Williams Companies (WMB): Corvex Capital Asks For Board Overhaul

Keith Meister‘s Corvex Capital has asked Williams Companies Inc (NYSE:WMB) to revamp its Board of Directors, either by replacing some of its existing members or by greatly extending the Board so that new directors would form a majority. The request was disclosed through an amended filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Corvex Capital holds roughly 30.9 million shares of Williams, the equivalent of 4.1% of its common stock.

In the same filing, Corvex Capital said that it no longer acts as a group together with Eric W. Mandelblatt‘s Soroban Capital Partners, as Messrs. Meister and Mandelblatt have both resigned from Williams Companies Inc (NYSE:WMB)’s Board of Directors. The two joined forces in 2014 in order to push for change in the company’s management or for a sale of the company, as ways to enhance shareholder value. None of their efforts succeeded though, as Energy Transfer Equity LP (NYSE:ETE) decided to pull the plug on its $20 billion deal to take control of Williams Companies, while attempts to sack CEO Alan Armstrong have also failed.

At the end of the first quarter, approximately 19% of Williams Companies Inc (NYSE:WMB)’s common stock was held by 52 of the 766 actively-filing hedge funds in our database, down from 59 a quarter earlier. Jonathon Jacobson’s Highfields Capital Management increased its holding by 176% during the first three months of 2016, to 18.9 million shares. John Griffin‘s Blue Ridge Capital also held a sizable position in the stock, amounting to 5.69 million shares, up by 16% during the quarter.

You can access the original SEC filing by clicking here.

Ownership Summary Table

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