LONDON, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Hedge fund Third Point's boss Dan
Loeb on Thursday blamed the departure of the chairman of the
firm's London-listed fund on "inexperienced" and "juvenile
antics" of activist investors.
Third Point Investors Limited (TPIL), a closed-ended fund
managed by Third Point, has been under fire from Asset Value
Investors (AVI) and three other shareholders who collectively
own more than 10% of the voting rights in the fund and say it is
underperforming.
Steve Bates, a former JPMorgan banker who has been the
chairman of TPIL for three years, announced his resignation on
Thursday, saying he had "recently been put in a position where
it is impossible for me to continue as a director of TPIL".
TPIL said in a statement that Bates had suffered personal
threats at one of the meetings the board had arranged with
representatives of AVI and separately with Staude Capital,
another of the activists. TPIL did not say who made the threats.
Loeb said Bates' departure was a "loss for all shareholders"
and "the behavior by these so-called 'activists' is a stain on
institutional investors who attempt to engage constructively
with boards and management teams...These juvenile antics smack
of desperation and inexperience."
AVI said in a statement that it had supported the
appointment of Bates, and that it was "unfortunate that he has
now chosen to resign".
AVI added that it was "disappointing to see the continued
misleading narratives being put out under the Board’s name".
Staude Capital did not immediately respond to a request for
comment.
Third Point is itself an activist investor, taking stakes in
companies and seeking changes in order to boost their share
price. It recently took a stake in Shell, calling for a
break-up of the oil major.
(Reporting by Carolyn Cohn;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)