Third Point's Loeb pushes for 'fair' sales process at SoHo House (updated)
29/01/2025 14:08
(Adds details from letter throughout, stock price, background
on deal)
By Svea Herbst-Bayliss
NEW YORK, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Daniel Loeb, who runs hedge
fund Third Point, on Wednesday urged SoHo House directors to run
a "fair" sales process and consider other potential bidders
after the hospitality group received a take-private offer late
last year.
The billionaire investor called the $9 a share offer made
last year a "sweetheart" deal and added that he thinks other
parties with experience investing in the hospitality sector may
be interested in the asset.
Third Point owns a nearly 10% stake in the operator of
exclusive private clubs and Loeb, in a letter to the SoHo House
board, said he approves of returning the company to private
ownership. News of Loeb's involvement pushed Soho House shares
up 7.5% in premarket trading after closing at $7.37 a share on
Tuesday. The company is valued at roughly $1.4 billion.
SoHo House has been public since 2021 but struggled
financially. To take it private, Loeb writes that SoHo House's
board engaged in a "sweetheart" deal with its chairman, Ron
Burkle, who runs investment firm Yucaipa.
"Burkle’s obvious conflicts of interest and undue
influence on the board via his super-voting share class make it
imperative that the Board open the sale process to outside
bidders," the letter said.
A SoHo House representative was not immediately
available for comment.
(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss
Editing by Bernadette Baum and Chizu Nomiyama)
((svea.herbst@thomsonreuters.com; +617 233 2138; Reuters
Messaging: svea.herbst.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))