Hedge Fund News: Leon Cooperman, Jeffrey Smith, Elliott Management

Cooperman’s Lawyer Says He Faced Parallel Criminal Inquiry (Bloomberg)
Billionaire Leon Cooperman invoked his Fifth-Amendment right against self-incrimination while the SEC was investigating him for insider trading because his lawyer disclosed that the hedge-fund manager faced a parallel criminal probe by the U.S. At a hearing Tuesday, Cooperman was in federal court in Philadelphia asking for the suit brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to be dismissed. An SEC lawyer said that Cooperman had refused to be questioned by regulators before they filed their insider-trading complaint last year. Cooperman’s lawyer Ted Wells said Cooperman had been merely following his instructions.

Board Revised as Perrigo Settles With Activist Investor Starboard (TheStreet)
Pharmaceutical company Perrigo (PRGO) has settled with activist investor Starboard Value, agreeing to install Starboard CEO Jeffrey Smith and two others to the board. Starboard will also recommend two additional directors. The agreement, announced Tuesday, also includes certain customary standstill restrictions. Shares of Perrigo were trading at $78.40 on Tuesday morning, up 0.4%. Smith, along Advent International operating partner Bradley Alford and Lux Capital venture partner Jeffrey Kindler, are joining Perrigo’s board effective immediately.

Elliott Misfires on Arconic, But It’s Not Wrong (BloombergGadfly)
Elliott Management Corp. may have fumbled on its campaign against aluminum-parts maker Arconic Inc., but CEO Klaus Kleinfeld still has some explaining to do. Arconic split from its mining and smelting business (now Alcoa Corp.) last year, a move Elliott backed. But the activist hedge fund said on Jan. 31 it was nominating five candidates to Arconic’s board and calling for Kleinfeld to be replaced with a CEO better suited to cut costs. Elliott estimated Arconic’s stock could rise to “at least” $33 to $54 a share, from the roughly $23 it commanded at the time.