These disclosures are from 13Ds filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 13Ds are filed within 10 days of an entity’s attaining more than 5% in any class of a company’s securities. Subsequent changes in holdings or intentions must be reported in amended filings. This material is from Aug. 10 through Aug. 16, 2023. Source: VerityData
Activist Holdings
OneSpan
(OSPN)
Legion Partners reported holding 3,467,631 shares of the authentication and security technology firm, an 8.7% stake. Legion delivered a letter to OneSpan’s board dated Aug. 14 that it is unsettled by OneSpan’s “pivot away from growth and toward a focus on cash-flow optimization and capital returns.”
Legion believes the pivot “detracts” from OneSpan’s “inherent advantages and lacks the urgency and magnitude of change required to expeditiously achieve fair value in the public markets.”
Legion believes OneSpan should commit to 30%-plus adjusted margins for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization for 2024, increase capital returns by more than $50 million, and pursue a sale of the company.
Decreases in Holdings
APi Group
(APG)
Blackstone Group
(BX) trimmed its stake in the commercial safety and engineering company to 24,390,243 shares. All of those underlie series B preferred convertible stock issued under a July 2021 stock-purchase agreement. APi Group used the proceeds to help fund its $3.1 billion acquisition of Chubb Fire and Safety in 2022. The preferred shares represent a 9.4% interest in APi Group.
On Aug. 14, affiliates of Blackstone sold 2,598,609 APi Group shares, all paid out as dividends on the preferred stock, at a price of $27.80 apiece. David Blitzer, head of Blackstone’s Tactical Opportunities Group, has served on APi Group’s board since January 2022. He was nominated under the original terms of the purchase agreement.
Lifecore Biomedical
(LFCR)
Cove Street Capital reduced its holding in the biomaterials maker to 1,538,440 shares, 444,157 of them underlying convertible preferred securities. Cove Street sold 513,980 Lifecore Biomedical shares from July 31 through Aug. 14 at prices ranging from $10.07 to $10.64 each. Cove Street now holds about 5.2% of Lifecore’s outstanding stock.
On June 1, Lifecore reported fiscal third-quarter numbers, and said that as a result of reaching an enhanced supply agreement with a customer, and a debt restructuring, it was able to remove an auditor’s warning about the company’s viability.
Earlier, there had been substantial doubt about Lifecore’s ability to continue as a going concern. Lifecore continues to consider alternatives, including the potential sale of the company.
New York Times
(NYT)
ValueAct Capital cut its position in the media company by nearly 25%, to 10,164,354 shares. Without citing a reason, ValueAct sold 3,246,200 New York Times shares from July 12 through Aug. 14 at prices ranging from $41.50 to $44.16 apiece. ValueAct now owns 6.2% of the New York Times’ tradable stock.
Earlier this month, shares rose on news of a strong second-quarter. The New York Times expects digital ads to rise in the mid-single digits in the next quarter, based on current momentum and opportunities to attract new advertisers to products like sports, its CEO said.
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