currently has $160 billion in assets under management. Bridgewater Associates has a trademark policy of radical transparency. Everyone at the company speaks their minds. “One of the biggest tragedies of mankind is people holding in their opinions in their heads. And it’s such a tragedy,” says Dalio on the podcast. If people shared their ideas bad ones could be fixed and good ones could become better, which he calls “stress-testing” ideas. “They would so raise their probability of making a better decision,” he adds.
