New York (HedgeCo.Net) - Harbinger Capital has taken an 8 percent stake in Cablevision Systems Corp., according to a regulatory filing done yesterday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The activist hedge fund now owns nearly 19 million shares of the cable operator.  The filing communicated Harbinger’s views that the stock is undervalued and also touched on the possibility of a strategic restructuring, saying they may “seek to influence or change the control” of the company.

It is not uncommon for hedge funds and other private equity firms to try to replace or enhance a company’s board of directors in order to give them more control or decision making privileges.  Hedge funds generally seek high returns in a short time frame, and are more than prepared to try and replace management should the current slate fail to share their views.

Harbinger is no stranger to this practice.  Already, the hedge fund has sought seats on two of the boards of companies in which they invest:  The New York Times and Media General. Harbinger was awarded three seats on Media General’s board and two seats on the board of the Times after a much publicized near proxy battle.

Shares of Cablevision closed at $32.46 on Thursday, down 10 cents.

Julie Scuderi
Senior Editor for HedgeCo.Net
Email: julie@hedgeco.net

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