By Investing.com Staff
Shares of Vertiv Holdings (NYSE:VRT) rose 12% Thursday following news that activist hedge fund Starboard Value LP has accumulated a 7.4% stake in the provider of digital infrastructure. A 13D filing shows the firm started accumulating the position in late August.
Vertiv went public in February of 2020 after a merger with SPAC GS Acquisition Holdings.
According to Bloomberg News, which first reported the Starboard stake, the hedge fund is seeking operational improvements at Vertiv.
Starboard is said to have held talks with the company's leadership and support its focus on improving profitability under Chairman David Cote and incoming CEO Giordano Albertazzi, the Bloomberg report added. Earlier in the month, it was announced that Albertazzi will succeed Rob Johnson as CEO and as a Director on the Board of Directors on January 1, 2023. It is unclear if the change is related to Starboard's efforts.
Starboard's Jeff Smith is seen discussing the new Vertiv stake at the Capitalize for Kids Investor Conference in Toronto later today.
The activist hedge fund has had a busy week, disclosing new positions in Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) and Splunk (NASDAQ:SPLK). Smith discussed both at the Active-Passive Investor Summit earlier this week, along with Wix.com (NASDAQ:WIX).