Starboard Value, the activist hedge fund firm founded in 2002 by Jeffrey Smith and Mark Mitchell, and the largest shareholder in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp, has nominated three candidates to the board of the Canadian utility company, according to a report by Reuters.
The move, which comes 11 months after Starboard joined fellow activist investor Corvex Management in urging Algonquin to reduce debt and improve earnings by selling a majority of its renewable assets, is the latest attempt by the hedge fund to force change at the company.
Despite Algonquin agreeing to consider a sale of its renewable energy unit last August and the company’s CEO resigning, Starboard, which holds a 9% stake, is pushing for further change, saying in a statement that, while the company has made several important changes, “this has not been an easy engagement, with certain influential members of the board impeding progress and the majority of the board either passive or complicit”.
Algonquin’s corporate governance board committee has said it will now review the proposed nominees – Brett Carter, Chris Lopez and Rob Schriesheim, ahead of a scheduled shareholder meeting on 4 June.
