Mountaineer Partners Management, an opportunistic hedge fund focused on value and event-driven investments, has written an open letter to Vishay Intertechnology's board of directors, urging the implementation of a $600m share buy-back programme.

Montaineer which owns over 2m shares of Vishay's common stock, equating to 1/7% of the company, says the electronic components maker has an "irrationally low valuation" and should use excess cash on its balance sheet to repurchase stocks and boost shareholder value.

In the letter, Montaineer wrote: "The board should approve and implement a $600m accelerated repurchase. Vishay has more than $800m of cash and equivalents. Moreover, the company’s total liquidity is over $1.5bn, which represents more than 50% of the company’s current market capitalisation.

"Our research indicates that should the company combine a $600m accelerated share repurchase with the $725m of repurchases through 2028 indicated in the Investor Day plan, Vishay could repurchase 45% of shares outstanding at current prices."