The Paul Singer and Elliott Management, and to some degree Jesse Cohen, target Citrix Systems has given in to the activist hedge fund.
The big news is that it’s ousting its CEO of 14 years and giving the fund a board seat. It’s also considering a sale or spinoff of the GoTo business.
Elliott has noted that the GoTo business is “distinct” from the company’s core product set and could easily be sold off. Elliott believes Citrix’s product portfolio includes “far too many underperforming product lines” and the fund has made no secret that it would like to take an axe to them.
Elliott sent a letter to Citrix back in June [letter here], and owns 7.5%.
As far as the board seat, Jesse Cohn, the head of U.S. activism for Eliott, is joining the Citrix board. Cohn had this to say, “We are confident that the initiatives announced today and the addition of new directors to the company’s board will allow Citrix to build upon its position as an innovative industry leader, and to drive significant shareholder value.”
