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13Ds are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 10 days of an entity’s attaining a greater than 5% position in any class of a company’s securities. Subsequent changes in holdings or intentions must be reported in amended filings. This material has been extracted from filings released by the SEC from Aug. 9 through Aug. 15, 2018. Source: InsiderScore.com

Third Point, the investment vehicle founded by Daniel Loeb, revealed on Aug. 9 that it has taken an initial position in the food-and-beverage conglomerate of 17,000,000 shares. The investor amassed the stake through purchases from June 11 through Aug. 8 at prices ranging from $34.75 to $43.11 each, and it now holds 5.7% of the outstanding Campbell shares.

Also on Aug. 9, Third Point revealed that it had been in talks with Campbell’s interim CEO as he assists with the company’s strategic review, and that “all options, including a sale, are being evaluated.” In its filing, Third point stated that it strongly believes a sale is “the only justifiable outcome.”





Increases in Holdings

Corvex Management, and Icahn Enterprises jointly disclosed increased stakes in the oil-and-gas explorer. The investors’ holdings, of 7,710,474 and 8,717,066 shares, respectively, are equal to a combined 16.8% of the outstanding stock, with the latter figure inclusive of 2,000,000 shares if a call option is exercised by Icahn. The larger position resulted from Icahn affiliates buying 657,077 shares on Aug. 8, 9, and 10 at prices from $71.30 to $72.34 apiece.

Corvex and Icahn first disclosed in May their joint effort to acquire the energy firm and have since increased their holdings to current levels.

Mangrove Partners bought 165,822 shares on Aug. 13 at prices ranging from $31.76 to $31.95 each, raising its position in the oil explorer and developer to 1,409,722 shares, 6.9% of the publicly traded stock.

Vintage Capital Management purchased 115,000 shares of the tax-preparation firm on Aug. 2 at $9.19 each, lifting its total ownership to 2,075,151 shares, equivalent to 14.8% of the outstanding A shares. Vintage first invested in the company through a purchase agreement with founder and former Chairman John Hewitt, who offered his entire stake to Vintage affiliate Vintage Tributum in late July. The move satisfied stipulations by Liberty Tax creditors that Hewitt be removed and that he divest himself of enough shares to keep him from having majority influence over the election of board nominees.





Decreases in Holdings

OrbiMed Advisors disclosed its stake of 1,629,700 shares of the biopharmaceutical company, or 4.5% of the tradable stock, after it sold 435,300 shares from July 2 through Aug. 3 at prices ranging from $32 to $36.32 apiece.

OrbiMed was a pre-initial-public-offering investor in Rhythm and once owned about 11% of its stock, or some 2.9 million shares, at $17 per share, following Rhythm’s debut as a public company in October 2017. OrbiMed began trimming its stake in May after Rhythm rallied to above $30 after faltering to its lowest point in April, at $16.80.

Thomas H. Lee Partners sold six million shares, nearly a quarter of its position in the biopharmaceutical clinical and development services firm, at $49.73 apiece in a registered offering on Aug. 9. Following the sale, it now owns 19,239,664 shares or 18.7% of the tradable stock. No additional details were provided.

Cinven Capital Management, the managing general partner for the majority of Medpace stockholders, divested 5,175,000 shares of the pharmaceutical-products developer and clinical-testing manager through an offering on Aug. 10 at $54.35 apiece. Cinven now holds 5,224,997 shares, equal to 14.7% of the tradable stock.

Gamco Investors (ticker: GBL) revealed a decrease in its holdings of the home-care services provider to 10,483,344 shares, or 8.2% of the outstanding stock, after the sale of 1,043,394 shares at prices from $2.55 to $3.22 each in the span from June 13 through Aug. 10. Gamco also purchased 15,000 shares from June 13 through July 9 at prices from $2.55 to $3.03 each.

ValueAct Capital sold 1,500,000 shares via a block trade on Aug. 7 at $69.20 per share. It now holds a lowered position in the commercial and home suspension systems manufacturer of 5,354,910 shares, or 10.4% of the outstanding stock.

ValueAct has cut its holdings by almost 42% from the 9.2 million shares it owned at the beginning of March. However, it has not publicly described its reason for making these transactions.

Trian Fund Management executed a block trade to sell 1,700,000 shares at $42.15 apiece on Aug. 13. It now holds 12,301,837 shares of the industrial manufacturer, or 7% of the tradable stock, including 254,092 shares underlying options. Trian noted only that the divestment was for “portfolio management purposes.”

Centerbridge Capital Partners cut its holdings of the mobile and manufactured home builder to 10,461,521 shares, or 18.6% of the outstanding stock, after selling 432,361 shares through overallotment on Aug. 10, exercised in relation to the offering by current shareholders, at $22 apiece before underwriting discounts.

BlueMountain Capital Management lowered its stake in the oil-and-gas shipping firm to 7,876,107 shares, or 9.3% of the outstanding stock, by selling 341,859 in the span from June 27 through July 6 at prices from $4 to $4.11 apiece.





The Activist Spotlight

Nielsen Holdings (NLSN)

Business: media measurement

Investor’s Avg Cost: $23.09/share

Stock Market Value: $9.3 billion ($26.15/share)

What’s Happening: Elliott Associates intends to talk with the board about operational and strategic opportunities, including a possible sale of the company.

Key Numbers:

13.7%: Nielsen’s return since its 2011 public offering

183.8%: the return of the Nasdaq over the same time period

Behind the Scenes: Elliott is a very successful activist, particularly in strategic situations. Nielsen has two businesses: 1) Watch—its television and online video ratings, a virtual monopoly with 45% Ebitda margins; and 2) Buy—for retail consumer behavior information and analytics.

Buy, which has been facing challenges, accounts for only 20% of Nielsen’s Ebitda, but has somewhat monopolized the company narrative. Accordingly, Nielsen is trading at a very depressed valuation. There are opportunities for the Buy segment to invest in technology to improve performance. However, the primary opportunity here is strategic. Nielsen is conducting a strategic review of Buy, but private equity may be more interested in acquiring the whole company.

Private-equity investors bought the company in 2006 and took it public in 2011 at $23 per share; they still have their eyes on Nielsen. The company’s chairman works at Carlyle; another director works at Blackstone, and the former CEO of Nielsen is the head of portfolio operations at Blackstone. The company recently announced its CEO will resign by year end, which makes it an ideal time to sell the company. Nielsen said its board and management “welcome the views and perspectives of its owners, including Elliott Management.

—Kenneth Squire

The 13D Activist Fund, a mutual fund run by an affiliate of the author and not connected to Barron’s, has a long position in Nielsen Holdings. In addition, the author publishes and sells 13D research reports, whose buyers may include representatives of participants in, and targets of, shareholder activism.

Email: editors@barrons.com