Billionaire activist investor Paul Singer’s Elliott Investment Management said it’s built a 10% position in Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and is pushing for asset sales and an operational review.
(Bloomberg) — Billionaire activist investor Paul Singer’s Elliott Investment Management said it’s built a 10% position in Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and is pushing for asset sales and an operational review.
Goodyear should appoint five new independent directors and explore a divestment of its company-owned store network, Elliott said in a letter to the company’s board Thursday. Making changes could help boost Goodyear’s share price to more than $32, nearly triple its last close, it said.
Goodyear is reviewing Elliott’s recommendations and intends to meet with the firm to discuss its views in more detail, the company said in a statement.
“We value input from our shareholders and regularly engage with them,” Goodyear said. “Goodyear’s board and management team have a strong track record of making value-enhancing strategic decisions on behalf of shareholders.”
Goodyear rose 19% to $14 at 2:26 p.m. in New York trading on Thursday, giving it a market value of about $4 billion. The stock rose as much as 29%, its biggest intraday gain since at least 1980, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
“Over the past decade, owning Goodyear stock has been a disappointment,” Elliott senior portfolio manager Marc Steinberg and portfolio manager Austin Camporin wrote. “The company’s poor stock performance is a direct result of its significant margin erosion, suboptimal go-to-market strategy and unfocused brand strategy.”
Elliott also said Goodyear should form a committee to develop an operational and margin improvement plan. A comprehensive review of the company’s operating costs and brand strategies could significantly boost its profit margins, said Elliott, which added it’s not calling for reductions in plant capacity or factory workforce.
“Market sentiment on Goodyear is profoundly negative, and the market has ‘orphaned’ the stock,” Steinberg and Camporin wrote. “Substantial improvement in all of the areas outlined above is both necessary and achievable in the near term.”
–With assistance from David Welch.
(Updates trading in fourth paragraph. And earlier version of this report corrected Goodyear name in first paragraph)
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