Palliser Capital, the hedge fund firm founded by James Smith, the former head of Elliott Management Corp’s operations in Hong Kong, is agitating for a raft of changes at Samsung C&T (SCT), the effective holding company of South Korean conglomerate Samsung Group, according to a report by Reuters.
The report cites three sources familiar with the matter as saying that the London-based hedge fund wants SCT to spend its cash better, improve governance and communications and simplify its corporate structure to boost its share price.
And according to Palliser effecting the changes could equate to a 170% uplift in the value of the company’s stock.
Palliser owns a 0.62% stake in SCT, which has a total market value of about $17bn. Founding family members, including the electronic giant’s chairman Jay Y Lee, are the biggest shareholders, collectively controlling more than 31% of SCT.
Possible changes to the business include naming one chief executive to oversee its four business units, which currently each have their own head, and reviewing whether some businesses could be sold or spun off and listed.
