Starboard to challenge engineering materials maker Rogers' board -sources

Rogers

04/02/2023 24:43

By Svea Herbst-Bayliss
       NEW YORK, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Activist investment firm
Starboard Value LP has amassed a sizable stake in Rogers Corp
 ROG.N  and is seeking seats on the electronics materials
company's board in its push for changes, people familiar with
the matter said on Friday.
    The board challenge comes after chemical company DuPont
 DD.N  in November walked away from a $5.2 billion deal to
acquire Rogers because it failed to secure regulatory approval
for the transaction in China. The deal had originally been
announced in late 2021.
    Starboard, which is led by Jeffrey Smith, has been building
a stake in Rogers that is nearing 5% and has notified the
company that it will nominate at least three people to the
company's 10-member board, the sources said, requesting
anonymity because the matter is confidential.
    Starboard's plans for the company could not immediately be
learned. Starboard and Rogers did not respond to requests for
comment.    
    Rogers, which was founded in 1832, makes materials that are
used in electronics and wireless infrastructure. 
    Its stock price tumbled after the DuPont deal was scrapped
and is down 47% over the last 52 weeks. Since the start of 2023,
the stock has climbed 22% as the broader market moved higher,
giving Rogers a market value of $2.8 billion.
    The company has made changes since the DuPont deal fell
apart. Colin Gouveia, who ran Rogers' elastomeric material
solutions unit, became CEO this year. Former chief executive,
Bruce Hoechner, who retired at the end of last year, will step
down from the board at the end of March, according to the
company's website.
    Starboard has been active, including recent bets on
cloud-based software company Salesforce  CRM.N , software
company Splunk  SPLK.O  and website maker Wix.com  WIX.O .
 (Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss in New York; Editing by
Leslie Adler)
 ((svea.herbst@thomsonreuters.com; +617 856 4331; Reuters
Messaging: svea.herbst.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))