Sachem Head invests where other activists tread in FedEx, Hasbro

New Relic

13/08/2022 24:00

By Svea Herbst-Bayliss
    BOSTON, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Investment firm Sachem Head
Capital Management, which settled its proxy fight with US Foods
Holding Corp in May, added three new positions during the second
quarter in companies where other activists had already flexed
their muscle.
    The firm, run by Scott Ferguson, reported owning 493,099
shares of freight transport company FedEx  FDX.N , 1.5 million
shares of cloud-based software company New Relic  NEWR.N , and
620,000 shares of toymaker Hasbro  HAS.O  on June 30, according
to a regulatory filing.
    Activist firm Jana Partners won two board seats at New Relic
in June while FedEx added two board directors in an agreement
with hedge fund DE Shaw. Hasbro in June beat back a board
challenge from hedge fund Alta Fox which has pushed the company
to spin off a lucrative division.
    Investment managers are required to tell regulators how much
stock they owned in U.S. companies at the end of each quarter in
so-called 13F filings. While the filings are backward looking,
other investors watch them closely for hints on trends,
including suggestions of which companies activist investors
might be targeting.
    Sachem Head mounted a high-profile proxy fight this year
against US Foods but agreed to drop the fight in exchange for
three seats on the food distributor's board. US Foods had
struggled to boost profit margins in line with competitors.
    The firm does not push management for changes at all its
portfolio companies.
    Sachem Head also boosted its stake in industrial company
Arconic  ARNC.N , adding 3.6 million shares to own 4 million
shares at the end of the quarter.
    It exited investments in Carvana  POST.N  and Post Holdings
 POST.N .

 (Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by David Gregorio)
 ((svea.herbst@thomsonreuters.com; +617 856 4331; Reuters
Messaging: svea.herbst.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))