Big win for TPG-Axon. A Delaware judge told the board of Sandridge Energy it cannot take steps to impede the hedge fund firm’s attempt to replace the company’s board of directors. TPG-Axon also wants SandRidge to scrap its staggered board.
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Starboard Value does it again. The aggressive, activist hedge fund worked out a settlement with Wausau Paper, which agreed to nominate two new directors recommended by Starboard at the company’s 2013 annual meeting. Starboard, with 14.8 percent of outstanding shares, agreed to vote in favor of each of the board’s four nominees, expanding the board to nine directors. Earlier Starboard had targeted Tessera Technologies, a miniature chip maker, on a number of issues.
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Good news for Jeff Ubben’s ValueAct Partners. Buyout house Kohlberg Kravis Roberts has officially agreed to acquire Gardner Denver for $3.9 billion, or $76 per share in cash. The takeout price is a 44 percent premium to the stock price on July 26, when ValueAct sent a letter to the company board encouraging it to sell the company.
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Kenneth Griffin’s Citadel disclosed a 5.5 percent passive stake in Goodrich Petroleum, an independent exploration and production company. The stock closed up 0.66 percent, to $14.51 on Friday.
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Daniel Och’s Och Ziff Capital Management Group is reportedly one of several investors in PT Matahari Department Store’s $1.5 billion sale of stock, slated for March 11. Matahari is an Indonesian retailer owned by CVC Capital Partners, a London-based private equity firm that is selling as much as a 40 percent stake in Matahari.
