Sabre-rattling hedge funds spark fear into the companies in which they build stakes. Just ask GlaxoSmithKline or FirstGroup. But the persistent discount attached to Third Point Investors against its net asset value (NAV) made the UK investment trust, managed by US investor Dan Loeb, a target for criticism this year.
In what was a taste of its own medicine, shareholder Asset Value Investors, which has built a 10.1 per cent stake in the trust, last month wrote to the board, urging it to call a shareholder meeting to vote on proposals to help close the discount.
The plan was rejected by Third Point, which said it would inappropriately infringe on the board’s ability and obligation to manage the company, and it would have no legal
