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2/27/2026

Doosan to Burn 3.12 Trillion Won in Shares

The Chosun Daily (South Korea) (02/27/26) Jaehyun, Cho

Doosan (KRX: 000150) announced that it will effectively burn all of its treasury shares within this year. The shares to be burned amount to approximately 2.57 million, valued at around 3.12 trillion Korean won based on the closing price on the day (1,215,000 won). Following the passage of the third Commercial Act amendment, which mandates the burning of treasury shares, in the National Assembly the previous day, analysts predict that pressure on companies to return value to shareholders will intensify. Doosan held a board meeting on the day and resolved to burn all remaining treasury shares (2,568,528 shares) except for 632,500 shares reserved for employee compensation within this year. This represents approximately 12.18% of the total issued shares. Burning treasury shares reduces the number of circulating shares, thereby increasing per-share value. Earlier, Doosan had announced plans to burn 990,000 treasury shares over three years from last year to this year, but this decision expands the scale of returns and accelerates the timeline. Once this burn is completed, the ownership stake of the founding family is expected to rise. The stake of Chairman Park Jeong-won, the largest shareholder, and his special interest parties will increase from 41.18% to 46.84%. The reduction in total shares strengthens control alongside the burn. Companies appear to be accelerating their moves following the passage of the third Commercial Act amendment. POSCO Holdings decided to burn 2% of its treasury shares at a board meeting on the 19th, worth 635.1 billion Korean won. This follows its earlier announcement to burn a total of 6% of treasury shares over three years starting in 2024. LG Chem will also present a shareholder proposal from Palliser Capital at its regular shareholders’ meeting next month. Palliser Capital has argued that LG Chem should reduce its stake in LG Energy Solution from 79.4% to 70% to secure cash and purchase and burn treasury shares. It cited the fact that LG Chem’s stock trades at a 74% discount to its net asset value as grounds for shareholder activism. A source from the business community stated, “With the passage of the third Commercial Act amendment, companies are aggressively using dividend increases and share burns, making it likely they will further accelerate shareholder returns in the future.”

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2/27/2026

Elliott Says LSEG Can Do More After £3 Billion Buyback Move

Bloomberg (02/27/26) Short, Meg

Elliott Investment Management, which has built a stake in London Stock Exchange Group Plc (LON: LSEG), said there’s “still an opportunity for further value-enhancing actions” after the bourse operator announced a £3 billion ($4.1 billion) share buyback. Paul Singer’s hedge fund said that’s a “positive first step,” according to a statement on Friday. LSEG’s “encouraging guidance, enhanced financial disclosures and improved communication on its AI strategy” demonstrate the strength of its business, it added. On Thursday, the owner of the FTSE 100 index unveiled plans to buy more of its own stock to reward shareholders over the next 12 months, boosted its dividend and set new guidance for the next two years. The increased buyback falls short of the £5 billion program that Bloomberg News reported Elliott was pushing for earlier this month. “Elliott looks forward to maintaining a constructive dialogue with LSEG as the company works to realize the full potential of its market-leading assets, close the valuation gap to industry peers and generate long-term value,” the investor said in the statement. Shares of LSEG have been buffeted in the recent stock selloff of software businesses seen at risk of disruption from artificial intelligence. Elliott seized on the opportunity and is now pushing for LSEG to show investors how it could benefit from AI. It wants the company to show how its sticky data business would actually see more demand from AI applications while its markets unit is largely immune, people familiar with its thinking told Bloomberg News earlier this month. “We try to listen to all of our shareholders, we can’t always make all of them happy,” LSEG Chief Executive Officer David Schwimmer told Bloomberg Radio in an interview on Thursday.

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2/27/2026

Lululemon Founder Wilson Ramps Up Pressure on Board Amid Proxy Fight

Reuters (02/27/26)

Lululemon Athletica (LULU.O) founder Chip Wilson stepped up his campaign for board and governance changes at the struggling athletic apparel maker on Friday, including replacing more than three directors. The move heightened tensions between the Canadian yoga wear maker and its founder, who has increasingly criticized the board's strategic direction, its handling of CEO succession and what he describes as a lack of creative and marketing expertise at the top. Wilson had launched a proxy fight at the end of last year by nominating three independent directors — Marc Maurer, Laura Gentile and Eric Hirshberg — to the company's board, and called for annual board elections. "While we have proposed changing three directors, our strong feeling is that more than three directors should be replaced," Wilson said in a letter to shareholders. Following director nominations in December, Wilson said the board engaged with them only earlier this week, and that its response was "weak and insufficient." "I have pursued private, constructive dialogues with the Lululemon board of directors for the past few months. My attempts toward a sensible solution have not been reciprocated," he said on Friday. Wilson, one of the biggest independent shareholders of Lululemon with a 4.27% stake, also said the board rejected his proposal to create a committee focused on brand, product and creative oversight. Lululemon did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Wilson's campaign comes as the company's shares have lost nearly half of their value over the past 12 months, with the brand struggling to retain younger and affluent shoppers amid intense competition from fast-growing rivals such as Alo Yoga and Vuori. Lululemon is also operating without a permanent CEO after Calvin McDonald's departure in December, and is facing pressure from Elliott Investment Management, which has built a stake of more than $1 billion in the retailer.

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2/26/2026

Toyota Plans Around $19 Billion Share Sale by Financial Institutions, Sources Say

Reuters (02/26/26) Uranaka, Miho; Shiraki, Maki

Toyota (7203.T) plans a large-scale unwinding of strategic shareholdings that would involve banks and insurance firms selling around $19 billion of its shares, two sources said, in what would mark a watershed moment in Japan's corporate governance reform. The sale will likely total around 3 trillion yen ($19 billion) but could be larger depending on the willingness of shareholders to sell, the sources said. Toyota aims for the sale to happen as early as this year, although the timing and scale could change depending on shareholders - or the plan could be abandoned, one of the sources said. Toyota aims to acquire shares through buybacks, the sources said. A secondary sale to other investors has also emerged as an option, one of the sources said. The move by the world's largest automaker would be evidence of the scale of Japan's on-going corporate governance reform. Regulators and the Tokyo Stock Exchange have been encouraging Japanese companies to unwind their cross-shareholdings. The practice, which involves firms holding shares in each other to cement business ties, has long been criticized by governance experts and overseas investors as insulating management from shareholders. Although widespread in Japan for decades, it has been less common in the West. While Toyota has a policy to cut its cross-shareholdings, it has also come under fire over governance and has faced calls from investors to improve capital efficiency. Toyota wants to demonstrate its seriousness about governance reform by unwinding the strategic shares, one of the sources said. The automaker is in the midst of a tender offer for forklift maker Toyota Industries (6201.T). Investor Elliott opposes the deal, arguing it is underpriced and lacks transparency. Toyota has extended the tender offer to March 2 due to insufficient shareholder support. Toyota shareholders include banks such as Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (8316.T) and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (8306.T) and insurers such as MS&AD Insurance Group (8725.T). Japanese banks and insurers have in recent years outlined policies to reduce their cross-shareholdings.

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2/26/2026

LSEG Plans $4.1 Billion Buyback Amid Investor Pressure

Reuters (02/26/26) Shabong, Yadarisa; Conchie, Charlie

London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG.L) said on Thursday it would buy back a further 3 billion pounds ($4.1 billion) of shares over the next 12 months, as the company faces engagement from Elliott Management and battles concerns AI will squeeze its business model. LSEG said its total income grew 7.1% in 2025 on an organic basis, excluding recoveries, in line with the rise expected by analysts in a company-compiled poll. Shares in LSEG rose as much as 4.7% in early London trading. The company expects 2026 total income to grow between 6.5% and 7.5% on an organic constant currency basis, excluding recoveries. Analysts had expected growth of about 6.7% on average, according to a company-compiled poll. LSEG shares had lost around 30% of their value in the past year as of Wednesday as the data and exchanges group finds itself caught up in a swirl of concerns its business along with rivals will be hit hard by the rise of AI. Elliott Management has emerged as a shareholder in recent weeks, upping the pressure on CEO David Schwimmer to improve the group's margins, which lag rivals, and more forcefully communicate its resilience against the threat of AI. Elliott has pressed LSEG for a $5 billion share buyback and a portfolio review, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters previously. LSEG reported 5.9% growth in annual subscription value (ASV), a closely-watched growth metric. The figure marks a slowdown from 6.3% in its results last year. Like many exchange groups, LSEG has pivoted towards provision of data business in the past few years, betting on demand for proprietary financial data as its traditional stock exchange business has suffered from a slowdown in new listings and the departure of some companies to exchanges overseas. Schwimmer has dismissed fears that its data business will be usurped by AI models and argued that LSEG data is proprietary. LSEG has also struck a number of deals with firms including OpenAI and Anthropic that will allow their users to access and interrogate LSEG data. Schwimmer said in a statement on Thursday LSEG was "very well positioned for continued growth."

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2/26/2026

Smucker Jumps After Pact With Elliott on Directors

Bloomberg (02/26/26) Peterson, Kristina; Carnevali, David

JM Smucker Co. (NYSE: SJM) said two new directors will be joining its board as part of an agreement reached with Elliott Investment Management. Woo-Sung Chung and David Singer will join the board in April. The deal also includes sharing information with the investor with the goal of boosting shareholder value. The company’s shares jumped as much as 12% at the open of New York trading, the most intraday since 2020. The stock had slipped about 5% in the last 12 months, trimming its market value to roughly $11 billion. Elliott’s involvement in Smucker came as a surprise Thursday morning. The investor said it was one of Smucker’s largest investors, but didn’t disclose the size of its stake in the maker of peanut butter, jams and coffee. Smucker Chief Executive Mark Smucker said in prepared remarks Thursday as part of releasing earnings that the appointment of two new board members followed “constructive engagement” with Elliott and that he was confident the company has “the right strategy and leaders in place to create value for our shareholders.” The company's engagement with Elliott was “recent,” Smucker said on a call with analysts. Both organizations are focused on operating improvements, “disciplined capital allocation” and bolstering the food company's governance, Smucker said. Smucker has “a strong portfolio of market-leading brands in categories that benefit from durable consumer demand,” Marc Steinberg, a partner at Elliott, said on Thursday. The additions to the board and the company’s strategic steps will help ensure it “reaches its full potential,” he said. Chung is the chief financial officer of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NRG), which owns and operates power-generating facilities. Singer is the former CEO of Snyder’s-Lance, Inc., which makes snack foods. Elliott, founded by billionaire Paul Singer, is one of Wall Street’s most prominent activist funds. Now headquartered in Florida, it managed about $80 billion in assets at the end of 2025, according to its website. The firm has launched an array of campaigns against consumer companies, this month taking on Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: NCLH) over what Elliott called overspending on events, including a Katy Perry concert. In December, Bloomberg News reported that Elliott had built a stake of more than $1 billion in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU). as the struggling retailer faces a strategic overhaul. Also in December, PepsiCo Inc. (NASDAQ: PEP) reached an agreement with Elliott to reduce its U.S. product lineup by 20% and lower prices, while the company also pares its workforce. Earlier this month, Smucker announced some leadership changes, including the departure of its Chief Operating Officer, John Brase. The company also said last week that it wasn't pursuing acquisitions as part of its strategy during a presentation at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York conference in Orlando, Florida. Smucker, which makes the Folgers and Cafe Bustelo brands, has been weighed down by the cost of coffee and its November 2023 acquisition of Hostess. “The path to stabilization is taking longer than we expected but our focus remains on positioning the Hostess brand for eventual growth,” Smucker said last week at the conference. Smucker has seen more success with its Uncrustables line of frozen sandwiches, which it is launching in a new refrigerator-stable format. To cut costs, the company said last week it was reducing promotions on its sweet baked snacks from January through the end of its fiscal year, which runs through April. Smucker said the company is also trimming the number of individual products it has by 25%. On Thursday, the company also reported third-quarter adjusted earnings per share and revenue that topped analysts' expectations, boosted by higher coffee prices.

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2/26/2026

Janus Bidding War Begins as Victory Capital Tops Trian Offer

Bloomberg (02/26/26) Gyftopoulou, Loukia; Dickson, Steve

A bidding war for Janus Henderson Group Plc (NYSE: JHG) broke out Thursday as Victory Capital Holdings Inc. offered to buy the money manager for $57.04 a share, in a move that topped a previous offer from Nelson Peltz’s Trian Fund Management. Victory’s cash-and-stock proposal calls for Janus Henderson shareholders to own about 38% of the combined company, which would have an enterprise value of about $16 billion, according to a statement. The offer comes about two months after Peltz’s Trian and General Catalyst agreed to buy London-based Janus Henderson in a deal that valued the asset manager at about $7.4 billion and offered stockholders $49 a share in cash. “Our proposal is fully financed and provides Janus Henderson shareholders with meaningful long?term upside through ownership of a stronger, more competitive organization,” David Brown, chairman and chief executive officer of Victory Capital, said in the statement. The bidding war comes amid a broader wave of consolidation across the asset management industry, where firms have spent years grappling with clients dumping their mutual funds for cheaper, passive products. Janus Henderson, created through a 2017 transatlantic merger to combat these challenges, suffered years of outflows until recently. Victory said it would issue $4.1 billion of new debt as part of the effort to take over Janus Henderson, which manages almost 60% more assets than Victory. The company said it had financing commitments from two major investment banks. Shares of Janus Henderson rose as much as 7.2% as of 10 a.m. in New York. Victory Capital shares fell as much as 7.1%. Victory Capital said Thursday it first submitted a preliminary bid of as much as $52 a share for Janus on Nov. 24 — nearly a month before Janus announced it had agreed to the Trian deal. At the time, John Cassaday, chairman of Janus Henderson’s board, said the company had done a “careful review of the proposed transaction and its alternatives” and determined Peltz’s deal was in the best interest of the company’s shareholders. But Brown said Thursday his firm was repeatedly denied any chance at meaningful engagement with his counterparts at Janus. “Notwithstanding the fact that we were the only credible, unaffiliated party that expressed interest and indicated a valuation range in excess of Trian’s proposal, we were denied the opportunity to engage in any meaningful dialogue and not provided access to any information to refine our proposal,” Brown said, calling Peltz an insider given his role on Janus’ board since 2022. The new wave of acquisitions in the industry has included some unlikely names. Earlier this month, Schroders Plc (OTCMKTS: SHNWF) agreed to a takeover by Nuveen, shocking many in the City of London. For its part, San Antonio, Texas-based Victory Capital added more than $100 billion in assets under management in a deal last year to add Pioneer, the U.S. business of France’s Amundi SA (EPA: AMUN). And earlier this month, Brown predicted more to come. “We continue to be extremely busy from an acquisition standpoint,” the CEO said on the firm’s earnings conference call. “In fact, I would say the busiest we ever have been.”

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2/26/2026

Siemens Energy Should Not 'Squander' Wind Division, Top-20 Investor Says

Reuters (02/26/26) Steitz, Christoph

Siemens Energy (ENR1n.DE) should not sell its wind division below value, a top-20 shareholder said on Thursday at the group's annual general meeting, where the future of the struggling business will be a key topic after calls for a spin-off. The future of Siemens Gamesa, which has weighed on Siemens Energy's profits for years, has come into sharper focus after U.S. shareholder Ananym in December called for a review and spin-off, arguing it would boost shareholder value. Siemens Energy has been open in principle to the idea but wants to first stabilize the business, which made a 1.36 billion euro ($1.61 billion) operating loss last year and is expected to break even in 2026. Investors in Germany have backed the strategy of fixing the business before considering strategic steps. "To be clear: divesting Gamesa at this point in time would be equal to selling it below its value," Deka Investment's Ingo Speich said. "Do not squander away Gamesa." Ananym said in a statement it had recently held "very constructive direct discussions" with Siemens Energy's leadership, adding there largely was agreement in the thinking about Gamesa. "No one is calling for a fire sale, or a sale at all, we're talking about a spin-off. And we understand nothing can be done today," it said, adding the goal was to start thinking about the future and that management had done a "heroic job" on getting Gamesa closer to being able to stand on its own feet. Ananym said that even if Siemens Gamesa could be stabilized it was unlikely to reach the margin targets set by the parent and would continue to be a drag on its parent. Siemens Energy has said it wants all of its businesses to generate double-digit margins, far higher than the 3-5% profit margin targeted for Siemens Gamesa by 2028. Siemens Energy CEO Christian Bruch said there would have to be a clear path towards double-digit returns for the division by 2028.

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2/26/2026

Caesars Entertainment Weighs Takeover Interest

Financial Times (02/26/26) Barnes, Oliver; Indap, Sujeet

Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ: CZR) is weighing takeover offers including a bid from Texas gaming and hospitality billionaire Tilman Fertitta, setting the stage for a potential buyout of one of the jewels of the Las Vegas Strip. Caesars is exploring a sale after receiving takeover interest from several potential bidders including Fertitta Entertainment, the group behind the Golden Nugget casino chain, said people familiar with the matter. It is also considering a possible management-led buyout. Talks are ongoing but a transaction is far from a foregone conclusion, the people cautioned. It is possible the talks could collapse, they added. Shares in Caesars have sunk to a five-year low. They jumped 19% to $24.74 after the FT reported on the takeover interest, giving the company an equity value of more than $5 billion. Caesars was absorbed into smaller rival El Dorado Resorts following a takeover in 2020. It has a debt load of more than $20 billion including lease payments giving it an enterprise value above $30 billion. If a deal materializes, it would mark one of the biggest gaming takeovers in years. Caesars’ annual free cash flow of more than $3 billion makes the company an attractive asset to any potential buyer, the people said. Caesars’ recent struggles have for the second time drawn the attention of Wall Street’s most famed investor Carl Icahn. Its board was expanded last year to add two representatives from Icahn Enterprises as part of a brokered peace with him. Icahn pushed for a change of strategy at Caesars in 2019, a move that helped precipitate the El Dorado transaction. After the 2020 acquisition, El Dorado retained the Caesars’ moniker but the company is officially headquartered in Reno, Nevada, where El Dorado is based. Tom Reeg, Caesars’ chief executive, is the longtime head of El Dorado who was a one-time junk bond trader. Caesars controls more than 50 casinos across North America, including the Caesars Palace, Harrah’s and El Dorado brands. Caesars also runs a betting app which has struggled to compete with FanDuel and DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG). Despite being one of the most famed brands on the Las Vegas strip, Caesars has had a rocky history. Private equity groups Apollo and TPG bought the company, then known as Harrah’s, in 2008 for $30 billion just as the global financial crisis was beginning. Caesars filed for bankruptcy in 2015. In the aftermath of the restructuring, its huge property portfolio was spun off into a separate listed property trust known as Vici, to which Caesars today pays billions in annual lease expenses. Vici is worth more than twice Caesars’ aggregate valuation. A surge in interest in gaming stocks during the Covid-19 pandemic, as gamblers were spending heavily online while stuck at home, boosted Caesars’ market value to roughly $24 billion. But it has since fallen more than 80% from its highs. In 2025, visitor volume to Las Vegas fell nearly a tenth, according to statistics gathered by the city’s tourism authority. President Donald Trump in December 2024 appointed Fertitta as U.S. ambassador to Italy. In addition to seven casino resorts in the Golden Nugget stable, he owns stakes in Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ: WYNN) and DraftKings, as well as a restaurant empire that includes such chains as Morton’s, Mastro’s, Bubba Gump Shrimp and Rainforest Cafe. Fertitta also owns the Houston Rockets professional basketball team. In order to cover the huge debt and lease liabilities facing Caesars, any acquisition would likely involve a large financing package from Wall Street banks, which would make the likelihood of a deal materializing much trickier, the people said.

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