Activist friends and foes, strong day today, top activist news and stories below. Send tips to @activiststocks, sign up for our daily newsletter, and ICYMI the latest newsletter, it’s here.
News:
- Berkshire Hathaway is buying up a 8.7% stake in Axalta Coating Systems — the provider of coatings for cars.
- The French Government has increased its activist stake in the car market, Renault. The idea being that gain a blocking minority.
- Rumors hit yesterday that Carl Icahn might be building a stake in GoPro.
- Twitter has been spiking on news of Google takeover speculation.
- It looks like GAMCO will not support Biglari’s incumbent directors per a letter this morning, unless Sardar (Biglari CEO) decides to pen a letter saying he’ll withhold the Lion Fund shares from the vote this Thursday.
- H Partners has published a website, fixtempursealy.com, focused on getting the Tempur-Pedic CEO overthrown and includes a near 100-page presentation.
- Engaged Capital has booked a win at Medifast, convincing the company to do a complete board overhaul. The weight loss company will drop its board from 12 to 9, add 3 Engaged nominees and elect 2 other board members with the activist’s help.
Stories:
- @MarketWatch has a piece about “kinder” activism, which get more done than browbeating, reminding us of “first the carrot, then the stick.” The key takeaway, “Activists, meanwhile, should mind their manners…If the two sides want to increase their chances of finding common ground…they should use a non-confrontational framework to resolve their disagreements” [link]
