J. Carlo Cannell of Cannell Capital is turning up the heat on TheStreet, which owns the financial website, thestreet.com, founded by CNBC’s James Cramer. In a revised 13D filing, Cannell calls on fellow shareholders to join him in opposing the company’s slate of directors as well as its executive compensation plan, among other issues at the June annual meeting. In a letter to shareholders contained in the regulatory filing, he says he has had several discussions with CEO Elizabeth DeMarse and other officers in which he proposed a total of eight director candidates. Cannell, based in Jackson, Wyoming, says in return, the company proposed one “pre-approved” candidate, Stephen Zacharias. On April 29, however, Cannel says, the company “chose to ignore the many qualified candidates of Cannell Capital,” instead nominating incumbent directors Cramer and Mark Walsh. On April 30, Cannell and TST agreed in principle on Zacharias’s appointment, but on May 13 the company rejected the settlement. “It is the opinion of Cannell Capital that the value of TST exceeds its current market appraisal,” the letter states. “Cannell Capital further believes that this gap would contract favorably after the election of some new and truly independent members of the board of directors.” We earlier reported that in December Cannell challenged Cramer over his compensation from TheStreet and called on him and other directors to sell the company, or for Cramer to resign from CNBC.
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Hillary Clinton is once again biting the hand she hopes will provide campaign donation. The Democratic presidential candidate took another shot at the wealth of hedge funds while speaking to about 60 supporters in Iowa, according to Reuters. She even repeated President Obama’s earlier statement that alluded to the Rich List, asserting: “I heard a statistic the other day that really made a big impact on me. The top 25 hedge fund managers together make more money than all the kindergarten teachers in America.” Of course, she did not point out that she and husband, former President Bill Clinton, have earned more than $25 million for delivering around 100 speeches since January 2014, or that she recently held a private fundraiser with hedge fund managers.
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Kenneth Griffin’s Citadel increased its stake in Key Energy Services by one-third, to 8 million shares, or 5.2 percent. Key Energy operates as an onshore rig-based well-servicing contractor.
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Investcorp, which manages $11 billion in alternative investments, named Sunil Gaglani to the newly created position of chief risk officer of its hedge funds business. He will be responsible for monitoring the risks of investments made in all of the firm’s hedge fund businesses, including fund of funds, single manager funds, special opportunity and alternative-beta portfolios. He previously spent nine years at Mariner Investment Group, most recently serving as head of risk.
