Activist kool aid drinkers, nothing too exciting today; news and stories for April 24 below. As always, tip us off at @activiststocks, sign up for the free daily activist email (newish setup), and ICYMI the latest newsletter is here.
News:
- Blue Capital continues to sell off its Career Education stake, dumping another 15%. It’s now down to 4M shares, versus the 12M just a couple years ago.
- Orange Capital adds another couple million shares to its Bellatrix Exploration stake, now owning 15.4%. The fund’s cost basis is still over twice where this Canadian gas company is trading. Seth Klarman also jumped into the company in Feb. with an 11% stake.
- Castle Union heads for the exits after Procera Networks announced a buyout offer this week. The fund sold about 80% of its stake, now owning just 1.3%. It went active back in October and shares are up 60% since then.
Stories:
- @vandermy at Fortune continues the heavy coverage, and defense, of the impeccable @JeffSonnenfeld. The key takeaway is that the hedge fund activist index outperformed in just two of the last years. Specifically, “If you invested in the average activist hedge fund at the start of 2008, your cumulative return today would be 19% after fees, according to HFR; for the S&P 500, with dividends, it would be 65%” [link]
- @CGasparino isn’t one to miss out on the action. His piece from yesterday focuses again on the “cat fight” that still is Peltz versus Sonnenfeld. The real takeaway is that the ISS is expected to give its recommendation soon. “ISS officials were to meet with DuPont executives Thursday after a meeting with Peltz’s team on Wednesday…ISS typically takes a week to issue its recommendation after meeting with both sides of such corporate disputes” [link]
