Richard (Mick) McGuire III is turning up the heat again on Buffalo Wild Wings, threatening to sue the company. The head of San Francisco activist hedge fund Marcato Capital Management fired off a letter to the casual dining and bar company admonishing it for not meeting his request for certain shareholder list materials, accusing it of trying to thwart communications with other shareholders. He also criticized the company’s recent decision to appoint three new directors to its board without consulting shareholders.
“These new appointments were clearly intended to create the false impression of meaningful change, but without actual engagement in constructive dialogue with shareholders,” McGuire adds. “These actions are an unfortunate continuation of the company’s pattern of entrenchment, obfuscation and poor decision making.” McGuire also warns the company that if they don’t comply with the request, he may decide to engage in litigation. Marcato owns 5.2 percent of the stock.
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Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Holdings is already down 3.2 percent this month through October 11. As a result, the hedge fund, managed by New York-based Pershing Square Capital Management, is now off by 21.4 percent for the year.
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Adage Capital Management disclosed it owned more than 2.3 million shares, or 6.24 percent, of Independence Contract Drilling as of October 5. As of the end of June, the Boston hedge fund firm disclosed it owned nearly 1.45 million shares of the onshore drilling service provider. The investment is passive.
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Credit Suisse cut its price target on hedge fund favorite Humana from $188 to $175 after it lowered its earnings estimates. At the end of the second quarter, at least 81 hedge funds held a position in the hospital management giant, according to Goldman Sachs.
