Activist investor Politan Capital increases ownership in Azenta -filing

Azenta

14/09/2023 23:23

By Svea Herbst-Bayliss
       NEW YORK, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Activist investor Politan
Capital Management said on Thursday that it has economic
exposure to 4.5 million shares or 7.5% of biotechnology company
Azenta Inc, according to a regulatory filing.
    Politan, run by veteran fund manager Quentin Koffey, has
successfully pushed for changes at managed care company Centene
 CNC.N  and medical devices maker Masimo  MASI.O .
    It began building its position in Azenta during the second
quarter and has significantly increased its stake from the 2
million shares it owned on June 30, regulatory filings show.
    Politan said it now owned 4.13 million common shares or
6.87% of the company. It also had economic exposure to 385,196
notional shares of common stock, bringing the total aggregate
economic exposure to 4.5 million shares of common stock,
representing about 7.51% of the outstanding shares of the
company.
     Politan said it believed Azenta's stock, which closed at
$50.77 on Thursday, was undervalued and that it would engage
with the company about its business, operations and financial
condition. Since January the stock price has dropped 14%. 
    Investment firms are required to make a 13D filing after
crossing the 5% ownership threshold and often these filings
signal that an investor may have plans to push the company to
make changes.
    A representative for Azenta, which is based in Burlington,
Massachusetts, was not immediately available for comment.
    Koffey previously invested in Centene where the company
settled to add five new directors and the CEO agreed to retire.
At Masimo, where Koffey won a proxy contest earlier this year,
he secured two board seats, including one for himself. 
    

 (Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Stephen Coates)
 ((svea.herbst@thomsonreuters.com; +617 233 2138; Reuters
Messaging: svea.herbst.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))