Angry investors seek to appoint board member to Third Point UK fund
LONDON (Reuters) – Activist investors in Third Point’s London-listed fund want independent director Richard Boleat appointed to the board to improve corporate governance, they said in a letter to shareholders on Tuesday.
Third Point Investors Limited (TPIL), managed by hedge fund Third Point, has come under fire from Asset Value Investors (AVI) and three other shareholders who collectively own more than 18% of its shares and say it is underperforming.
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Boleat specialises in hedge funds and investment management groups, the investors said.
The investors called in the letter for an extraordinary general meeting to enable shareholders to vote on his appointment.
“We continue to believe there is a place in the London market for a reformed TPIL,” Tom Treanor, executive director of AVI, said in the letter.
“But the company and its shareholders have been badly let down by its directors over the years.”
Third Point’s boss Dan Loeb last month blamed the departure of the fund’s chairman Steve Bates, on the “inexperienced” and “juvenile antics” of the activist investors.
Third Point is itself an activist investor, taking stakes in companies and seeking changes to boost their share price. It took a stake in Shell last year, calling for a break-up of the oil major.
TPIL’s share price was trading at six-month lows on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; editing by Barbara Lewis)