Here come the lawsuits.
“Fund manager David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital on Thursday said it has sued Apple Inc and said the company needs to do more to unlock value for shareholders,” Reuters reports. “Einhorn said Greenlight filed suit in federal court in New York to force Apple to modify a proposal on its proxy [No. 2], which Greenlight believes does not conform to regulatory rules.”
Apple Inc. 2013 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (February 27, 2013, 9:00 a.m. Pacific Standard Time)
2. To amend the Company’s Restated Articles of Incorporation to (i) eliminate certain language relating to the term of office of directors in order to facilitate the adoption of majority voting for the election of directors, (ii) eliminate “blank check” preferred stock, (iii) establish a par value for the Company’s common stock of $0.00001 per share and (iv) make other conforming changes as described in more detail in the Proxy Statement.
Reuters reports, “In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Greenlight said it was ‘dissatisfied with Apple’s capital allocation strategy.'”
Full article here.
“Cash-rich technology giant Apple needs to find a way to distribute its cash to shareholders, instead of sticking to the Depression-like mentality that prompts the company to hoard equity, fund manager David Einhorn told CNBC on Thursday,” Javier E. David reports for CNBC.
“‘In an interview on “Squawk Box,”Greenlight Capital’s founder defended his decision to file suit against Apple over a proposal to eliminate preferred stock. Einhorn urged shareholders to vote against the proxy, branding Apple’s tactics as symptomatic of someone who has suffered through a trauma,'” David reports. “‘Apple is a phenomenal company filled with talented people creating iconic products that consumers around the world love,’ Einhorn said. ‘But Apple has a problem, we think. It has a cash problem.'”
David reports, “Likening the company’s behavior to his grandmother’s hoarding of money, Einhorn said Apple is acting like ‘someone who’s gone through traumas … they sometimes feel they can never have cash.’ …Einhorn said that he understood Apple’s impulse to keep cash in the event of a rainy day, and its need for ‘strategic flexibility and comfort money.’ However, he added, ‘at the same time shareholders can receive the value that is embedded in the balance sheet.'”
Read more in the full article here.
The Associated Press reports, “Greenlight, a shareholder since 2010 with 1.3 million Apple shares, said it is dissatisfied with the way the company allocates capital. Einhorn said his firm has been talking with Apple over the past several months about the creation of new preferred stock that would be distributed to Apple shareholders. Apple, he said, rejected the idea in September.”
Read more in the full article here.
Related articles:
Greenlight Capital urges Apple shareholders to vote ‘No’ on proposal 2 that would impede Apple’s ability to unlock shareholder value – February 7, 2013
Greenlight’s Einhorn: Apple ‘the best big growth company’; Fed stimulus ‘counterproductive’ – July 10, 2012
David Einhorn says Apple isn’t a below-average company, it’s just priced like one – May 30, 2012
