What’s New In Activism – Calls For DEX liquidation
Bulldog Investors called for Delaware Enhanced Global Dividend and Income Fund (NYSE:DEX) to be liquidated unless the closed-end-fund completes a proposed merger.
According to a securities filing, Bulldog Chairman Phillip Goldstein sent a letter to the board of Delaware Enhanced stating that if shareholders reject a proposed merger with abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund then they should “take steps to cause the fund to be liquidated or converted to an exchange-traded fund or an open-end mutual fund.”
Q2 2022 hedge fund letters, conferences and more
On August 11, the fund announced its board had approved the merger with abrdn, yet shareholders will need to greenlight the deal at an annual meeting planned for November.
In the letter, Bulldog noted that Delaware Enhanced has traded at a discount of around 14% to its net asset value.
Activism chart of the week
So far this year (as of August 18, 2022), activists have initiated 89 campaigns at Japan-based companies. That is compared to 55 in the same period last year.
Source: Insightia | Activism
What’s New In Proxy Voting - PRI Warning
Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) issued a warning that the SEC's proposed ESG disclosure rule could be viewed as a marketing tool.The $121-trillion responsible investment coalition proposed 11 recommendations on the SEC's proposal, as part of the financial regulator's consultation process.PRI recommended the finalized rule "should provide market participants with as much clarity as possible on the proposed categories and whether they can and should be understood as sustainability- or ESG-related labels or not."Concerns were also raised that the overly prescriptive or unclear disclosure requirements could disincentivize further ESG integration and consideration by adding liability and costs.
Voting chart of the week
In the year (as of June 30, 2022), North American investors supported environmental and social shareholder proposals at U.S.-based companies 54.2% of the time. European investors backed those proposals 74.1% of the time.
Source: Insightia | Voting
What’s New In Activist Shorts - Short Target Nearmap Acquired
Australian aerial imaging company Nearmap Ltd (ASX:NEA), which was targeted last year by short outfit J Capital Research, agreed to be acquired by U.S. private equity firm Thoma Bravo for AU$1.06 billion ($730 million).
Yesterday, Nearmap said its board accepted the AU$2.10-a-share cash offer from Thoma Bravo, a bid carrying a 67% premium to Nearmap's six-month volume-weighted average price.
In February last year, J Capital released a short report on Nearmap, alleging accounting tricks and arguing the mapping company was having trouble penetrating the U.S. market. J Capital also claimed Nearmap was laying off staff and discounting its products in a panicked attempt to improve margins.
Nearmap rejected the allegations but, before that, the short report made its stock fall 7% to AU$2.16, where trading was halted for two days.
Shorts chart of the week
So far this year (as of August 19, 2022), Spruce Point Capital Management's one-week campaign return for public activist short campaigns is 6.87%. That is up from -5.47% in the same period last year.
Source: Insightia | Activist Shorts
Quote Of The Week
This week's quote comes from Bleecker Street in an August 19 short report on Hall of Fame Resort and Entertainment. Read our coverage here.
“We think the most recent loan is unusable for development purposes, and the company remains almost out of money. We see the company out of capital and likely bankrupt within the year.” – Bleecker Street
