Reuters – Dutch-based media group Wegener said on Friday it had talked to British fund Governance for Owners but had not come under pressure over its strategy amid a mounting debate over shareholderactivism.
Dutch financial daily Het Fianancieele Dagblad reported Governance for Owners (GO), which recently boosted its stake in Wegener to 5.12 percent and has been a shareholder in the firm for around a year, was having “constructive talks” with Wegener over the firm’s future.
GO says on its website its European Focus Fund aims to “address key structural or strategic governance weaknesses that have impaired company performance”.
By 0753 GMT, Wegener shares traded up 6.2 percent at 9.40 euros, outperforming Amsterdam’s small-cap index, which was up 0.4 percent <.ASCX>.
With a debate going on in the Netherlands about hedge fund activism and private equity buyouts, GO’s director Robert Hindle Fisher told Financieele Dagblad: “We focus on the long term, our investments last a minimum of three years. Accordingly we work together with management and not against them.”
Wegener chief financial officer Jan Wegstapel told Reuters: “Of course we speak to GO as we speak to all our shareholders… but we don’t experience any pressure from them.”
