This, the source added, sets it apart from activist investors, who often try to dictate company business or demand asset sales and mergers and acquisitions in the short-term.īut they still trade at a 17 percent discount to the U.S. SCV is primarily focussed on making sure the companies it backs have the best management and boards in place to deliver on operational strategy and intelligently allocate capital over the long-term, the source said. SCV's largest holding is in Swiss chemicals company Sika SIK.VX, the source said, without disclosing the actual size of the partnership's stake.Īccording to public filings, Southeastern owns just under 4 percent of the company, and is supporting Sika's management and board in their opposition to the sale of the Burkhard family's 16-percent stake to France's Saint-Gobain SGOB.PA at an 80 percent premium without a concurrent offer to other shareholders. The appointment of Lafarge veteran Eric Olsen, a dual French and American national as CEO, was welcomed by Southeastern, partly because it believed he had the necessary skills and cultural sensitivity to unite factions in both the Holcim and Lafarge camps. ĭuring the protracted merger of Holcim and Lafarge, Sawiris, with the support of major shareholders, including Southeastern, was instrumental in pushing for Lafarge management to retain positions of influence in the combined merger. construction supplies firm Texas Industries and cement and aggregates firm LafargeHolcim LHN.VX. Sawiris, the youngest scion of one of Egypt’s richest families and Southeastern, the investment firm set up by Hawkins 40 years ago, have already cooperated as independent shareholders to significant effect at several large firms. SCV, which will be advised by Southeastern’s London office, is expected to focus on six to 10 companies at any one time and its partners hope their long-term collaborative approach will maximise shareholder influence, the source said. Fund firms must often sell shares to return capital to clients before long-term change is fully implemented. Many fund firms have demanded a greater say in how companies are run since the financial crisis, after clients accused them of charging high fees but failing to hold board members to account for weak strategy, poor profits or excessive pay.īut investor-led campaigns for change can be stymied by the varying requirements of their clients, in terms of how soon they expect to see returns. market, where sportswear trends are born. The German-dominated board is seeking a new boss who can help restore its fortunes in the U.S. Sawiris’ and Southeastern’s interest in Adidas comes at a critical juncture for the Bavaria-based company. The stakes were built up this year.Ī spokeswoman for Southeastern confirmed the existence of a partnership comprising Hawkins, Sawiris and some of its senior staff, but declined to comment further. Southeastern has publicly filed as holding over 3 percent of the company. Sawiris is already independently invested in Adidas via NNS Holding, which owned 1.74 percent of the share capital as of October 30, according to Thomson Reuters data, and around 6 percent of voting rights via a number of options. It could set its sights on Germany's Adidas, which has struggled to keep pace with bigger rival Nike NKE.N in recent years and is currently looking for a successor to veteran CEO Herbert Hainer. The new entity - Southeastern Concentrated Value (SCV) - plans to build stakes in up to 10 European companies it deems to be underperforming - to spur boardroom revamps and influence strategy, the source said. The long-term venture between Sawiris and fellow billionaire Hawkins, founder of the employee-owned global investment firm, combines their personal wealth as well as cash from third-party investors, according to a source familiar with the matter. A shareholder of Adidas, the world's second largest sports apparel firm, looks at shoes during the company annual general meeting in the northern Bavarian town of Fuerth near Nuremberg, Germany, May 7, 2015.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |