Activist Stocks: Dupont, Spectrum; Ashland; CDK Global; iPass

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Activist temptresses, better than Monday, with major activist stories and news for May 12 below. Taking taking leads at @activiststocks, daily newsletter sign up, ICYMI the latest newsletter is here.

News –

  • Armistice Capital has gone active on Spectrum Pharma with a 5.4% stake [letter here]
  • Elliott Management is now active at CDK Global owning 4% of the company and has exposure to another 3.6% via a derivatives agreement. The fund joins Sachem Headand Fir Tree, who are both activists there.
  • Jana Partners has sold all of its Ashland stake. The fund went active in April of 2013, with shares up 60% since then. Jana had owned 8.7% of the company, but the position wasn’t one of its top 5.
  • Maguire Asset Management and its shareholders for change group has upped its stake in iPass by over 15%, now owning 9% of the company. They’re pushing the companyto better define their WiFi strategy to regain investor confidence.
  • Blue Clay Capital abandoned its proxy battle versus Select Comfort today, following the news from yesterday that ISS and Glass Lewis were opposing the activist’s dissident director candidates.

Stories –

  • Getting tougher and tougher to find compelling stories, so again today, it’s all about DuPont. @stephengandelat Fortune defends Ellen Kullman in a piece that goes beyond DuPont’s stock price to look at Kullman’s ability to generate returns on invested capital. It’s a thought-provoking piece and worth a read if you don’t understand DuPont’s business [link]

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