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4/28/2026

Starboard Value Takes Stake in AI Software Maker Dynatrace

Wall Street Journal (04/28/26) Thomas, Lauren

Starboard Value has taken a significant stake in AI-software maker Dynatrace (NYSE: DT) and is pushing for changes that could help boost the stock, according to a draft of a letter seen by The Wall Street Journal. Starboard is now a top-five shareholder in the company and has been privately engaging with Dynatrace management in recent months, the draft letter to the company says. The letter is written by Starboard managing member Peter Feld and is expected to be delivered on Tuesday. The investor believes Dynatrace should be a big winner from more companies integrating artificial intelligence into their operations, according to the letter. Yet it has been underperforming, and its shares are trading at a discount relative to its peers in software infrastructure and cybersecurity, the letter says. Dynatrace had a market value of almost $11 billion as of Monday. Its stock is down more than 15% year-to-date and down more than 20% over the past 12 months. There has been a wide selloff in software stocks this year, with investors concerned that those businesses could be replaced by artificial intelligence. Dynatrace specializes in so-called observability platforms that are powered by AI and help companies monitor and automate their own software systems. Some of its customers include TD Bank (NYSE: TD) and Air Canada (TSE: AC), according to the company’s website. Starboard believes Dynatrace shares have dropped as revenue growth has stagnated and investors are skeptical the business can improve in the near term, the letter says. The investor sees an opportunity for Dynatrace to expand margins, including by targeting expenses related to sales and marketing. Starboard also thinks Dynatrace should accelerate its share buybacks. The company recently signed off on a fresh $1 billion share-repurchase plan, but Starboard says it feels Dynatrace could return more than $2.5 billion over the next three years. Dynatrace could nearly double its per-share free cash flow within the next three years, to over $3.30, Starboard’s letter says. There has been a wave of consolidation in the industry as cybersecurity companies look to combine with these types of observability businesses in tech to offer more services to their customers. Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) struck a more than $3 billion deal for Dynatrace peer Chronosphere late last year. Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) struck a $28 billion deal for Splunk (NASDAQ: SPLK), where Starboard was also an investor, in late 2023. Starboard says in its letter that Dynatrace’s board should be open to all paths to maximize shareholder value. Analysts have said recently that they are optimistic about Dynatrace’s growth prospects in the coming years because of new product rollouts and some big customer contracts coming up for renewal. Starboard, run by Jeff Smith, has been active with cybersecurity and other tech investments. Some of its other recent investments include the industrial company Flowserve (NYSE: FLS) and used-car retailer CarMax (NYSE: KMX), where it secured board seats earlier this month.

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4/28/2026

Elliott Takes Stake in Nippon Express; Shares Jump Most Ever

Bloomberg (04/28/26) Du, Lisa

Elliott Investment Management built a stake Nippon Express Holdings Inc. (TYO: 9147), sending the logistics company’s stock to a fresh record as the fund ramps up its investment activity in Japan. Shares of Nippon Express jumped as much as 18%, the biggest intraday gain ever, after the U.S. hedge fund disclosed a 5.04% stake in the Tokyo-based company. While it’s not yet clear what Elliott’s intentions are with Nippon Express, the firm has focused many of its Japan investments on companies with large holdings of real estate which are not accounted for at market value. Paul Singer’s Elliott has in the past pushed for engaged companies to sell and lease back real estate, and use the proceeds to buy back shares. The pace of Elliott’s investments in Japan has accelerated over the past year. Nippon Express marks its third publicized campaign in the country this year — already in line with the total number of investments it disclosed in all of last year. In 2025, the fund clashed with Japan’s most powerful conglomerate the Toyota group, pushing for a higher price in an Akio Toyoda–led deal to take Toyota Industries Corp. (TYO: 6201) private. It later reached an agreement to tender its Toyota Industries shares at a price 26% above the initial offer. In the weeks after ending the Toyota standoff, Elliott has disclosed stakes in shipping company Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd. (TYO: 9104) and air conditioner manufacturer Daikin Industries Ltd (TYO: 6367). Japan’s logistics sector has also been a favored option for private equity buyouts due to its real estate holdings. A CLSA report in July said Nippon Express’s property holdings made it vulnerable to a take-private that might use a similar approach that KKR & Co. (NYSE: KKR) did with Hitachi Transport System. The report estimated at the time that sales of Nippon Express’s real estate and equity holdings could generate around ¥723 billion after tax. In 2023, KKR purchased Hitachi Transport for about ¥670 billion, later renaming it Logisteed. The private equity giant later sold off a handful of the company’s warehouses and then in December sold a 19.9% stake in Logisteed to Japan Post (TYO: 6178) for around ¥142.3 billion.

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4/28/2026

Investor Kimmeridge Urges Devon to Pursue Asset Sales After Coterra Merger

Reuters (04/28/26) Kumar, Arunima

Kimmeridge on Tuesday urged shale producer Devon Energy's (DVN.N) incoming board to swiftly pursue asset sales, improve capital allocation and revamp executive pay to boost shareholder returns after its merger with Coterra Energy (CTRA.N) closes. Investment firm Kimmeridge, a well-known investor in the energy sector, holds about a 1.4% stake in Devon, according to LSEG data. Kimmeridge said the combined company risks a "conglomerate discount" unless it streamlines its business and focuses on high-margin assets, even as the deal creates scale and free cash flow potential. The deal, announced in February and expected to close on May 4, will create a giant U.S. shale producer with an enterprise value of about $58 billion. Devon and Coterra did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment. Kimmeridge urged Devon to quickly outline its post-merger strategy, including clear priorities on capital allocation, asset ownership and return thresholds. It also called for an "accelerated" divestment of non-core assets, saying a more focused business would improve capital efficiency. "Scale alone does not create value, but discipline and execution do," Managing Partner Mark Viviano said in an open letter to the future board. Kimmeridge also pressed for changes to executive compensation, recommending fully performance-based incentives.

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4/28/2026

Lululemon Appoints New Director as Proxy Fight With Founder Looms, Sources Say

Reuters (04/28/26) Herbst-Bayliss, Svea

Lululemon Athletica (LULU.O) is appointing an executive with significant branding and marketing experience to its board as the athletic apparel maker's founder presses management to revive its brand, sources told Reuters. Esi Eggleston Bracey, who was chief growth and marketing officer at Unilever (ULVR.L) until earlier this year and previously held senior positions at Procter & Gamble (PG.N), will become a director immediately, the sources said. At Unilever, which makes Dove personal care products, she led the global transformation of marketing across a portfolio of more than 400 brands. She also worked at cosmetics maker Coty (COTY.N) where she helped reposition its CoverGirl brand. Since 2021, Eggleston Bracey has been a director at houseware and kitchen supply company Williams-Sonoma (WSM.N) and serves on its audit and finance committee. She will stand for election at Lululemon's annual meeting, which has been scheduled for June 25. Director Shane Grant, who is chief operating officer, Americas at Colgate-Palmolive (CL.N), said he will not stand for re-election, the sources said. Lululemon's decision to add a second new director in as many months comes days after it named a new chief executive officer and continues to tangle with its founder, Chip Wilson, who has said the company has lost its "cool" factor. Heidi O'Neill will start as chief executive officer in September after her non-compete agreement with Nike (NKE.N). In March Lululemon added former Levi Strauss & Co (LEVI.N) CEO Chip Bergh as a director. Wilson, who founded Lululemon in 1998 and left the board in 2015, wants investors to elect three directors he selected and has said a new CEO should have been picked only after a broader board refreshment. A representative for Lululemon declined to comment. Lululemon's decision to add Eggleston Bracey signals the board and management are taking steps to revive a brand that popularized the term athleisure when people wore its signature yoga pants to the gym and, during COVID, to the home office and almost everywhere else. Lululemon went public in 2007 and its stock hit a high at $511 in late 2023. It closed at $146.94 on Monday, after a 45% drop over the last year, which leaves it with a market valuation of $17 billion as it faces increased competition from newer rivals like Alo Yoga and Vuori in the United States. But some investors have also praised strong international sales numbers and innovative products like stretchier pants, noting the signs of improvement are becoming visible. Still the proxy fight with Wilson, who owns roughly 4.3% of the company, looms large after documents seen by Reuters show there have been discussions between the two sides but no settlement agreement has been reached.

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4/28/2026

Citi Hires Barclays' Potts to Head Shareholder Advisory Arm

Reuters (04/28/26) Bedir, Prerna; Sakoui, Anousha

Citigroup (C.N) has hired Barclays' (BARC.L) James Potts to lead its shareholder advisory and activism arm, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters on Tuesday, to assist its clients through shareholder activities. Potts will join Citi after nearly two decades at Barclays' investment banking division, where he is currently the head of corporate mergers and acquisitions for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In his new role, Potts will serve as managing director and head of Citi's Shareholder Advisory & Activism Defense Group, covering Europe, UK, Middle East and Africa, Japan, Australia and North America and Asia South, Citi's global mergers arm's co-heads Guillermo Baygual and Drago Rajkovic said. The Briton will be based in London, where he currently resides, and report to Citi's Europe mergers head Robin Rousseau and his UK and Middle East peer Barry Weir, the memo added.

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4/27/2026

Swatch Group Investor Battle Heats Up After ISS Backs Greenwood Investors

Bloomberg (04/27/26) Catelli, Allegra

The Swatch Group AG (UHR.SW) is facing renewed investor pressure after a key proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services recommended shareholders support a board candidate backed by a Greenwood Investors. Steven Wood, founder of Greenwood Investors, is pushing to be nominated as the representative of bearer shareholders on the board at the annual general meeting next month. ISS urged investors to vote for Wood, citing weak long-term performance and governance shortcomings, including a lack of board independence and the continued influence of the Hayek family on Swatch. The endorsement follows a similar stance from Swiss proxy adviser Ethos Foundation, which backed Wood’s candidacy at last year’s meeting, citing concerns about governance. Swatch has said Wood isn’t suitable as a representative of bearer shareholders, given only about 4% of what’s held by GreenWood Builders Fund IV is this type of stock. The company has instead proposed Andreas Rickenbacher to the board. The endorsement marks a setback for Swatch, which has argued its structure reflects its Swiss identity and long-term strategy. Shares have fallen around 6% since the start of the conflict in the Middle East, though they are still up since the start of the year. Operating profit fell by more than half in 2025. Greenwood welcomed the ISS recommendation, saying that Wood would bring “an independent expert with critical capital markets, industrial cross-border, and operational excellence skillsets.” “Our proposals and candidate represent necessary first steps to rectifying governance shortcomings and addressing the stagnation at the company,” Wood said. The outcome may hinge on Swatch’s voting structure, which has previously allowed the controlling Hayek family to block dissident nominees despite support from certain share classes.

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4/27/2026

Seer Denies Investors' Raised Buyout Offer, Says it 'Significantly Undervalues' Company

San Francisco Business Times (04/27/26) Leuty, Ron

A bloc of investors bumped up its price for Seer Inc. (NASDAQ: SEER) by $5.5 million — a dime more for each share — but the protein research tools maker's board said the offer still "significantly undervalues" the Redwood City company. A Seer board committee, however, continues to review the nomination of three director candidates brought forward by Houston-based investor Bradley J. Radoff and Michael Torok, the Boston-area managing director of JEC Capital Partners LLC. Radoff and Torok, known as the Radoff-JEC Group, have criticized Seer's spending and what they view as an underwhelming strategy to move the company toward profitability. Their critiques have been directed mainly at Seer co-founder and CEO Omid Farokhzad. Meanwhile, Radoff and Torok said, other companies have grown. They pointed to this month's initial public offering by Fremont's Alamar Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ: ALMR), which like Seer makes equipment for researchers studying proteins. Alamar went public at $17, grossing about $191 million, and opened Monday at $24.65. Radoff and Torok, who collectively control about 7.6% of Seer's 56.4 million shares, have said they will take the company private and invest $10 million. The Radoff-JEC Group earlier this month made an unsolicited cash bid for Seer at $2.25 a share plus a contingent value right that would give Seer shareholders 80% of the net proceeds from a license, sale or other disposition of Seer's business and assets. The cash-for-shares portion of the bid increased last week to $2.35. The offer hinges on Seer having at least $215 million of net cash and equivalents at closing. "Our view remains straightforward: Seer has failed as a public company in every way under the current leadership team, including a share price decline of 90% since its IPO, cumulative reported losses exceeding $465 million and virtually no revenue growth," Radoff and Torok wrote in an open letter Friday to Seer's board, before directors took action. Seer went public in late 2020 at $19 a share. It opened Monday at $1.93. The nine-year-old, 140-person company commercially launched its Proteograph system for accessing all of the proteins expressed in the human body — known as the proteome — in 2021. Year-over-year revenue jumped 17% last year to $16.6 million. Seer has accumulated a deficit of $466 million through the end of last year, finishing December with $240.6 million in cash, equivalents and investments. In a statement Monday explaining directors' rejection of the Radoff-JEC offer, Seer said it is "building a market from the ground up … and continues to execute against its strategy" to expand current customers' use of the technology and expand its market with more innovation. The Seer board corporate governance and nominating committee will make recommendations ahead of an upcoming annual shareholder meeting on three candidates nominated by the Radoff-JEC Group. Those candidates are former Coya Therapeutics (NASDAQ: COYA) CEO Howard Berman, investment advisor Joshua Horowitz and Luis Rinaldini, the head of advisory firm Groton Partners.

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4/27/2026

Starboard Builds Stake in Flowserve, Push for Changes

Bloomberg (04/27/26) Baker, Liana; Carnevali, David

Starboard Value has built a significant stake in Flowserve Corp. (NYSE: FLS) and is speaking to the industrial company about potential changes, according to people familiar with the matter. Starboard and the company have been discussing ways the manufacturer could expand margins, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. The exact size of Starboard’s investment couldn’t be learned. “We regularly engage with shareholders and prospective investors to hear their views and appreciate their perspectives,” a representative for Flowserve said in a statement. “As a matter of practice, we do not comment on the specifics of our discussions.” Flowserve rose 5.7% to close at $87.92 in New York trading Monday, giving the company a market value of about $11.2 billion. Flowserve is one of the world’s top providers of pumps, seals, valve controls and other equipment for moving and controlling fluids in the oil and gas, chemicals, power generation and other heavy industries. Its business model hinges on selling critical parts and then servicing them for years. The company has been looking to ramp up its exposure to the faster-growing power and nuclear markets, after jettisoning its legacy asbestos assets last year. To that end, it agreed in February to buy Trillium Flow Technologies’ valves division for $450 million. Analysts have said the company is well-positioned to take advantage of industry megatrends such as the buildout of artificial intelligence, which is generating a push for new energy sources including nuclear power. In February, the company also announced that it had reached its target for reaching adjusted operating margin of 14% to 16% two years ahead of schedule, setting a new target of 20% by 2030, according to Bloomberg Intelligence senior industry analyst Mustafa Okur. That would bring “it in line with best-in-class peers such as ITT (NYSE: ITT),” Okur said in February. Flowserve has “significant margin expansion runway,” Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) analysts said in a research note on March 5. Last year, Flowserve agreed to merge with Chart Industries Inc. (NYSE: GTLS) to create a $19 billion company that would have served industries including data centers, water, industrial gas and mining. The deal fell apart after Baker Hughes Co. (NASDAQ: BKR) agreed to acquire Chart in July. Starboard, led by Chief Executive Officer Jeff Smith, has engaged some of the world’s largest companies and is currently pushing for changes at CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX), Lamb Weston Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LW), and Riot Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: RIOT), according Bloomberg’s activism database.

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4/27/2026

Summer Road Seeks Board Seat at Ingles Markets Ahead of April 30 Vote

Stock Titan (04/27/26)

Ingles Markets, Inc (NASDAQ: IMKTA) faces a proxy push from Summer Road LLC, which owns approximately 3% of the Company’s Class A common stock and is soliciting votes to elect Rory A. Held to the board at the April 30 annual meeting. Summer Road’s proxy materials criticize the current board’s independence and disclosure practices and urge Class A shareholders to vote using a GOLD universal proxy card to add an independent Class A representative to the eight-member Board.

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