FirstGroup shareholder Sandell to seek support for break-up proposal in UK this week
FirstGroup will this week face increasing pressure from the Swedish activist investor Thomas Sandell of Sandell Asset Management, The Sunday Telegraph reported.
Sandell is thought to be flying to London for meetings with investors in the UK-listed transport company and his firm will pitch its plans for breaking up the business at a conference hosted by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, the report said.
The article quoted an anonymous top-10 investor in FirstGroup who, having met Sandell Asset Management last week, described its proposal as “fundamentally interesting”. However, the same shareholder pointed out the difference between a plan which looks good in theory and its actual execution, the report said.
FirstGroup, last month, described Sandell’s proposals for the US asset sales and spin-offs as structurally flawed, a claim by which it stands, according to a group spokesperson cited in the piece.
Sandell owns 3.1% of FirstGroup, a level of shareholding which led one unidentified FirstGroup board member to question if the hedge fund has the right to make such proposals or to demand an investor meeting, the item reported.
Source Sunday Telegraph